St. John’s is going dancing…sort of.
The Johnnies will take on Richmond in the 16-team 2009 College Basketball Invitational (CBI), which announced the field for its second-ever postseason event on Sunday night. The teams will meet at the Robins Center in the state capital of Virginia at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity to play in the CBI Tournament,” said Red Storm head coach Norm Roberts. “This gives our young group a chance to play in another tournament atmosphere following our appearance in the BIG EAST Championship Tournament last week. It’s another chance for us to grow and get better as a team.”
The CBI berth marks the first postseason appearance for the Red Storm since the 2003 NIT. St. John’s finished the season with a 16-17 record, tying for the most wins in the five-year Roberts Era. The Red Storm posted victories over then-No. 7 Notre Dame (Jan. 3, 71-65) and a pair of wins over longtime rival Georgetown – a 59-56 overtime thriller on March 3, and a 64-59 victory on March 10 in the opening round of the 2009 Big East Championship.
St. John’s owns a 3-0 record all-time against Richmond, but the schools have not faced each other since 1959 in a meeting at The Garden. Of note, Lithuanian Tomas Jasiulionis – the Red Storm’s only active senior class member – calls Richmond, Va., his American home. He attended Trinity Episcopal School while living with his host family.
The College Basketball Invitational is a single-elimination tournament up until the Championship Series, with all games being played at campus sites. The Championship Series will be a best-of-three series, home-away-home, in which the higher seed will get the first and last (if necessary) home games.
Here’s the bracket:
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East Regional
March 18th- 7:00 PM ET St. John’s (16-17) vs. Richmond (18-15) March 18th- 8:00 PM ET Charleston (26-8) vs. Troy (19-12) |
West Regional
March 18th- 8:00 PM ET Vermont (23-8) vs. Green Bay (22-10) March 18th- 10:00 PM ET Houston (21-11) vs. Oregon St. (13-17) |
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Midwest Regional |
South Regional |
pgrady / March 16, 2009
Its disgracefull that team is playing in this event…
Post season tournaments are uspposed to a reward for having a good season. The last time I checked, having a losing record is not a good season.
I just hope & pray that a light goes on in Chris Monasch’s head and they put an end to the Norm Roberts Error at St. John’s.
The fans of the program deserve better than a coach that thinks ZERO wins against the Top Ten teams in your conferencei s a good season.
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Stealth421 / March 16, 2009
Zags,
Did Seton Hall turn down a bid once again? I guess I am happy they did, if that’s the case, becuase if your not good enough for the NIT, meaning your not a top 97 ranked team, there is really no point trying to trick fans into thinking that this is what march madness is all about. I know The Hal turned it down last year, I was just wondering if they did so again. I would think they would have gotten asked before the Johnies.
And to that point Zags, what is your take on the CBI? Do you think you should play if invited?
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Adam Zagoria / March 17, 2009
Seton Hall elected not to play in any postseason tourneys other than the NCAA or NIT.
For a school like St. John’s, it can only help the players to compete in the CBI. Gives the young players some more competition and if they make a run, some confidence for next year.
That said, I don’t think the world needs a 3rd and 4th postseason tournament.
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