CBI 2012 Schedule: Pitt Will Sweep Washington State for Championship

If you are anything like me, you probably aren't all that familiar with the College Basketball Invitational. Sure, you'll reference the NIT on occasion as the "Not Invited Tournament," but generally you don't care to watch anything but the Big Dance.

But the CBI has something going for it that neither the NIT or NCAA tournament can offer—a best-of-three championship series.

That's right, when Pittsburgh and Washington State duke it out for CBI glory (cough), they'll each have the chance to prove they are the superior squad over three games, not one.

Though Pittsburgh will only need two games to do so.

It's been a tough year for the Panthers, but this team can still compete with just about anyone they play. They have victories over Tennessee, Georgetown and West Virginia on their resume. Sure, they only went 5-13 in Big East play, but just playing against that level of competition gives them the advantage over the Cougars.

Washington State's most impressive win was over California. They went 7-11 in the very weak Pac-12 this season.

And they'll likely be without the conference's leading scorer, Brock Motum (18.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG), for Monday's game, making the likelihood that Pitt will take the first game in Pullman almost assured.

That's a problem for the Cougars—games two and three (if necessary) are both in Pittsburgh. Winning the first game is a must for Washington State.

Motum has a badly sprained ankle, and may be limited even if he is able to return to action on Wednesday evening. Look for Pitt's senior leaders, Ashton Gibbs (14.8 PPG) and Nasir Robinson (10.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG), to lead the Panthers to a CBI championship and a bright finish to an otherwise dismal season.

Hey, at least you'll be able to get your college basketball fix before the Final Four this weekend, right?

Here's your CBI championship schedule:

Game	Date	Time	Location	Television
One	3/26/12	10 p.m. EDT	Pullman, Washington	HDNet
Two	3/28/12	7 p.m. EDT	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	HDNet
Three (if necessary)	3/30/12	7 p.m. EDT	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	HDNet

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