10-03-2025
Bradley mulls over postseason, ISU accepts CBI invite
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — While Bradley mulls over its postseason options, Illinois State is headed to Florida to play.
ISU accepted an invite to the College Basketball Invitional on Monday, the school announced. The Redbirds will play in the 16-team CBI in which runs March 22-26 in Daytona Beach.
The Redbirds (19-14) last played in the CBI in 2014, winning two games in the tournament. The CBI field will be announced Sunday night after the NCAA and National Invitation Tournament (NIT) brackets are determined.
Bradley appears poised to play in its third straight NIT berth but head coach Brian Wardle says his team needs time to consider its next move. Drake beat Bradley, 63-48, in the Missouri Valley Conference title game Sunday denying the Braves the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Bradley's 26-8 record makes it attractive to the NIT even though the Braves were chasing their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019.
'We know that's probably not happening, we are realists,' Bradley coach Brian Wardle said of his team's NCAA Tournament chances. 'We'll take a couple of days and re-evaluate where we are as a team. Right now, we are too emotional to have thoughts about what will happen down the road.'
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