Wednesday, March 19th, 9:00 (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Bank of America Arena (10,000) -- Seattle, Washington. Television: Fox College Sports. CBI Record: Valparaiso 0-0, Washington 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: The Valparaiso Crusaders travel to Washington to take on the top- seeded Huskies in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational. The winner of this bout will face either Nevada or Houston in the quarterfinals on Monday night. Valpo, playing in its first season in the Horizon League, assembled a 9-9 league mark. The Crusaders played some of their best ball down the stretch, winning six of their last seven games. Their streak was snapped by Cleveland State in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament two