CBI 2022: Tournament Bracket, Schedule, Format and Teams to Watch

There's no question that March is the best time of the year for college basketball. Exciting action takes place all month, and there's never a shortage of games to watch, from conference championships to March Madness.

For teams that miss out on the NCAA tournament, the season doesn't have to end, as there are several other postseason tourneys that schools can be invited to. The most well known is the National Invitation Tournament, but another is the College Basketball Invitational.

The CBI, which first took place in 2008, is a 16-team tournament that is played at Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 2020 edition was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, while the 2021 event was limited to eight teams. This year's tourney, which will take place March 19-23, will be back to a full field.

Here's the schedule for the 2022 CBI, followed by the top teams to watch in the tournament.

2022 CBI Schedule

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First Round

Game 1: No. 1 Drake vs. No. 16 Purdue Fort Wayne, Saturday at noon ET

Game 2: No. 4 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 13 UNC Asheville, Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET

Game 3: No. 2 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 15 California Baptist, Saturday at 5 p.m. ET

Game 4: No. 3 Ohio vs. No. 14 Rice, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET

Game 5: No. 8 VMI vs. No. 9 UNC Wilmington, Sunday at noon ET

Game 6: No. 5 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 12 Northern Colorado, Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET

Game 7: No. 7 UNC Greensboro vs. No. 10 Boston University, Sunday at 5 p.m. ET

Game 8: No. 6 Abilene Christian vs. No. 11 Troy, Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET

     

Quarterfinals

Game 9: Game 1 winner vs. Game 5 winner, March 21 at 1 p.m. ET

Game 10: Game 2 winner vs. Game 6 winner, March 21 at 3:30 p.m. ET

Game 11: Game 3 winner vs. Game 7 winner, March 21 at 6 p.m. ET

Game 12: Game 4 winner vs. Game 8 winner, March 21 at 8:30 p.m. ET

     

Semifinals

Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, March 22 at 7 p.m. ET

Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, March 22 at 9 p.m. ET

     

Championship

Game 15: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner, March 23 at 5 p.m. ET

Drake (24-10)

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Drake won its final five games of the regular season, then opened the Missouri Valley Conference tournament with victories over Southern Illinois and Missouri State. The Bulldogs needed only one win to get into the NCAA tourney for the second year in a row.

However, the Iowa university came up a bit short this time. It lost 64-58 to Loyola-Chicago, and the Bulldogs' resume wasn't quite strong enough for an at-large bid to March Madness. But they'll be among the top contenders in the CBI as the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

Freshman guard Tucker Devries (team-high 13.9 points per game) is one of six Drake players who averaged at least 8.9 points per game this season. The Bulldogs have a balanced lineup and are a well-rounded team. They may have a chance to dominate the CBI and play their way to a tournament title.

Middle Tennessee (23-10)

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Middle Tennessee suffered a heartbreaking loss in the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament in a game that easily could have gone the other way. It took three overtimes to decide the Blue Raiders' matchup against UAB, but they came out on the wrong side with a 102-98 loss.

That was Middle Tennessee's third loss in a span of four games as it struggled a bit down the stretch. But the Blue Raiders had won 13 of 14 games prior to that, so they're clearly capable of getting hot and stringing together wins, which they have the potential to do in the CBI.

With a trio of guards leading its offensive attack—senior Josh Jefferson (14.7 points per game), sophomore Eli Lawrence (11.1) and senior Donovan Sims (11.0)—Middle Tennessee could be a challenging matchup for some of the teams in this tournament. As the No. 2 seed, the Blue Raiders are one of the stronger teams in the field.

Stephen F. Austin (22-9)

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Although Stephen F. Austin is the No. 4 seed, it's one of the hotter teams in the CBI field. The Lumberjacks ended the regular season on a 10-game winning streak, as they ended up 14-4 in Western Athletic Conference play and appeared poised for a strong showing in the conference tournament.

That didn't end up happening, though. SFA was knocked off by Abilene Christian (which is also playing in the CBI) in the quarterfinals. But that could have just been an off game for the Lumberjacks, who showed they were better than that for much of the season.

Senior forward Gavin Kensmil (16.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game) is among the best players who will be participating in the CBI, and he could power the Texas school to success. The Lumberjacks should be capable of taking down the higher seeds if they can play to their potential.