CBI 2011 Championship: Oregon Wins Best-Of-Three Finals With 71-69 Victory

It was a wild and controversial finish in the third and final game of the CBI Championship series on Friday night at Matt Court in Eugene. Any fan who’s seen the Ducks’ new court knew what transpired would happen eventually, but the Creighton Bluejays were struck with a bit of bad luck, thanks to the oddly painted basketball court, in the final moments of the Championship. Creighton was called for a backcourt violation with 19 seconds to go -- thanks to the invisible halfcourt line -- giving the Ducks a chance to win it all with the game tied at 69.

Oregon took advantage as E.J. Singler buried a buzzer-beater to give the Ducks a 71-69 win in the final game of the series. The Ducks became the second team in the state to win a CBI Championship, joining 2009 winner Oregon State. Creighton took the first game of the series on its home floor before Oregon took the final two in Eugene, capped by Friday night’s thriller.

Oregon shot a scorching 53.4 percent from the floor and had control for most of the contest. An 8-0 burst capped by Catron’s layup made the score 25-16 with just under five minutes left in the first half, and another layup pushed the margin to 31-19 about two minutes later. Creighton scored just five points in the final six-plus minutes, and saw a one-point deficit turn to a 35-21 game at the half.

For more on this game Oregon fans should check out Addicted To Quack.

Creighton spoiled former coach Dana Altman’s return with an 84-76 victory over Oregon in Game one of the College Basketball Invitational championship series.

Doug McDermott led the way with 21 points including nine straight giving Creighton a 58-41 lead with just over four minutes to go in the second half. Gregory Jones tossed in 15 points while Jahenns Manigat and Josh Jones had 11 apiece.

For more on this game, visit Addicted To Quack.

The 2011 College Basketball Invitational has reached its next stage, and the teams that advanced include Oregon and Duquense. The two teams will do battle in one game on Monday, March 21, with three other games scheduled that day in the quarterfinal portion of the CBI bracket.

The field of 16 teams that could not reach the NCAA Tournament or NIT was whittled down to eight earlier last week. The quarterfinals will be played on Monday, with the semifinals on Wednesday. The championship will be a best-of-three series March 28-30. Two of the quarterfinal games will be broadcasted on HDNET.

The field for the 2011 College Basketball Invitational has been set, and the CBI bracket is highlighted by Oregon, the University of Central Florida, James Madison, and a number of other teams that weren’t quite good enough to make the NCAA Tournament (or NIT), but should make for some compelling matchups over the next few weeks.

The schedule begins on Tuesday, March 15, when James Madison will play at Davidson, San Jose State will play at Creighton, Austin Peay will play at Boise State, and Hofstra plays at Evansville.