CBI 2016: Tournament Bracket, Schedule, Format and Teams to Watch

If mainlining the madness that is the 2016 NCAA tournament doesn't quite satisfy your college basketball fix, and the supplementary National Invitational Tournament still leaves you wanting more, there is always the College Basketball Invitational to top off your month of hoops.

There's not much in the way of prestige to be had here—teams often decline to participate in the tournament—but for some squads, it serves as a chance to get at least one more game in before calling it a season. Nevada head coach Eric Musselman cited the opportunities for both seniors and younger players as reasons to participate, per the Reno Gazette-Journal's Chris Murray: 

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It would be a great thing for our seniors. It would be a great thing for our young guys to be able to play in the postseason. We want to send our guys that are done playing college basketball out the right way. And we certainly want our young guys to get as much experience as they can, because not a lot of guys on our current roster have had an opportunity to play any type of postseason play.

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This is the ninth edition of the CBI. Past champions include Loyola (2015), Pittsburgh (2012) and Oregon (2011). 

Bracket

Here's a quick look at the bracket, per the Siena Saints' Twitter account:

The bracket can also be found at GazelleGroup.com (click on the bracket for a printable PDF).

Schedule

Date(s)	Round
March 15-16	Round of 16
March 21	Quarterfinals
March 23	Semifinals
March 28, March 30, April 1*	Championship Series

Format

The 16-team tournament begins Tuesday with Siena (2014 CBI champs) hosting Morehead State. It's a typical single-elimination tournament, but unlike the NCAA tournament and the NIT, the CBI is re-bracketed after the quarterfinals. 

Also, the two teams that make it to the championship round play a best-of-three series, which cuts down a bit on the randomness factor and gives a team a chance to come back if it had an unusually off night.

ESPNU will broadcast the championship series. Every postseason tournament other than the NCAA tournament will allow an experimental six personal fouls per game instead of the usual five, per NCAA.com.

Top Teams

Ohio is the obvious heavy hitter in this year's edition of the CBI. The Bobcats are 82nd in RPI, per NCAA.com—the only team in the tournament ranked in the top 100. Including their two-game run in the Mid-American Conference tournament, Ohio has won eight of its last 11 games. Junior forward Antonio Campbell averages a double-double this season by putting up 17.6 points per game while pulling down 10 rebounds per contest.

Sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons is another Bobcat to watch. He averages 15.2 points and 7.8 assists per game while displaying a penchant for putting up gaudy point totals from time to time. He has scored at least 20 points on 10 separate occasions this year, including a four-game stretch from Feb. 20 to March 1 that saw him score at least 24 points in each game.

Albany has the best record of any team in the CBI (24-8, 13-3 in American East). The Great Danes feature a balanced scoring attack, with four players averaging double figures. Senior guard Evan Singletary leads the team with 12.8 points per game, and he also chips in 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

The Siena Saints are another team to keep an eye on. This program won the CBI in 2014 and is ranked 105th in RPI. The Saints' first-round matchup against Morehead State is set to be a battle of the boards, per NEWS10 ABC's Nick Fusaro: 

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Siena and Morehead State will be meeting for the first time and had no common opponents this season. The matchup will feature two of the top rebounding teams in the country, as the Saints rank 12th nationally in rebound margin (+8.3) and the Eagles are 35th (+5.5). Morehead State also ranks 25th nationally in steals (7.9).

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Unlike in previous years when the likes of Pittsburgh and Oregon participated (and won), not a single CBI team comes from a Power Five conference. Three teams—Western Carolina, Seattle and UNC-Greensboro—even have losing records overall.

It could be that teams are wary of playing in the CBI due to the risk of players injuring themselves in what are essentially exhibition contests, or they are perhaps unable to justify the expenses.

For the teams that are participating, they can use the CBI as a way to suss out the guys ready to step up next year, get them into more prestigious tournaments and create a few great memories for outgoing players.