Panthers play the waiting game

As the little dances plunge forward and March Madness gets in full swing, the Milwaukee Panthers are playing the waiting game to see where they'll be playing in the postseason next week.

The Panthers are obviously out for the NCAA Tournament, and the NIT is well out of our grasp as well. But the Panthers will definitely be playing in the CBI or CIT, with the former being the all-but-confirmed destination for the Black and Gold.

An appearance in the CBI would be a decent cap for the careers of Tony Meier, Kaylon Williams and Ryan Allen, three players who tore their hearts out for this university and deserve a better finish than the Butler fiasco in Valparaiso.

Milwaukee has never appeared in the CBI or CIT, third-tier tournaments that began play in 2008 and 2009, respectively, to recognize the growing need for postseason play with Division I participation ballooning to 350 schools.

The College Basketball Invitational is entering its fifth season, and the programs have shown that they benefit from playing in the tournament The best case of this is VCU, who went from winning the CBI in 2010 to making a Final Four appearance last April.

Other teams rumored to play in the CBI include Butler and Cleveland State from the Horizon League, Minnesota from the Big Ten and Evansville of the MVC. Missouri State, Iowa and Tulsa have both come out and made declarations that they would not accept a bid to the CBI or CIT if offered.

The possibility remains that the Panthers could decide to play in the 24-team CollegeInsider.com Tournament this year, although it is unlikely. The CIT has confirmed 17 of the 24 bids to the tournament.

PantherU is keeping a running tally of teams that have been projected and accepted bids to the NIT, CBI and CIT on the forum.

All things considered, I would definitely be in favor of making a push for the CBI instead of the CIT, based on teams alone. The CIT has been leaning towards being the "low-major" tournament, with only Indiana State, Oakland, Georgia State, Old Dominion and Illinois State being what I would call mid-majors.

The NCAA Selection Show is tomorrow at 5 p.m. central time, which will be followed immediately by the NIT selecting teams for its tournament, then a mad scramble by the CBI and CIT to pick up the pieces left behind. By Monday morning, all four tournaments should be set.