The basketball season will continue for Duquesne after the Dukes received an invitation Sunday night to the 16-team College Basketball Invitational. The Dukes (20-12) are seeded No. 5 and will play No. 12 Rice (18-15) at 1 p.m. next Sunday.
All games in the single-elimination tournament will be played at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., from Saturday through March 22. Yahoo Sports reported that the CBI entry fee is $27,500.
If Duquesne defeats Rice, the Dukes will play March 20 against the winner of the Southern Utah/North Alabama game. Rice was 15-5 on Jan. 26, but lost 10 of its final 13 games, including an 87-60 decision to UAB in the quarterfinal round of the Conference USA Tournament.
Here is the 2023 bracket pic.twitter.com/kY7VNLvTOB
— The CBI (@CBITourney) March 13, 2023
Duquesne’s appearance in the CBI will be the Dukes’ sixth postseason trip in 42 years, and the first under coach Keith Dambrot. The Dukes haven’t been to the postseason since 2016 when they defeated Nebraska-Omaha, 120-112, in a CBI first-round game at the Palumbo Center.
“This team has worked hard all year and earned the opportunity to participate in postseason play,” Dambrot said in a statement released by the university. “We look forward to competing for a championship.”
Despite an 81-70 loss to La Salle on Wednesday in its first Atlantic 10 Tournament game, Duquesne recorded its third 20-victory season since joining the conference in 1983.
Duquesne also played in the CBI in 2010 and 2011. It most recently played in the NIT in 2009, and hasn’t earned an NCAA Tournament invitation since 1977.
First-round and quarterfinal CBI games will be broadcast by FloHoops, and the semifinals and championship game will air live on ESPN2.
