If Purdue is going to play in this College Basketball Invitational there are two things I want to see:

1. They might as well try to win it, because losing it would be more embarrassing.

2. I am going to get a ton of page hits thanks to SEO search terms and degenerate gamblers.

The only College Basketball Postseason Tournament featuring our Purdue boilermakers got underway tonight while I was at Bankers Life Fieldhouse watching E`Twaun Moore with the Magic. There were a total of three games going on.

George Mason 78, College of Charleston 77 - Erik Copes made a tip-in at the buzzer to give the Patriots a road win over the Cougars. Charleston was scoreless in the final 1:48 and led 77-71 before giving up a 7-0 run to close. All five George Mason starters were in double figures led by Sherrod Wright with 20.

Wyoming 67, Lehigh 66 - In another game with an exciting ending Gabe Knutson scored on a driving layup with six second left to put the Mountain Hawks in front, but the Cowboys beat the buzzer at the other end on a three-pointer by Nathan Sobey for the win.

Santa Clara 77, Vermont 67- The Broncos had 50 points in the second half to break a halftime tie. Kevin Foster had 23 and Marc Trasolini 20 as Santa Clara earned the right to face the Purdue-Western Illinois winner. Given that barely more than 1,000 people showed up I would bet Purdue hosts the next round, as we're much more likely to be able to make up the cash needed to host.