No. 7 Akron (26-8, 14-14 MAC) vs. No. 2 Houston (21-10, 12-6 American)
Houston, Tex. // H&PE Arena // 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Live Stats | Watch LIVE on WatchESPN
Akron: Akron earned its second consecutive NIT bid, seventh all-time, after a 26-8 overall record and back-to-back Mid-American Conference regular-season championships. The Zips are making their fifth appearance under Dambrot with a 2-4 record and 2-6 all-time. Akron has made 12 Division I postseason appearances, including the nine of the last 10 seasons. Akron has won at least 21 games in 12-straight seasons under 13th-year head coach Keith Dambrot, something only a handful of Division I programs have accomplished. In fact, Akron, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, and Ohio State are the only programs to post 11-straight 21-win seasons, and of those five teams, Akron (26-8), Gonzaga (32-1), Kansas (28-4), and Duke (27-8) are the only programs to accomplish that feat this year - Ohio State (17-15). Four Zips are averaging double figures in scoring led by Johnson's 16.7 points per game while fellow senior Kwan Cheatham, Jr. is tied for second with 11.1 points per game as Antino Jackson also averages 11.1 points. Jimond Ivey rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10.1 points per game. Noah Robotham and Josh Williams follow closely with 8.9 and 7.4 points, respectively.
Houston: Houston enters the contest after a 74-65 loss to UConn in the American Conference championship game. The Cougars finished aremaking their 11th NIT appearance and fourth under coach Sampson. Houston is 5-10 all-time in the NIT and 2-3 under Sampson. Houston has two players averaging double figures in scoring and both players are first team All-American selections. Rob Gray leads the team in scoring with 20.5 points per outing. Damyean Dotson follows with 17.3 points per night on 47.0 percent shooting from the floor (196-of-417).
Ball State (21-12, 11-7 MAC) vs. Fort Wayne (19-12, 8-8 Summit)
Fort Wayne, Ind. // Gates Sports Center // 7:00 p.m. ET (Facebook Live)
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Ball State: Ball State makes its second straight postseason appearance with a return to the CIT. BSU also played in the CIT last year, reaching the quarterfinals before falling at eventual champion Columbia. Ball State's 21 wins this season are tied for the seventh-most in program history (BSU also won 21 games last season). The Cardinals have won six of their past eight games after finishing the regular season strong and then splitting two games at the MAC Tournament. Redshirt freshman forward Tahjai Teague scored a career-high 19 points in the semifinals. Junior guard Francis Kiapway led BSU over two tournament games with 14.0 points per, while senior forward Franko House averaged a near double-double at 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds.
Fort Wayne: Fort Wayne tied for fourth in the Summit League standings and lost to Omaha in the quarterfinals of its conference tournament. The Mastodons feature four double-figure scorers, led by Mo Evans at 16.8 points per game. All-Summit League performer John Konchar averages 15.3 points and 8.9 rebounds while shooting 64.3 percent from the floor.
Toledo (17-16, 9-9 MAC) vs. George Washington (19-14, 10-8 Atlantic 10)
Toledo, Ohio // Charles E.Smith Center // 7:00 p.m. ET (GWSports.com)
Live Stats | Watch on GWSports.com
Toledo: Toledo is making its first appearance in the CBI and in its 14th postseason tournament in program history. The winner of the Rockets-Colonials matchup will face either Stony Brook or UIC on Monday, March 20. UT has appeared in the NCAA Tournament on four occasions (last in 1980), the National Invitation Tournament eight times (last in 2014) and the CIT once in 2012. UT is making its thjrd postseason appearance under Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk. The Rockets posted a 1-1 mark in the 2012 CIT and lost to Southern Mississippi in the 2014 NIT. Senior Jonathan Williams ranks third in the MAC with a team-high 19.6 ppg. He also leads UT with an 81.7 FT%, 138 FTs made and 169 FTs attempted and averaged 3.7 apg in league play. Senior Steve Taylor, Jr. ranks second in team scoring with 15.2 ppg to go along with a MAC-best 12.4 rpg and a team-high 3.8 apg. He is third nationally in rebounding (through March 13) and leads the country with 10.0 defensive rpg (ahead of Purdue's Caleb Swanigan 9.9 mark). In addition, Taylor's 23 double-doubles rank third in the nation.
George Washington: George Washington saw its season-high six-game winning streak end with a 70-67 loss to Richmond last Friday in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals.Senior forward Tyler Cavanaugh leads the Colonials with 17.8 ppg and 8.4 rpg. Junior guard Yula Watanabe is also scoring in double digits with 12.1 ppg.
