For the second consecutive year, the Seattle University men’s basketball team will compete in a national postseason tournament, as the Redhawks have accepted an invitation to participate in the 2016 College Basketball Invitational.
Seattle U will host the University of Idaho in a first round game Wednesday, March 16, starting at 7 p.m. at the renovated Connolly Complex on campus. Tickets for the game will go on sale Monday, March 14, starting at 10 a.m. by contacting the Seattle U Athletics Ticket Office at 206-398-GOSU (4678).
Last season, before sellout crowds at the Connolly Complex, Seattle U defeated Pepperdine (62-45) and Colorado (72-65) to advance to the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational, where they lost to eventual tournament champion Loyola Chicago. Another sellout is expected in the new-look Connolly Complex, so fans are encouraged to reserve their tickets early.
Seattle U finished fourth in the Western Athletic Conference regular season standings with a 7-7 league record, including a victory at postseason participant Grand Canyon. The Redhawks defeated UT Rio Grande Valley, 75-52, this past Thursday to reach the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, where they lost to eventual tournament champion CSU Bakersfield.
Idaho brings a 21-12 record into Wednesday’s game, advancing to the semifinals of the Big Sky Tournament before losing to Montana. The Vandals have won seven of their last nine games as they posted a 12-6 record within the Big Sky Conference, good enough to finish in third place in the final regular season standings. Victor Sanders is the Vandals’ leading scorer, averaging 16.2 points per game, with Perrion Callandret contributing 13.9 points per contest.
Seattle U and Idaho were conference foes within the WAC for two seasons and have faced each other numerous times since Cameron Dollar took over as head coach of the Redhawks. Overall, this will be the 31st meeting between the Pacific Northwest schools, with Seattle U opening a 16-14 advantage by sweeping the season series from the Vandals in 2013-14. The Redhawks prevailed in Moscow, Idaho, on Feb. 1, 2014, 68-67, and then won the rematch at KeyArena March 1, 2014, 76-68.
With Seattle U’s inclusion in the CBI, half of the Western Athletic Conference’s men’s basketball teams will be participating in postseason play. CSU Bakersfield earned the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament by winning the WAC Tournament and will face Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, Okla., Friday, March 18, at 3 p.m. local time. As WAC regular season champion, New Mexico State received a berth into the National Invitational Tournament, where it will face Saint Mary’s in the first round Tuesday, March 15, at 8 p.m. Pacific Time. Grand Canyon brings a 25-6 record into the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, where it will host South Carolina State in the first round Monday, March 14, at 7 p.m.
This is the 16th time in Seattle University’s Division I history that the men’s basketball team has competed in a national postseason tournament, including 11 NCAA Tournaments, 2 NITs, the 1951 National Catholic Tournament, and this being the second College Basketball Invitational.