Looking for More Postseason Success with Four Games on Wednesday

Horizon League Men's Basketball Weekly Release (March 18)

Men's Basketball Schedule: March 20 (all times EST)
College Basketball Invitational
Tulsa at Wright State -- 7 p.m., HLN
CollegeInsider.com Tournament
Chicago State at UIC -- 8 p.m.
Green Bay at Bradley -- 8 p.m.
National Invitational Tournament
No. 6 Detroit at No. 3 Arizona State -- 10 p.m., ESPNU

INDIANAPOLIS -- The college basketball postseason takes on a distinct Horizon League flavor tonight as four teams make their respective debuts across three tournaments.

The conference put a record six teams into the postseason this year and is looking to build off of Youngstown State's win over Oakland last night, the Penguins' first tournament appearance at the Division I level. After tonight, tournament champion Valparaiso will be the only qualifying team yet to make its 2013 postseason debut.

Tournament runner-up Wright State gets Wednesday night's action started, hosting Tulsa at 7 p.m. EST in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational. The Golden Hurricane won the inaugural CBI in 2008 and will be making its first appearance since.

The Raiders, meanwhile, are playing in just their third Divison I postseason tournament, having appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 1993 and 2007. This will be the first men's basketball tournament game held at the Nutter Center.

Wright State and Tulsa have faced off only once before, when the Golden Hurricane hosted the Raiders during the 2004 Preseason NIT. Wright State won 72-66 in overtime.

Tonight's contest will be streamed on HLN.

Wednesday night's action continues with a pair of CollegeInsider.com Tournament games featuring UIC and Green Bay, both at 8 p.m. EST.

The Flames host in-city foe Chicago State in UIC's first postseason appearance since 2004 and the first-ever tournament game at the Pavilion. UIC appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 1998, 2002 and 2004 and the NIT in 2003 but is 0-4 in the postseason. This is Chicago State's first-ever postseason berth.

The Cougars hold a 34-28 advantage in the all-time series between the schools and are currently coached by former Flames standout Tracy Dildy, who still ranks 10th on UIC's career assists list and also spent several seasons on the school's coaching staff.

The series dates back to the 1947-48 season, but this will be the first time the teams have faced off since 2005. During the regular season, UIC went 4-3 against in-state opponents.

Green Bay opens the tournament on the road against Bradley. The Phoenix is making its CIT debut after four appearances in the NCAA Tournament and two apiece in the NIT and CBI. The Braves are making their 35th postseason appearance, the most out of any Missouri Valley Conference school.

Bradley has won at least one game in each of its past four postseason tournaments, but interestingly hold just a 1-3 record on March 20, with the only win coming in 1950.

Green Bay and Bradley will be going head-to-head for just the second time ever. In 1973, the host Braves took advantage of 20 Phoenix turnovers in a 66-60 win.

CollegeInsider.com will carry a live stream of both Chicago State vs. UIC and Green Bay vs. Bradley.

Detroit wraps up the Horizon League postseason action on Wednesday with a 10 p.m. EST tip at Arizona State in the National Invitational Tournament. The Titans are a No. 6 seed in the 32-team field, while ASU is a No. 3 seed.

This is the seventh NIT appearance for Detroit and first since 2002. Arizona State has made 11 appearances in the tournament, most recently in 2010.

The Titans and Sun Devils have met three times before, with ASU leading the series 2-1, but Detroit won the most recent meeting 71-66 at the ASU Tribune Classic in 1995.

Tonight's game will feature a pair of premire point guards in Detroit's Ray McCallum and Arizona State freshman Jahii Carson. McCallum was named the Horizon League Player of the Year after averaging at conference-best 18.8 points per game and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 49.6 from the floor (sixth in the Horizon League) and adding 4.5 assists per game (second). Carson, meanwhile, leads all freshman in scoring with 18.3 ppg and ranks in the top 10 nationally amongst freshman in minutes per game (37.2), free throws attempted (185), free throws made (135) and assists per game (5.0).

The matchup will be broadcast live on ESPNU.