| Season | 2024–25 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 11 (16 planned) | ||||
| Finals site | Ocean Center, Daytona Beach, Florida | ||||
| Champions | Illinois State (1st title) | ||||
| Runner-up | Cleveland State (1st title game) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
| ||||
| Winning coach | Ryan Pedon (1st title) | ||||
| MVP | Chase Walker (Illinois State) | ||||
| Attendance | 2,616 (Tournament) 541 (Final) | ||||
| Top scorer | Dylan Hayman (Incarnate Word) (62 points) | ||||
| |||||
The 2025 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) was a single-elimination, fully-bracketed men's college basketball postseason tournament featuring eleven National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams not selected to participate in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament (NCAA), the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), or the College Basketball Crown (CBC).
The 17th edition of the tournament commenced on March 22, and concluded on March 26. [1] All games were played at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida, with the first and quarterfinal rounds streamed on FloCollege, the semifinal round telecast on ESPNU and the final telecast on ESPN2.
Illinois State defeated Cleveland State in the final by a score of 79–68 to claim their first NCAA Division I postseason title. [2] The all-tournament team consisted of Ty Pence (Illinois State), Jordan Pyke (Incarnate Word), Jalen Rucker (Army), Tahj Staveskie (Cleveland State) and Chase Walker (Illinois State), with Walker also being named the most valuable player.
| Team | Conference | Record | Appearance | Last Bid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army [3] | Patriot | 16–15 (.516) | 2nd | 2021 |
| Cleveland State [4] | Horizon | 21–12 (.636) | 3rd | 2024 |
| Elon [5] | Coastal | 17–15 (.531) | 1st | — |
| Florida Gulf Coast [6] | Atlantic Sun | 18–14 (.563) | 1st | — |
| Illinois State [7] | Missouri Valley | 19–14 (.576) | 2nd | 2014 |
| Incarnate Word [8] | Southland | 17–16 (.515) | 1st | — |
| Jacksonville [9] | Atlantic Sun | 19–13 (.594) | 1st | — |
| Manhattan [10] | Metro Atlantic | 17–13 (.567) | 1st | — |
| Northern Arizona [11] | Big Sky | 18–15 (.545) | 1st | — |
| Presbyterian [12] | Big South | 14–18 (.438) | 2nd | 2024 |
| Queens [13] | Atlantic Sun | 19–14 (.576) | 1st | — |
Note: Team records are as of the end of the regular season and prior to the beginning of the tournament.
| Team | Conference | Record | Appearance | Last Bid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Riverside [14] | Big West | 21–12 (.636) | 1st | — |
The NCAA caused confusion on Selection Sunday , by failing to communicate with at least one program invited to the NIT prior to the initial release of the bracket. Instead, it appears the NCAA assumed that mid-major schools would not decline an NIT bid. UC Riverside had already confirmed their participation in the 2025 College Basketball Invitational, before learning they had been invited to the NIT. For a brief time, NIT and CBI brackets co-existed showing UC Riverside playing in both tournaments. [15] Participation in multiple postseason tournaments is not permitted under NCAA rules. After UC Riverside's commitment to play in the CBI came to the attention of the NCAA, instead of communicating with UC Riverside, they contacted South Alabama , the top remaining at-large team, and extended an NIT invitation to them. As the NCAA was communicating with South Alabama, UC Riverside was in contact with CBI organizers to decline their invitation to that tournament, so they could play in the NIT. After their commitment to the CBI was dissolved, UC Riverside contacted the NCAA and accepted their bid to the NIT. Just an hour after extending the invitation, the NCAA contacted South Alabama and informed them their bid to the NIT had been revoked. [16] [17]
Rankings, ratings and records were through March 16, 2025 Selection Sunday and prior to any additional post-season activity. This also includes a "KNIT" score, which is leveraged as a criteria and evaluation tool for the National Invitation Tournament selection committee; it is the average of the following seven metrics:
| KNIT | School | Conference | Conference Place | Conference W–L | Division I W–L | Overall W–L | BTR | BPI | KPR | KPI | NET | SOR | WAB | Road W–L | Neutral W–L | Home W–L | Quad 1 W–L | Quad 2 W–L | Quad 3 W–L | Quad 4 W–L | Non D-I W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 136 | Illinois State | Missouri Valley | T–5th | 10–10 (.500) | 18–14 (.563) | 19–14 (.576) | 131 | 124 | 140 | 123 | 121 | 155 | 164 | 5–7 (.417) | 2–3 (.400) | 12–4 (.750) | 0–1 (.000) | 1–5 (.167) | 7–6 (.538) | 10–2 (.833) | 1–0 (1.000) |
