UMKC and Utah Valley have accepted invitations to play in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) presented by FIVE FOUR. The Roos will host Green Bay at 7 p.m. CT Wednesday, March 15, at Swinney Recreation Center on the UMKC campus, while the Wolverines will travel to Statesboro, Ga., to play at Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Hanner Fieldhouse.
This is UMKC's first-ever appearance in a postseason tournament. The Roos are led by first team All-WAC selection LaVell Boyd, who averages 17.9 points per game. UMKC (17-16) advanced to the semifinals of the WAC Tournament, where it fell to eventual champion NM State, 78-60.
Green Bay is competing in the CBI for the third time in program history. The third-seeded Phoenix fell in the quarterfinals of Motor City Madness to No. 6 seed UIC. The Phoenix had four players earn All-Horizon League honors, the most in program history. Charles Cooper (second team), Warren Jones (Sixth Man of the Year), Kenneth Lowe (All-Defensive Team) and Khalil Small (All-Defensive Team) each garnered Horizon League accolades.
UMKC and Green Bay played on Nov. 21 of this season, with the Phoenix winning 95-77 at the Bill Frack Tournament.
This is Utah Valley's third appearance in a postseason national tournament, as the Wolverines played in the NIT in 2014 and in the CollegeInisder.com Tournament in 2012.
Utah Valley enters Wednesday's matchup against Georgia Southern with a 15-16 record. The Wolverines hit the postseason hardwood fresh off a historic quadruple overtime 81-80 setback to CSU Bakersfield in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas. UVU's matchup at Georgia Southern will mark the first time the two teams have met.
Georgia Southern features the top two scorers from the Sun Belt Conference this past season in sophomores Ike Smith (19.9) and Tookie Brown (17.4). The team holds an 18-14 overall record and finished Sun Belt play with an 11-7 mark.
The 2017 CBI begins Wednesday and ends with a best-of-three Championship Series that begins Monday, March 27. The Quarterfinal Round will take place Monday, March 20, with Semifinal Round games being played Wednesday, March 22.