The CBI tournament bracket is out. Here's what to know as USI enters the postseason

EVANSVILLE — The University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team has learned its path in the College Basketball Invitational.

Fresh off the program's first season of Division I competition, the Screaming Eagles will face San Jose State 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the first round. The CBI will be played in Daytona Beach, Florida, from Saturday until March 22 with a 16-team, single-elimination format.

The Eagles (16-16) finished seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference and lost in the first round of the league tournament against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

The Spartans (20-13) fell in the second round of the Mountain West Conference tournament to eventual champion San Diego State. They have the best KenPom rating in the CBI field at 93rd nationally and are led by former Nebraska coach Tim Miles.

USI is the 15 seed while SJSU is seeded second. Indiana State, which the Eagles beat in overtime in December, is the top seed in the tournament after falling in the Missouri Valley Conference semifinals.

'Something we could not pass up':USI men's basketball first to accept CBI invitation

What schools are in the 2023 College Basketball Invitational?

Here are the first-round matchups:

• No. 1 Indiana State (22-12)

• No. 16 USC Upstate (16-15)

• No. 8 Eastern Kentucky (20-13)

• No. 9 Cleveland State (21-13)

• No. 4 Southern Utah (22-12)

• No. 13 North Alabama (18-14)

• No. 5 Duquesne (20-12)

• No. 12 Rice (18-15)

• No. 2 San Jose State (20-13)

• No. 15 Southern Indiana (16-16)

• No. 7 Tarleton State (17-16)

• No. 10 Radford (19-14)

• No. 3 Charlotte (18-14)

• No. 14 Western Carolina (18-15)

• No. 6 Stetson (17-13)

• No. 11 Milwaukee (21-11)

What is the CBI?

The CBI is a postseason tournament for teams not picked in the NCAA tournament or the NIT that are also willing to pay a $27,500 entry fee to participate. It's operated by The Gazelle Group, which runs a handful of basketball events: the Barstool Sports Invitational, Empire Classic, Gotham Classic, Legends Classic and Tribute Classic. All of the participants in those in-season events qualify for the CBI as long as they finish .500 or better. USI's participation in the Gotham Classic this season, along with its .500 finish, allowed it to receive the invitation.

"That was a reason (to play in the Gotham Classic)," coach Stan Gouard said Wednesday. "We played Notre Dame, Saint Bonaventure and Bowling Green, so those opportunities are hard to pass up on, especially your first year at this level. That enhanced our opportunity to play."

Prior to 2020, teams competed on home courts. Now all games are staged at the Ocean Center in Daytona.

How to watch the CBI

The first round and quarterfinals will be streamed on FloHoops, which costs $30 for a monthly subscription. The semifinals and championship will be televised on ESPN2.

USI hoped to make the field in its first Division I season

Gouard said there were a few reasons he wanted to participate in the tournament: This senior class, a potential boost for recruiting and gaining an upper hand on other programs in the transition period.

"To get the invite, I feel like it was something we could not pass up," he said Wednesday. "I told our guys the other day that we continue to trend forward. They're still making history in the USI books with what they're doing. Now, this is just another mark in history that these young men are making with us playing in the first-ever postseason tournament at the Division I level."

The Eagles are losing Jacob Polakovich, Jelani Simmons and Trevor Lakes at the end of the season through graduation. Gouard also said after the OVC tournament loss Tyler Henry intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal to get closer to his family in Brooklyn, New York.

"At the end of the day, we have four special seniors in our program that have meant a lot to this program, and I wanted to make sure that they had something left in the tank," Gouard said. "We have the numbers, and once that was solidified, we accepted the bid."

Mid-majors typically see the CBI as a spark for the future

Most of the CBI winners have been mid-major teams. UNC-Wilmington took home the 2022 title to join Pepperdine, South Florida, North Texas and Wyoming as the last five champions. In 2015, Loyola (Chicago) won the tournament and then-coach Porter Moser credited it as the launching pad that vaulted the program to a Final Four run three years later.

Gouard said he thinks participating in the tournament could help in similar ways.

"I think the main thing is, from a recruiting standpoint, I think this could help us out," Gouard said. "Guys are seeing the investment that our university is putting in our program until we can get past this four-year postseason ban as we transition to Division I."

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: What to know about the 2023 CBI tournament: Bracket, how to watch