The 2021 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) was a single-elimination men's college basketball tournament consisting of eight National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that did not participate in the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament or the NIT. It was held from March 22 to 24. This event marked the 13th year the tournament has been held, after the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2021, the CBI was reported to be exploring holding its annual postseason tournament in a neutral site format rather than on campus. Subsequently, the site was announced as being the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. Pepperdine won the tournament.
Participating teams The 2021 bracket was unveiled on March 15. For the 2021 event the championship game was a single game instead of a three game series.
TeamConferenceOverall recordConference recordAppearancesLast bidArmyPatriot12–97–71stNeverBellarmineA-Sun13–710–31stNeverBowling GreenMAC14–1110–81stNeverBryantNEC15–610–42nd2013Coastal CarolinaSun Belt16–79–53rd2019LongwoodBig South12–1610–102nd2019PepperdineWest Coast12–127–63rd2016StetsonA-Sun11–147–91stNever
Declined invitations Marshall UTSA Washington State
Schedule Date Time* Matchup Television Score Attendance Quarterfinals March 22 11:30 am Stetson vs. Bowling GreenFloSports 53–52 101 2:30 pm Coastal Carolina vs. Bryant 93–82 75 5:30 pm Longwood vs. Pepperdine 66–80 102 8:30 pm Bellarmine vs. Army 77–67 601 Semifinals March 23 5:30 pm Stetson vs. Coastal CarolinaFloSports 72–77OT 8:00 pm Pepperdine vs. Bellarmine 82–71 286 Championship March 24 8:00 pm Coastal Carolina vs. Pepperdine FloSports 61–84 193*All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4). Winning team in bold.
Bracket
* Denotes overtime period.
References