Michigan is too good for the CBI.
The D-grade, 16-team postseason tournament won’t be having Michigan as a participant so long as John Beilein is coaching the team.
“We do not have an interest in that tournament,” Beilein said. “We’re not interested in the CBI tournament this particular year.”
That tournament. So elitist. So Michigan.
Still — so welcomed. More on that in a sec.
If you’re thinking, Why not NIT? Well, it’s because, for all the crap that’s been thrown the NIT’s way in the past decade, it’s done a decent job at keeping itself in a decent format. Regular-season conference winners get auto bids if they don’t reach the NCAAs, teams get rewarded games on their campuses until the final four, and you can’t play in the NIT if you’re below .500 and playing non-D-I schools don’t count (just as they don’t in Tournament selection by the Selection Committee) toward overall record.
So right now, Michigan’s a 13-16 team due to the season-opening win against Northern Michigan, which isn’t a D-I school. It needs to win four games to get above .500, which would mean an auto berth to The Dance, anyway.
Gotta applaud Michigan for doing this. In a time where so much talk is focused on including more teams, for a coach to not accept a bid is refreshing, even if it isn’t trailblazing; schools have declined bids like this in the past.
Michigan not interested in CBI bid {AnnArbor.com}
