More on UC in the CBI

I just talked to Evan Olesh, director of communications for The Gazelle Group, which is putting the CBI together. I asked him why UC was attractive for his tournament given the fact that the Bearcats have a 13-18 record and a six-game losing streak that included a 45-point loss at UConn.

"There were a lot of factors that went into almost every team being in the tournament," Olesh said. "One of the factors from Cincinnati is that they did express high interest in wanting their team to continue to play. They wanted their seniors to hopefully go out on a high note.

"We were thrilled to have them. We understand they had a down year but we like the name Cincinnati. The way the NIT bracket panned out they took a lot of teams they normally would not have in the past. It put us in an almost awkward situation in filling our bracket but we like the way it turned out."

Olesh said that UC is on the road because UC officials requested not to host any games. He also said that UC and the other schools will be paid only their expenses, so the school doesn't stand to make any money off this deal.