Pacific Becomes 2nd WCC Team in CIT Field

Feb 13, 2014; Stockton, CA, USA; Pacific Tigers fans hold up signs during the second half of the game against the Brigham Young Cougars at Alex G. Spanos Center. The Pacific Tigers defeated the Brigham Young Cougars 89-82. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

A second WCC team will represent the West Coast Conference in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, or CIT, and that team is Pacific.

The school announced that it had accepted an invite to play in the postseason tournament and that they will travel down to Arizona to take on the Grand Canyon Antelopes. Grand Canyon is playing in its first year at the division-1 level.

According to a school release, the game will take place at 7:00 p.m PST on Wednesday, Mar 19.

It is a bit surprising that the Tigers were invited to postseason play considering the Tigers underwhelming eighth place finish in the WCC standings. However, a relatively high RPI – 137 – is likely the primary reason why the Tigers’ season continues on.

Pacific are somewhat familiar with the CIT, as this is will be its third time playing in the six-year-old tournament. In 2008-2009, the Tigers advanced to the semifinals, only to lose to Bradley. Pacific was defeated by Missouri State 78-69 in the championship game of the 2009-2010 tournament.

For those that are unaware, the CIT is one notch below the NIT and two notches below the NCAA tournament. The CIT and the CBI are often considered one and the same, but the difference between the two is that the CIT only invites mid-majors while any division-I team can play in the CBI.

Yesterday night, San Diego announced it would play in the CIT, expect they will pay money to host a first round game. Their opponent is yet to be announced.

The following teams have already accepted invites into the 32 team field: San Diego, Holy Cross, Missouri State, Murray State, Nebraska-Omaha, Brown, VMI, Valparaiso, Grand Canyon and East Tennessee State.