Huskies will host Valparaiso in CBI tournament

Washington's season will go on and the Huskies can only hope it lasts as long as the selection process Sunday.

After being told early Sunday night that they would host a game in the new 16-team College Basketball Invitational, it wasn't until almost 11 p.m. that the Huskies found out they would host Valparaiso Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Edmundson Pavilion.

Announcements were delayed throughout the night as the CBI worked to finalize the pairings of its first tournament.

UW received a No. 1 seed in the West Region and if the Huskies advance, they will play the winner of a game between Nevada and Houston in the second round.

If the Huskies advance out of their region they will play the winner of the East, which consists of Virginia, Richmond, Old Dominion and Rider.

UW coach Lorenzo Romar told reporters before knowing of his team's opponent that the Huskies were merely happy to play again.

"We get to play a couple of extra games, hopefully, and we get to practice more and be together more so we are excited that they want us to be a part of it,'' he said.

Valparaiso finished 21-13 overall this year and 9-9 and fourth in the Horizon League, which was won by Butler.

The Huskies entered Sunday with faint hope for an NIT bid, the team watching some of that selection show before practicing Sunday night.

But when that didn't come they weren't surprised.

UW is 16-16 after losing to Cal 84-81 in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament in Los Angeles last Wednesday.

That loss might have kept the Huskies out of the NIT as the Bears were awarded a berth in the NIT despite finishing at 6-12 in Pac-10 conference play compared to UW's 7-11. Cal, however, beat UW two of three times and had a better overall record at 16-15.

Asked about the NIT, Romar said he felt UW belonged last year when it was snubbed despite a 19-13 record but that he had no comment on being left out this year.

The CBI is being run by The Gazelle Group, which has organized a number of pre-season tournaments such as the Black Coaches Association Classic, which UW hosted in 2006.

It was formed as a reaction to the NIT reducing its field from 40 to 32 teams after it was taken over by the NCAA. The NIT also now is required to invite all regular season champions that don't make the NCAA Tournament.

A few schools were apparently scared away by a requirement that all host teams share at least $60,000 of their proceeds with the CBI. However, UW officials said last week they could make that work.

The tournament gained some additional credibility last week when it announced a TV deal with Fox College Sports. Eleven games out of a possible 17 will be televised.

The tournament will feature a best-of-three final, trading off at home sites, meaning the two finalists could play six more games.

NOTE

Jon Brockman did not take part in UW's practice Sunday. Romar said his injured ankle has improved enough that he can walk without a limp but that it's still uncertain if he would be able to play Wednesday, calling him "day-to-day.''

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com