USD Will Play in the CIT

Feb 6, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Members of the San Diego Toreros dance team perform during a time in the second half against the San Francisco Dons at Jenny Craig Pavillion. The Dons won 74-67. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The University of San Diego received some fantastic news tonight as it learned that the Toreros would be playing in the CollegeInsider.com College Basketball Tournament, otherwise known as the CIT.

San Diego will host a first round game at Jenny Craig Pavilion against a team to be determined later.

For those unaware, the CIT is a 32 team tournament that is two notches below the NCAA tournament and one notch below the National Invitation Tournament. It is one the same level as the CBI tournament, but the difference is that the CIT only invites mid-majors while the CBI accepts major conference teams.

San Diego joins Nebraska-Omaha, Brown, Valparaiso and Murray State in teams that have already accepted invites into the CIT.

USD had a relatively disappointing season, going 7-11 in conference play and 16-16 overall. Bill Grier was highly rumored to be on the hot seat, but an appearance in postseason play could help save his job. The Toreros were the six seed in the WCC tournament this weekend, and fell to third seeded USF by a score of 69-60.

According to the U-T San Diego newspaper, USD aggressively pursued to host a first round game in the CIT. The same source reported that it costs a school $36,000 to host a game.

In terms of an opponent, it will likely be a West Coast team due to small travel costs. Their opponent will likely not be known until after selection Sunday.