UC Riverside quietly completed with greater than 20 wins in the course of the 2024-25 faculty basketball season. Consequently, the Highlanders earned an invitation to each the NIT and CBI, which made for a somewhat awkward sequence of occasions on Choice Sunday as a result of they by accident accepted each.
Modifications have since been made to the corresponding brackets however the fourth-place finisher within the Large West Convention was initially slated to compete within the lesser of the 2 postseason tournaments.
The College of California, Riverside’s faculty basketball program eclipsed the 20-win mark for simply the second time in Division-I historical past this yr and the second time underneath head coach Mike Magpayo. Its signature wins got here towards Cal Baptist, UC Santa Barbara, St. Thomas, Large West runner-up UC Irvine and three NCAA Match groups in Colorado State, St. Francis and Large West champion UC San Diego.
The Highlanders have, fairly actually, by no means performed in any of the three main postseason tournaments. Thus, the administration possible jumped on the probability to play within the School Basketball Invitational— a.ok.a. the CBI. They had been thrilled to simply accept a bid.
????????YOUR 2025 CBI BRACKET IS HERE ???????? pic.twitter.com/hTciyufBbz
— Purple CBI (@CBITourney) March 16, 2025
Nevertheless, UC Riverside’s plans in a short time modified when the NIT referred to as with the identical provide. After all, a workforce would a lot somewhat compete within the secondary postseason event over the tertiary. The administration fortunately accepted the chance. It can play towards two-seed Santa Clara within the first spherical of the Nationwide Invitational Match within the Irvine Area.
Behold, the #NIT2025 bracket.
The street to Indy begins Tuesday night time. pic.twitter.com/fLk4FwzhQN
— NIT (@NITMBB) March 17, 2025
Right here is the place issues get awkward. The Highlanders apparent didn’t anticipate to obtain an invitation to play within the NIT and initially introduced its plans to play within the CBI with a first-round bye.
That put up was in the end deleted in favor of a brand new announcement after a pair hours of uncertainty. The schedule additionally displays the up to date plans.
UCR Males’s Basketball is heading to the NIT for the primary time ever! @UCRMBB has formally accepted an invite to the 2025 Nationwide Invitation Match.
Full story right here: pic.twitter.com/O5NQDICIgW
— Highlander Athletics (@UCR_Athletics) March 17, 2025
The CBI has since up to date its plans to replicate the dearth of Riverside.
????Up to date bracket for the 2025 Purple CBI???? pic.twitter.com/eOoQKAEKza
— Purple CBI (@CBITourney) March 17, 2025
What a time to be alive! We live in a timeline the place UC Riverside basketball is concerned in a bidding battle for the postseason. It needed to flip down an invitation to a lesser event to compete on a better stage. That may be a new one for a program that solely moved up from the Division-II stage within the early 2000s!
The Highlanders will start their quest to grow to be the 69th-best workforce within the nation on late Tuesday night time.
