While everyone in the nation prepares in earnest for the NCAA Tournament, there are still going to be other games being played today – 4 of which will be in the CIT First Round and 4 regional finals in the NCAA Division II Tournament (including our Team of the People Cal Baptist!). This year, the CIT will be a 16-team field that includes 4 “Classic” televised games on CBS Sports Network.
-CENTRAL MICHIGAN AT FORT WAYNE (Hugh Durham Classic, 12 PM CBSSN). The postseason tips off with the Chippewas and Mastodons. Central Michigan lost in the quarterfinals of the MAC to Buffalo, and Fort Wayne came off of a tough loss to North Dakota State in the Summit tournament.
-ABILENE CHRISTIAN AT DRAKE (Lou Henson Classic, 2 PM CBSSN). We have a rare oddity in that a team that didn’t even qualify for the Southland Tournament (Abilene Christian) was still invited to a postseason tournament. Their opponent will be a Drake team that started hot in the Missouri Valley this year before fading off in the second half of conference play.
-NORTH CAROLINA A&T AT LIBERTY (Jim Phelan Classic, 6 PM CBSSN). This will be Liberty’s first game since a heartbreaking loss to Radford at the buzzer in the Big South championship. NC A&T was one of five teams that tied for the MEAC regular season title, but are coming off of an early exit in the MEAC Tournament themselves.
-HARTFORD AT SAN DIEGO (Riley Wallace Classic, 10 PM CBSSN). Hartford had a pretty good season in the America East – they ended up finishing in 3rd place and lost to eventual champion UMBC in the America East semifinals. San Diego is in a more tumultous situation where they are currently looking for a permanent head coach, but nonetheless will play at least one postseason game in which they were otherwise improved compared to recent years.
-CAL BAPTIST AT WESTERN OREGON (NCAA Division II Tournament, 10 PM). This game will be for a spot in the Elite 8 for the Division II Tournament; follow the Team of the People and CLICK HERE to watch the live stream courtesy of Western Oregon. The Wolves come into this game ranked #3 in the D-II polls and earned the right to host the West regional by virtue of their #1 ranking in the West region.