HBU Huskies men's basketball extend season; will play in CBI Tournament

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (March 15, 2016) In the press conference after their loss to the SFA Lumberjacks in the Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament, Houston Baptist University head basketball coach Ron Cottrell was asked how he could use their semi-final appearance to build for next season. He stated their hope was the season was not over. On Sunday, March 13, 2016, their wish was answered when they were invited to compete in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) tournament.

The Huskies are one of 16 teams selected to play in the single-elimination tournament and will face the University of North Carolina-Greensboro on Wednesday, March 16. The game will be played at Greensboro Coliseum with a 7 p.m. EDT tipoff. The Spartans bring a 14-18 record into game after winning five of their last six games. The Huskies posted a 16-15 record in 2016, including a 10-8 record in Southland Conference play.

This will be their first appearance in the post-season since HBU returned to NCAA Division I in 2007. The Huskies have previous made 11 appearances in the post-season in program history under Cottrell, including 10 consecutive NAIA tournament appearance. HBU will be led by senior Anthony Odunsi, who was named first team All-Southland Conference. The Sugar Land, Texas native played in 32 games for the Huskies, averaging 17.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. Sophomore Josh Ibarra lead the conference in field goal percentage, connecting on 63.1% of his attempts while senior Jourdan Stickler held the top mark for three-point percentage with 45.9%. For his play. Ibarra was honored with an honorable mention All-Conference selection.

2009 CBI 1st Round Results and 2nd Round Predictions

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2009 TexSport Publications

DEER PARK, TEXAS (March 19, 2009) The first round results of the 2009 College Basketball Invitational are in and I correctly predicted six of the eight games correctly. The results are below.

The games that I get correct:
Stanford-96 Boise State-76
Wichita State-84 Buffalo-73
UTEP-79 Nevada-77
Northeastern-64 Wyoming-62
Vermont-76 Green Bay-72
College of Charleston-93 Troy-91

Now, the two games I missed:
Oregon State-49 Houston-45
Richmond-75 St. John's-69

My first round predictions were 6 of 8 for 75%.

My predictions for the second round are:
Stanford over Wichita State
UTEP over Northeastern
Vermont over Oregon State
Charleston over Richmond

All four second round games will be played March 23, 2009. I will post the results as soon as the games are over.

2009 College Basketball Invitational Announces Field

PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY (March 16, 2009) The 16-team field for the 2009 College Basketball Invitational has been announced. The tournament will get underway with eight Opening Round games on Tuesday, March 17th and Wednesday, March 18th.
The pairings for the opening rounds are as follows:

East Regional
March 18th-7:00 PM ET
St. John's (16-17) vs. Richmond (18-15)

March 18th-8:00 PM ET
College of Charleston (26-8) vs. Troy (19-12)

Midwest Regional
March 18th-8:00 PM ET
Buffalo (21-11) vs. Wichita St. (16-16)

March 18th-10:00 PM ET
Boise St. (19-12) vs. Stanford (18-13)

West Regional
March 18th-8:00 PM ET
Vermont (23-8) vs. Green Bay (22-10)

March 18th-10:00 PM ET
Houston (21-11) vs. Oregon St. (13-17)

South Regional
March 17th-9:00 PM ET
Northeastern (18-12) vs. Wyoming (19-13)

March 17th-11:00 PM ET
UTEP (19-12) vs. Nevada (21-12)

TexSport Publications will on hand with the results from all the games.

UH Men's Basketball Accepts Bid to College Basketball Invitational

HOUSTON, TEXAS (March 16, 2009) The University of Houston men's basketball team accepted a bid to play in the 2009 College Basketball Invitational, director of athletics Dave Maggard and head coach Tom Penders announced late Sunday night.

The Cougars will face Oregon State at 9 p.m. (CDT), Wednesday, at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore. The winner of the Houston-Oregon State game advances to face the winner of the Green Bay-Vermont game in the CBI quarterfinals on March 23.

"I'm excited for the kids. It's all about the kids and wanting to play in the postseason. It's an opportunity to play another game, to play a meaningful game and gain the experience from that," Penders said. "This is a great opportunity for the University of Houston."

Although the Beavers bring a 13-17 overall record into the postseason, Penders said he expected a close ball game on Wednesday.

"They play a Princeton-style game. (Head coach) Craig Robinson was a great player as a Tiger, and he coached at Princeton, so they run that Princeton offense really well," Penders said. "They had some great wins this year and pulled some great upsets in the Pac-10. They were one of the surprise teams in that league. It's a very interesting match-up for us."

Picked to finish seventh in the Conference USA Preseason Coaches Poll and by many national basketball publications, the Cougars tied with UTEP for fourth in the final regular-season standings and advanced to the semifinals of the 2009 C-USA Tournament with a win against the Miners.

With a 21-11 overall record to date, the Cougars earned their third 20-win season in the last four years, all Penders. The Cougar coach will be leading the Cougars into their fourth postseason appearance during his five-year tenure and the 20th of this 35-year coaching career.

"This gives us extra practices and a game situation in the postseason. A lot of these guys just played in their first conference tournament, so that's one step. Now, we have a chance to play a postseason game," Penders said. "It gives them an opportunity to gain experience that you can't get just by working out in the gym.

This is the 29th postseason appearance for the Cougars in school history. It also marks the second straight season that the Cougars will compete at the College Basketball Invitational.

A year ago, the Cougars rattled off wins at Nevada and against Valparaiso before falling to Conference USA-rival Tulsa in the semifinals.

After competing in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational in 2008, Penders said he looked forward to another postseason appearance in that event.