| 163 | Cleveland State | Horizon | T–2nd | 14–6 (.700) | 18–12 (.600) | 21–12 (.636) | 173 | 170 | 168 | 150 | 174 | 157 | 154 | 7–7 (.500) | 0–1 (.000) | 14–4 (.778) | 0–2 (.000) | 0–2 (.000) | 6–6 (.500) | 12–2 (.857) | 3–0 (1.000) |
| 175 | Jacksonville | Atlantic Sun | T–4th | 12–6 (.667) | 17–13 (.567) | 19–13 (.594) | 190 | 225 | 179 | 172 | 181 | 167 | 152 | 7–9 (.438) | 1–1 (.500) | 11–3 (.786) | 0–3 (.000) | 0–4 (.000) | 5–2 (.714) | 12–4 (.750) | 2–0 (1.000) |
| 182 | Florida Gulf Coast | Atlantic Sun | 3rd | 13–5 (.722) | 17–14 (.548) | 18–14 (.563) | 165 | 178 | 172 | 176 | 173 | 276 | 186 | 7–9 (.438) | 0–0 (–) | 11–5 (.688) | 0–1 (.000) | 1–4 (.200) | 2–5 (.286) | 14–4 (.778) | 1–0 (1.000) |
| 185 | Queens * | Atlantic Sun | 6th | 11–7 (.611) | 17–14 (.548) | 19–14 (.576) | 192 | 231 | 203 | 188 | 199 | 183 | 171 | 9–9 (.500) | 1–0 (1.000) | 9–5 (.643) | 0–3 (.000) | 1–2 (.333) | 2–5 (.286) | 14–4 (.778) | 2–0 (1.000) |
| 213 | Elon | Coastal | T–9th | 8–10 (.444) | 15–15 (.500) | 17–15 (.531) | 228 | 208 | 197 | 208 | 184 | 276 | 219 | 6–9 (.400) | 1–2 (.333) | 10–4 (.714) | 0–1 (.000) | 2–0 (1.000) | 4–7 (.364) | 9–7 (.563) | 2–0 (1.000) |
| 242 | Manhattan | Metro Atlantic | T–4th | 12–8 (.600) | 16–13 (.552) | 17–13 (.567) | 259 | 264 | 236 | 242 | 243 | 276 | 197 | 8–7 (.533) | 0–1 (.000) | 9–5 (.643) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 2–1 (.667) | 14–10 (.583) | 1–0 (1.000) |
| 247 | Presbyterian | Big South | T–5th | 7–9 (.438) | 11–18 (.379) | 14–18 (.438) | 256 | 226 | 231 | 258 | 240 | 276 | 281 | 4–12 (.250) | 2–1 (.667) | 8–5 (.615) | 0–0 (–) | 0–3 (.000) | 5–5 (.500) | 6–10 (.375) | 3–0 (1.000) |
| 248 | Incarnate Word | Southland | T–7th | 9–11 (.450) | 13–16 (.448) | 17–16 (.515) | 245 | 258 | 248 | 257 | 249 | 276 | 237 | 4–10 (.286) | 2–1 (.667) | 11–5 (.688) | 0–2 (.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–6 (.000) | 13–7 (.650) | 4–0 (1.000) |
| 252 | Northern Arizona | Big Sky | T–6th | 8–10 (.444) | 14–15 (.483) | 18–15 (.545) | 247 | 248 | 247 | 277 | 248 | 276 | 235 | 7–8 (.467) | 1–2 (.333) | 10–5 (.667) | 0–0 (–) | 0–2 (.000) | 1–7 (.125) | 13–6 (.684) | 4–0 (1.000) |
| 295 | Army | Patriot | T–3rd | 10–8 (.556) | 14–15 (.483) | 16–15 (.516) | 312 | 301 | 324 | 286 | 307 | 276 | 231 | 4–11 (.267) | 0–0 (–) | 12–4 (.750) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–3 (.000) | 14–10 (.583) | 2–0 (1.000) |
| * Ineligible for NCAA-sponsored postseason play, including the NCAA tournament and the NIT, due to being within reclassification period for transition from NCAA Division II. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Game | Time | Matchup | Score | Television | Attendance | Box Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round – Sunday, March 23 | ||||||
| 1 | 12:00 pm | Manhattan vs. Incarnate Word | 85–92 | FloCollege | 832 | [24] |
| 2 | 2:00 pm | Elon vs. Army | 78–83 | [25] | ||
| 3 | 4:30 pm | Queens vs. Northern Arizona | 85–78 | [26] | ||
| 4 | 6:30 pm | Illinois State vs. Presbyterian | 78–70 | [27] | ||
| Quarterfinals – Monday, March 24 | ||||||
| 5 | 12:00 pm | Jacksonville vs. Incarnate Word | 71–87 | FloCollege | 611 | [28] |
| 6 | 2:00 pm | Florida Gulf Coast vs. Army | 68–65 | [29] | ||
| 7 | 4:00 pm | Cleveland State vs. Queens | 88–73 | [30] | ||
| Semifinals – Tuesday, March 25 | ||||||
| 8 | 7:00 pm | Illinois State vs. Incarnate Word | 78–73 | ESPNU | 632 | [31] |
| 9 | 9:00 pm | Florida Gulf Coast vs. Cleveland State | 65–72 | [32] | ||
| Final – Wednesday, March 26 | ||||||
| 10 | 5:00 pm | Illinois State vs. Cleveland State | 79–68 | ESPN2 | 541 | [33] |
| Game times Eastern Daylight Saving Time; # denotes tournament seed. [34] | ||||||
| First round March 23 FloCollege | Quarterfinals March 24 FloCollege | Semifinals March 25 ESPNU | Final March 26 ESPN2 | |||||||||||||||
| Illinois State | 78 | |||||||||||||||||
| Presbyterian | 70 | Illinois State | 78 | |||||||||||||||
| Incarnate Word | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| Jacksonville | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
| Manhattan | 85 | Incarnate Word | 87 | |||||||||||||||
| Incarnate Word | 92 | Illinois State | 79 | |||||||||||||||
| Cleveland State | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| Florida Gulf Coast | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| Elon | 78 | Army | 65 | |||||||||||||||
| Army | 83 | Florida Gulf Coast | 65 | |||||||||||||||
| Cleveland State | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland State | 88 | |||||||||||||||||
| Queens | 85 | Queens | 73 | |||||||||||||||
| Northern Arizona | 78 | |||||||||||||||||