CBI 2015: Schedule, Live Stream and Bracket Predictions for Wednesday

The CBI isn't as flashy as the NCAA tournament or even the NIT, but it does give the bracket-crazed individuals among us the chance to fill out yet another bracket for another tournament.

Of course, the CBI is far from prestigious. Now in just its eighth season, the tourney struggles to convince teams to accept bids. After the selection shows for the two more popular tournaments, all remaining power conference teams with winning records declined to enter. The only Power Five squad willing to participate was Colorado, who squares off against Gardner-Webb on Wednesday.

While the quality of basketball won't be anything like watching Kentucky blow teams out of the gym, the competition alone should be enough of a draw for college basketball fans to take an interest.

Below is a complete schedule of the tournament, including live stream information and bracket predictions for Round 1, held on Wednesday.

Schedule and Live Stream Info

Date	Matchup	Location	TV	Prediction
First Round
March 17	Rider at Loyola Chicago	Chicago, Ill.		Final: Loyola Chicago, 62-59
March 18	Vermont at Hofstra	Hempstead, N.Y.		Vermont
March 18	Stony Brook at Mercer	Macon, Ga.		Stony Brook
March 18	Radford at Delaware State	Dover, Del.		Delaware St.
March 18	Gardner-Webb at Colorado	Boulder, Colo.		Colorado
March 18	Pepperdine at Seattle	Seattle, Wash.		Pepperdine
March 18	Eastern Michigan at Louisiana Monroe	Monroe, La.		Louisiana Monroe
March 18	UC Santa Barbara at Oral Roberts	Tulsa, Okla.		UC Santa-Barbara
Quarterfinals
March 23	TBD	TBD
Semifinals
March 25	TBD	TBD
Championship Series
March 30	Game 1	TBD	CBS Sports Network
April 1	Game 2		CBS Sports Network
April 3 (if necessary)	Game 3		CBS Sports Network

Note: Not every game can be live streamed. CBS Sports Network will televise the best-of-three championship series, which can be live streamed on CBSSports.com. Stony Brook and Mercer's first-round matchup can be viewed on WatchESPN.

Pepperdine vs. Seattle

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Pepperdine will play Seattle in its home city, something that automatically puts the Waves at a disadvantage. But this team is a competitive one.

It may have missed out on the two larger tournaments, but Pepperdine can compete with the big boys. Sure, an 0-3 record against Gonzaga isn't flattering, but the Waves lost by single digits in two of those contests. Add in two wins against BYU and one win against Saint Mary's, and it's obvious that the Waves aren't a team to mess with.

Led by Stacy Davis on offense (15.9 points per game) and Jeremy Major on defense (1.5 steals per game), the Waves have enough balance to run the gamut in the CBI. They excel defensively, holding opponents to just 61.6 points per game during the regular season. An offense that scores just over that mark (63.7 per game) should be able to get the job done if the defense doesn't falter.

And whereas most schools aren't enthused with the opportunity to play in the CBI, Pepperdine head coach Marty Wilson is excited to continue the 2014-15 campaign.

"Our basketball team and staff are thrilled to be competing in the CBI," Wilson told PepperdineSports.com. "It is an excellent and exciting opportunity for us to continue our season as we seek to build upon a positive basketball year."

The Redhawks will do their best to contend with the Waves, but there is a glaring offensive issue for Seattle. Their top two scorers—Isiah Umipig and Jarell Flora—both shoot 43 percent or worse from the field. They'll score if given enough shots, but the fact is that Pepperdine's tough defense isn't going to make things easy for these two volume scorers.

Naturally, secondary options like William Powell and Jack Crook will be relied on to provide offensive numbers that they haven't enjoyed all season.

Look for Pepperdine to dominate Seattle—and possibly the rest of the bracket.

Prediction: Pepperdine, 68-55

UC Santa Barbara vs. Oral Roberts

USA TODAY Sports

One of Pepperdine's main contenders is UC Santa Barbara, the best team in terms of RPI in this tourney. The Gauchos check in at 87, per NCAA.com.

They finished the season 9-2 since February, whereas the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles limped to the finish line at 6-4. Much of the Gauchos' success was because of senior Alan Williams.

Known as "Big Al," Williams earned national attention this season by finishing third in Division I basketball with 11.9 rebounds per game. He also posted 17.2 points per game on 45.5 percent shooting, indicating that he will be a handful for Oral Roberts and any team that comes after.

Losing to North Dakota State in the Big West tournament ruined Williams' chance of playing in the NCAA tourney or NIT, but the CBI will give him one last chance to leave it all on the court for the Gauchos. Look for him to be a force.

The Golden Eagles will likely lean on leading scorer Obi Emegano to shoulder the load. He averaged 18.2 points per contest this season, leading to league-wide recognition:

If Oral Roberts has to defer to Korey Billbury, then this game might not end well. He's a fine scorer, having averaged at least 14.4 points per game each of the past two seasons, but he shot just 39.6 percent from the floor this year. He simply can't be relied upon as the No. 1 guy. The offense would have no rhythm, and there would likely be more misses than makes.

The key for UC Santa Barbara is simple. Stopping Emegano should hinder the rest of Oral Roberts' offense.

Prediction: UC Santa Barbara, 76-69

Kenny DeJohn is a Breaking News Team Featured Columnist. Follow him on Twitter.