"Last year, our experience in this tournament was great. It's a well-run tournament, and it's first class," Penders said. "The Gazelle Group handles some of the greater events in college basketball, like Coaches vs. Cancer.

UH to Face Valparaiso in 2nd Round of CBI

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (March 20, 2008) The University of Houston men's basketball team will face off against Valparaiso in the second round of the College Basketball Tournament.

Valparaiso (22-13) defeated Washington (16-17) 72-71 to join Houston in the second round.

Houston, which has the higher seed in the bracket, earned home court advantage with their 80-79 upset of Nevada on Tuesday night.

The second round game will be at Houston on Monday, March 24. Game time is TBA.

Houston Men's Basketball Defeats Nevada in CBI First Round

From University of Houston Press Release

RENO, NEVADA (March 19, 2008) Robert McKiver scored 22 points and Marcus Cousin made the winning free throw with 26.5 seconds left to lead Houston past Nevada 80-79 Tuesday night in the opening round of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.

Dion Dowell added 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Cougars, whose 23-9 record is their best since the 1991-92 season. They advance to the second round March 24 against the winner of Wednesday's game between Washington and Valparaiso.

Armon Johnson missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer for Nevada, which had trailed by as much as 10 points the second half and closed its sixth consecutive year of postseason play at 21-12. Marcelus Kemp led Nevada with 24 points. Johnson had 16 and Brandon Fields 15.

Tied at 71, Dowell followed a pair of free throws with a tip-in to put Houston ahead 75-71 with 3:10 left. The Cougars went up 79-75 on Kelvin Lewis' floater in the lane at 1:50.

JaVale McGee, who scored Nevada's first 6 points of the game on three slam dunks but fouled out with 12 points total, scored inside but missed the free throw when he was fouled at 1:33. After McKiver missed a 3-pointer, Kemp scored inside to make it 79-79 with 58 seconds left.

Houston led 43-36 at the half on Tafari Toney's 35-footer at the halftime buzzer.

The Cougars took their biggest lead, 50-40, on Lewis' 3-pointer with 17:44 remaining. But Nevada answered with a 20-5 run to take a 60-55 lead on Kemp's 10 footer at 10:55. That run included a 10-0 stretch started by DeMarshay Johnson's slam dunk off a behind-the-back pass from McGee in the lane.

McKiver's two free throws and 3-pointer pulled Houston to within 61-60 at 9:26, and Lewis' basket off a rebound tied it at 71 with 4:31 left.

UH Men's Basketball to Play Nevada in First Round of CBI

HOUSTON, TEXAS (March 17, 2008) The University of Houston men's basketball team will square off against Nevada at 8 p.m. (CDT), Tuesday at the Lawlor Events Center during the first round of the 2008 College Basketball Invitational.

The Cougars received the No. 3 seed in the West Regional and will face the second-seeded Wolfpack in the opening round. If the Cougars win Tuesday, they will face the winner of the No. 1 Washington-No. 4 Valparaiso game in the second round on March 24.

Tuesday's game also will be televised by Fox College Sports. Radio arrangements will be announced Monday when they are finalized.

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.

Tuesday's game marks the first time the two teams have met on the hardwood since the Cougars enjoyed a 92-80 win in Reno on Feb. 8, 1993. The Cougars own a 6-1 all-time record against the Wolfpack with wins in each of the last three meetings.

Senior guard Robert McKiver leads the Cougars with 23.1 points per game and ranks second in Conference USA with 1.8 steals per game. The New Haven, Conn., native, who was named to the All-Conference USA First Team for the second-straight season, also recently garnered honors on the USBWA All-District 7 First Team and the NABC All-District 9 Team.

Senior forward Dion Dowell is tops with 6.7 rebounds per game with senior forward Tafari Toney a close second with six boards per contest.

Senior guard Lanny Smith leads UH with nearly four assists per game and recently became only the fourth player in school history to top 500 assists during his career.

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.

The invitation will be nothing new for Penders, who will guide his 19th team to the postseason during his storied 34-year history as a head coach. Penders, who recorded his 600th win and competed in his 1,000th game as a head coach earlier this season

With their most recent postseason berth, Penders and his coaching staff have brought the Cougar program a long way. In the four years prior to Penders' arrival at UH, the Cougars posted a combined 44-73 record with only one NIT appearance in 2002.

Since Penders joined the UH program in 2004, the Cougars have posted a combined 79-48 record with Penders setting a school record for the most wins by a head coach through his first four seasons.

Nevada (21-10, 12-4 WAC) comes into the game after an 83-75 loss to New Mexico State during the semifinals of the WAC Tournament. The Wolfpack finished as WAC regular-season co-champions and enter Tuesday's game as winners of 13 of their last 18 games.

Senior guard Marcelus Kemp leads Nevada with 19.8 points per game and is one of four Wolfpack players averaging double digits in points. Sophomore forward JaVale McGee is tops with 7.4 rebounds per contest, while Kemp and freshman guard Armon Johnson pace the team with more than three assists per game.

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.

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.

2008 COLLEGE BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL OPENING ROUND SCHEDULE

WEST REGIONAL
March 18
(3) Houston at (2) Nevada, 8 p.m. (CDT)
(4) Valparaiso at (1) Washington, 8 p.m. (CDT)

EAST REGIONAL
March 18
(4) Richmond at (1) Virginia, 6 p.m. (CDT)
(3) Rider at (2) Old Dominion, TBA

SOUTH REGIONAL
March 19
(4) Utah at (1) UTEP, TBA
(3) Miami (Ohio) at (2) Tulsa, TBA

MIDWEST REGIONAL
March 18
(3) Brown at (2) Ohio, TBA
(4) Cincinnati at (1) Bradley, 6 P.M. (CDT)

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.