COLLEGE

Despite very public flirtation, CBI passes on Detroit Mercy, Antoine Davis

Tony Paul
The Detroit News

Detroit — The CBI flirted with Detroit Mercy, and then the CBI ghosted Detroit Mercy.

The Titans were left out of the 16-team College Basketball Invitational on Sunday night, leaving star guard Antoine Davis three points shy of tying and four from passing "Pistol" Pete Maravich's college basketball scoring record.

Detroit Mercy finished the season just 14-19 and ranked 212th in the NET rankings, but had drawn the attention of the CBI -- the bottom-tier postseason men's basketball tournament, behind the NCAA and NIT -- following the Titans' loss to Youngstown State in the Horizon League tournament on March 2.

The night of Detroit Mercy's loss, the CBI's official Twitter account posted a map from Detroit to the home of the CBI, Daytona Beach, Florida, with some eyeball emojis.

The next morning, a representative with the CBI was in contact with Detroit Mercy athletic director Robert Vowels.

The public wooing set off a spirited debate across social media, about whether Detroit Mercy should play one more game to get Davis the record, or whether playing one more game would be a "cheap" way of securing the record, given the Titans' light resume.

Maravich's son, Jaeson, told The News that while he had no issue with Davis personally, he was sick over the idea of the CBI inviting Detroit Mercy, saying, "I think it's an extremely cheap and shameful attempt to break an all-time record. He had five years to break it."

The CBI's initial interest in Davis was obvious: With the scoring record up for grabs, he'd be a draw for a tournament that typically doesn't get a whole lot of eyeballs, in person or on TV. Optimistic about their chances of continuing their season, the Titans continued holding practice at Calihan Hall last week.

But in the end, Detroit Mercy was never formally offered a contract from the CBI, for which the 16 teams must pay an entry fee of $27,500. Detroit Mercy had secured donor help to cover the entry fee.

The CBI took two other Horizon League teams: Cleveland State and Milwaukee. Four teams in the CBI, making up a fourth of the field, have worse NET rankings than Detroit Mercy -- Southern Indiana at 257, South Carolina Upstate at 255, North Alabama at 239 and Western Carolina at 229. All the CBI teams have records at .500 or above.

A message from The News to CBI officials wasn't immediately returned late Sunday night.

Last week, Vowels said the Titans were weighing their postseason options, and there seemed to be one beyond the CBI: A new tournament called the Ps8, an eight-team event set to be played at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. But that tournament didn't get off the ground, and organizers changed the logo on the website to say "March 2024," when it had been planned to be played in 2023. That entry fee was said to be cheaper than the CBI's.

Davis finishes his five-year career at Detroit Mercy with 3,664 points -- a 3-pointer with seconds left against Youngstown State clanked off the rim -- to Maravich's 3,667. Davis is college basketball's all-time 3-point king.

Maravich played three seasons at LSU, and 83 games, to five seasons and 144 games for Davis. Maravich played before the introduction of the 3-point line, but also took more shots in three years than Davis did in five.

Davis, 24, was the most-decorated player in the history of Detroit Mercy, which retired his No. 0 late in the season, before he was done playing. He was a two-time Horizon League player of the year, and a five-time, first-team all-Horizon League selection.

He next will turn his attention to the NBA Combine, set for May.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984