Once the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament field are announced on Selection Sunday, it’s a mad dash for the other tournaments to fill out their available slots, and sometimes in all that chaos, mistakes happen, but that doesn’t mean that they should. At least that’s the feeling of South Alabama head coach Richie Riley, who had his team’s season abruptly end over a scheduling snafu.
The NIT, CBI, and new College Basketball Crown compete for the remaining teams, and the rising number of programs that opt out of postseason competition only adds to the confusion. That’s how on Sunday evening, UC Riverside was announced as a participant in both the NIT and the CBI, which aside from being a logistical nightmare, is simply not allowed.
As the NIT realized that UC Riverside had accepted an invite to the CBI, it extended an invitation to South Alabama, which accepted the spot in the field, only to have the invitation rescinded after the NIT learned that UC Riverside planned to accept its invite to play in the NIT.
The mistake reportedly occurred because the NIT did not communicate with UC Riverside after the Highlanders were knocked out of the Big West Tournament earlier last week, so the program did not expect to be included in the field, and did not know that it was until the NIT released its bracket on Sunday evening.
After getting its hopes up of a postseason tournament berth, the CBI did not fill the Highlanders’ vacated spot in the field, instead opting to play with 11 teams and South Alabama’s season came to a shocking, confusing, and disappointing end. But hey, at least they got an apology from the NIT!
— NIT (@NITMBB) March 17, 2025
However, Riley did feel that their apology was heartfelt enough for his taste.
A meaningless apology to the most meaningful group of players I’ve ever coached! What they did to us last night is inexcusable! These guys in our locker room don’t deserve this and it’s sad your idea of making it right is a copy and paste apology! https://t.co/NnxXPOYDSX
— Richie Riley (@USAJagsCoachRR) March 17, 2025
South Alabama finished as the regular season champs in the Sun Belt Conference but was knocked out of the conference tournament by Arkansas State in the semifinals. It was the third 20-win season for Riley across his seven-year tenure, but he has yet to take the Jaguars to the NCAA Tournament. The best solution to a scheduling snafu like this might be just to win the Sun Belt tourney and punch a ticket to the Big Dance instead. Maybe next year…