Charlotte plays Eastern Kentucky today in the CBI final. I always liked the lesser post season tournaments but they seem to have lost interest. Maybe it's perception since there are no AE teams in the CBI or maybe it's a post covid artifact and everyone is just happy to get a full season in. This year's CBI included near .500 teams like USC Upstate, Tarleton, Southern Indiana and had multi team participation from the WAC, C-USA, ASUN, Big South. That doesn't help grow tournament popularity or notoriety especially since several teams are mid pack for their conferences at best. I can understand why UNH would not go, with a coach on the way out and a team of portal players, but what is the reason UML, BU (Falko deserved another game) or Bryant did not go? Duquesne is probably the closest participant so quicker travel than UMBC or BU to Orono.
I think there are a couple of factors at play. For one, the CBI is pay-to-play. You're invited, but you have to pony up a check which I think is somewhere in the $25-30K range (a lot of the specifics came out during this whole Detroit Mercy/Get Antoine Davis another game to score more points nonsense). Not everyone is willing to pay that for a third tier postseason tourney with very limited exposure.
Another thing I think is relevant: I think the sub-NIT postseason basketball is having a similar issue as bowl game football, only it's moving faster and it's more pronounced. You have to want to play, and I'm not sure a lot of the players and coaches just have the stomach for it at this point. Guys are itching to hit the portal,
coaches are itching to hit the portal. They're not feeling the injury risk and added time investment for a tournament most people don't know is happening. Certainly the applicable power conference programs have stopped seeing the benefit in it, even before Covid changed some perspectives on some things. It's just not a priority, especially when you go back to the first point and add in that it is a budget expense.
I am disappointed that a team like Lowell didn't want to take this on, as I do think after the season they had it would've been nice to see them in some kind of postseason event that they might have been able to do well in. Vermont has been a traditional supporter of this tournament, but we also haven't been in 7 years. It'll be interesting to see if/when we find ourselves in a position to go back there if we have the same appetite we did previously.
