UH Mens Basketball Accepts Invite to College Basketball Invitational

HOUSTON, TEXAS (March 17, 2008) The University of Houston men's basketball team accepted an invitation to compete at the 2008 College Basketball Invitational, director of athletics Dave Maggard and head coach Tom Penders announced Saturday evening.

While the Cougars' first-round opponent and time have not yet been announced, UH knows it will make its first CBI appearance on the road. The Cougars' opponent and other game information is expected to be announced by Sunday night or early Monday morning.

The 16-team postseason event will be staged by The Gazelle Group, which is based in Princeton, N.J., and runs the 2K Sports College Hoop Classic that benefits Coaches vs. Cancer and the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic.

The teams will be invited along the same criteria used by the NCAA and NIT -- overall and conference records and late-season play.

Four geographic brackets will be balanced competitively. Television arrangements will be announced as they are confirmed.

It will be a single-elimination tournament through the first two rounds and the semifinals, all played at campus sites. The Championship Series will be a best-of-three with the higher-seeded team playing at home in the first game and, if necessary, the third.

The first round is scheduled for March 18-19. The Championship Series will be March 31, April 2 and April 4.

The Cougars earned the postseason berth after finishing third in Conference USA and posting a 22-9 overall record. It was the program's highest win total since the 1991-92 team finished 25-6.

The Cougars also recorded a program-best 11 wins in Conference USA play and reached double digits in C-USA wins for the second straight season. That marked the first time since 1990-92 that UH accomplished that feat.

This will be the third time in the last four years that the Cougars will compete in the postseason after earning NIT invitations in 2005 and 2006. It also marks the first time since 1990-93 that the Cougars will compete in the postseason three times during a four-year stretch.