Men's basketball to play in 2019 College Basketball Invitational
The Central Michigan men's basketball team isn't done for the 2018-19 season.
The Chippewas (23-11) accepted an invite to the 2019 Roman College Basketball Invitational and will take on DePaul (15-15) in the first round at 8 p.m. on March 20 at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
"We are excited to be able to continue our season," said head coach Keno Davis in a release from CMU Athletics. "It is a great opportunity for our seniors to be rewarded as well as a chance for our returning players to gain more experience as they look ahead towards next year."
The Roman CBI carries a 16-team field and games are played at campus sites only. Should CMU advance to the quarterfinals, Southern Miss or Longwood will await them on March 25. The semifinal rounds are played on March 27 and 28 and the championship is a best-of-three series on April 1, 3 and 5 (if necessary).
This marks the fourth season in the past five the Chippewas have competed in postseason basketball. Last season the Chippewas made it to the quarterfinal round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament where they fell 84-71 against Liberty. CMU picked up wins over Fort Wayne (94-89) and Wofford (98-94) in the first and second rounds.
The Blue Demons finished 7-11 in the Big East, tied for last place in the league with Providence and Butler. However, DePaul picked up notable wins over Big Ten opponent Penn State, a pair of wins over formerly in the AP Top 25 St. Johns and two victories against current No. 10-seed Seton Hall.
Davis, who coached at Providence 2008-11, has a 3-1 record against DePaul. In Chippewa basketball program history, CMU is 0-2 against the Blue Demons.
In the 2018 Roman CBI, Miami (Ohio) was the representative from the Mid-American Conference. They fell to Campbell 97-87. The tournament has been around since 2008, and no MAC participant has ever taken home the crown with one representative in every tournament besides two (2012, 14). The last team to win was Ohio in 2016, making it to the semifinals before dropping out. No MAC school has ever made the tournament's title game.
The Chippewas are coming off a 85-81 semifinal round loss in the MAC Tournament to top-seeded Buffalo. The Chippewas picked up wins over Western Michigan (81-67) and Kent State (89-91) in the first and second rounds.
If CMU does defeat the Blue Demons, it will break Davis' current career-best overall record of 23 wins, one it tied with the victory on March 14 over KSU.
