By Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Basketball Beat Reporter
Photo via Titus Wilkinson of The Spear
San Jose State men’s basketball (20-13, 10-8 MW) looks to clinch the first postseason victory in program history over Southern Indiana in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). The game will be played this Saturday at 12:30 PST in Daytona Beach, Fl., and can be seen on Flo Hoops.
It’s the Spartans’ first postseason appearance since making the CBI in 2011, where they lost in the first round to Creighton 85-74.
They come in as the No. 2 seed and the Eagles are the No. 15 seed. The CBI features 16 teams and is single elimination.
Many fans hoped for SJSU to make its first NIT since 1981 after they celebrated the first Mountain West Tournament victory of all time, an 81-77 defeat in overtime over Nevada. The Wolf Pack was one of four Mountain West teams to earn an NCAA Tournament bid.
Led by Mountain West Player of the Year Omari Moore and Mountain West Coach of the Year Tim Miles, SJSU celebrated its first 20-win season since 1981 and first double-digit conference win season since 1994.
Their rapid turnaround under Miles has culminated in one of college basketball’s best storylines.
When Miles inherited SJSU in 2021, they were 20-93 in its past four seasons under Jean Prioleau and won a combined seven total conference games. In the 2021-22 season, SJSU went 8-23 with one conference win and was 333rd in the NET.
Meanwhile, Southern Indiana (16-16, 9-9 OHVC) is in its first year as a Division I program and is led by head coach Stan Goaurd.
The Spartans are ranked 177 spots higher in Kenpom and 124 spots higher in the NET than the Eagles.
A loss for SJSU in the CIB would be considered a massive upset and a disappointing ending to a historic regular season.