Questions About ETSU Basketball Arise After Disappointing CIT Loss

If ever there was a reason to NOT have ancillary basketball tournaments, it was shown yesterday in Freedom Hall.

East Tennessee State essentially paid $25,000 to showcase Wisconsin-Green Bay star Sandy Cohen III.

Cohen was easily the most stylish player ETSU played this season

From playing without three starters to ETSU head coach Steve Forbes’ absence due to the passing of his father Lowell, many of the circumstances surrounding ETSU’s 102–94 loss to the Phoenix were unforeseen, but still could have been prevented.

The CIT, or collegeinsider.com tournament, is essentially for teams in smaller conferences. This year the American, Atlantic 10, Big East and Mountain West conferences were excluded.

And that’s the thing. While nobody will ever confuse the Southern Conference with the ACC, the CIT appears to be more of a field for the college basketball equivalent of Cosmo Kramer’s karate opponents.

Everyone in the CIT is at the same skill level, Jerry.

If the Southern Conference wishes to become the next Atlantic 10, then perhaps they should not play in a tournament the A-10 feels it is above, as no A-10 member save for Fordham in 2016 has ever played in the CIT.