UC Riverside earned a bid to the men’s NIT, after finishing 21–12 and in third place of a strong Big West conference. The Highlanders are set to face No. 2 seed Santa Clara on Tuesday, March 18 to begin NIT play.
There’s one bit of confusion surrounding Riverside’s NIT bid, however. They were also announced as a participant in the CBI, another annual postseason tournament.
The CBI announced its 12-team field, with the Highlanders earning a bye to the quarterfinals, where they are scheduled to play the winner of Northern Arizona vs. Queens.
UCR still appears on the announced brackets for both events:
She’s a beaut 🥲
Who do we have cutting down the nets in Indy? #NIT2025 pic.twitter.com/Xn4eaX1dar
— NIT (@NITMBB) March 17, 2025
🚨🚨YOUR 2025 CBI BRACKET IS HERE 🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/hTciyufBbz
— Purple CBI (@CBITourney) March 16, 2025
Riverside initially announced that it had accepted the CBI invitation with a post to X and a news release, both of which have since been deleted.
So far, the program has not followed up with clarification. Neither tournament has adjusted its bracket or made an announcement with regard to the apparent double-booking. UC Riverside’s official schedule does not feature any additional games, but its profile on ESPN.com features both its opening NIT and CBI games on March 18 and 24, respectively.
Naturally, college hoops fans are having a blast with the situation on an eventful Selection Sunday.
UC Riverside is listed in the field for both the NIT and the CBI. What makes this especially confusing is that it’s well documented that for Highlanders, there can only be one. pic.twitter.com/wIO9J9dD9p
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) March 17, 2025
UC Riverside was announced by the CBI, but then took a NIT berth. The article in this tweet now redirects to a “not found” page. pic.twitter.com/MBzgA7dOSN
— Matt Sarzyniak (@mattsarz) March 17, 2025
UC RIVERSIDE IS IN BOTH THE NIT AND CBI OH MY GOD https://t.co/kWl0LDwCCm
— Sam Federman (@Sam_Federman) March 17, 2025
NIT or CBI… why not both?
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