Cullowhee, N.C. – Catamount men's basketball will play in the postseason for just the fourth time in program history as Western Carolina has accepted a bid to play in the 2023 Discount Tire College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
 
The 15th installment of the tournament will be held March 18-22, 2023, at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. Seeding and WCU's first-round opponent will be unveiled on Sunday, March 12.
 
"We are excited to receive and accept the invitation to play in the Discount Tire College Basketball Invitational," said WCU second-year head coach Justin Gray. "Postseason play gives our team the opportunity to continue to grow, get better together, and compete for a championship."
 
The Discount Tire CBI, which has been around since 2008, is a single-elimination, fully bracketed men's basketball postseason tournament featuring 16 teams from across the country competing for a championship in Florida. The field will consist of teams not selected for the NCAA Tournament or NIT. The opening and quarterfinal rounds will be broadcast on FloHoops (paid subscription required) with the semifinals and championship game slated to be broadcast on ESPN2. Any additional broadcast information will be made available after the seeding is released.
 
The Catamounts will make their fourth overall appearance in the postseason since becoming an NCAA Division-I member. WCU played in the NCAA tournament after winning the Southern Conference Tournament in 1996 before making its return to the postseason with the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) in 2010 with a road game at Marshall.
 
This year marks WCU's second appearance in the Discount Tire CBI as WCU traveled to face the NCAA's other Catamounts – Vermont – in Burlington, Vt., as a part of the 2016 CBI.
 
WCU is among five current SoCon teams to play in the Discount Tire CBI all time – and one of just three to play in the event multiple times, joining UNCG (2016, 2022) and Mercer (2015, 2018). Most recently, VMI also played in the 2022 tournament with Wofford competing in the 2012 event.
 
Western Carolina (18-15) closed the 2022-23 season by winning four of its final six games and rallied from a 20-point second-half deficit to take eventual SoCon tournament champion Furman to overtime in the semifinal round before falling 83-80 in Asheville. The 18 seasonal victories are the most for WCU since winning 19 back in the 2019-20 season with the 10-8 league record this season matching that year's tally.
 
Among WCU's victories this season was a 10-point win at Tennessee Tech – which lost in overtime in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) championship game – and a 12-point victory over SoCon regular-season and tournament champ, Furman. WCU also downed McNeese State in early-season tournament action with the Cowboys falling in the Southland Conference semifinals. Other notables WCU faced this year were Big South champion UNC Asheville and the Big Ten Conference's No. 6 seed, Maryland.
 
The Catamounts are paced by three All-SoCon performers this year with second-team selections Tre Jackson and Vonterius Woolbright by both the league's head coaches and voting media, with forward Tyzhaun Claude collecting third-team plaudits from the media. Both Woolbright and Claude additionally landed on the SoCon's All-Tournament team.
 
For more information on the 2023 Discount Tire College Basketball Invitational, please visit CollegeBasketballInvitational.com. Tickets for the Discount Tire CBI are available through TicketMaster, online - CLICK HERE. They may also be purchased at the Ocean Center box office on CBI game days.

Keep track of everything related to Catamount men's basketball and WCU Athletics through our social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@catamountmbb @wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@CatamountMBB @catamounts). Follow the CBI on social media: on Twitter (@cbitourney), Instagram (@cbitourney), and through Facebook (@CollegeBasketballInvitational).
 
Catamount Men's Basketball in Postseason:
1996 – NCAA Men's Basketball Championship – vs. Purdue (L, 83-81)
2010 – CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) – at Marshall (L, 90-88)
2016 – College Basketball Invitational (CBI) – at Vermont (L, 79-74)
2023 – Discount Tire College Basketball Invitational (CBI) – vs. TBA