CBI Basketball Tournament 2013: Times, Dates, TV Schedule and More

The NCAA tournament steals the brightest lights in March, but there’s plenty of quality basketball to be played in college basketball’s other showcases, including the unique and exciting College Basketball Invitational.

The first CBI was played following the conclusion of the 2007-08 regular season. Jerome Jordan of Tulsa took home the tournament MVP award in its inaugural season, leading the second-seeded Golden Hurricanes to a win over four-seeded Bradley in the finals.

Recognizable programs like Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Davidson and Butler have all competed in the CBI, as well as Pittsburgh, which won the tournament in 2012.

The CBI is one of the more unique showcases in college sports. Each matchup throughout the tournament features a visiting team and a host team, which pays for the right to host games in their home arena (h/t BankrollSports.com).

Just like the NCAA tournament and NIT, the initial rounds of the CBI are determined in a single-elimination format. Unlike college basketball’s more prestigious events, the winner of the tournament is decided by a finals matchup featuring a three-game playoff.

No team has won the CBI in multiple seasons, and this year should once again provide the kind of parity and unpredictability that makes college basketball so exciting.

Let’s take a look at the dates, times, television schedule and more.

Where: Various Locations

When: March 19-April 5

Watch: AXS.tv (AT&T U-verse)

Participating Teams: Purdue, Texas, George Mason, College of Charleston, Vermont, Santa Clara, Western Illinois, Houston, Tulsa, Wright State, Richmond, Bryant, Lehigh, Wyoming, North Dakota State, Western Michigan

Tournament Schedule

The first round is set to begin on March 19 with three first-round matchups. The final five games of the round will take place on March 20.

Eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals on March 25, after which the final four teams will be re-seeded for the semifinal round on March 27.

The two teams to emerge from the semifinals will then participate in a best-of-three playoff to determine the CBI champion. The "Championship Series" will begin with a game on April 1, followed by a second game on April 3 and a third (if necessary) on April 5. Here's a look at the game schedule for Round 1.

Date	Matchup	Date	Matchup
March 19	George Mason vs. Charleston	March 20	Tulsa vs. Wright State
March 19	Vermont vs. Santa Clara	March 20	Richmond vs. Bryant
March 19	Lehigh vs. Wyoming	March 20	North Dakota State vs. Western Michigan
March 20	Texas vs. Houston	March 20	Western Illinois vs. Purdue

*Full schedule and bracket can be found at GazelleGroup.com.

Historical Winners

2008	Tulsa
2009	Oregon State
2010	VCU
2011	Oregon
2012	Pittsburgh

Be sure to follow all the NCAA tournament action with Bleacher Report's live updated bracket and fill out one of your own for free with the printable PDF version.

Make your picks for the 2013 NCAA tournament here with the Bracket Challenge Game.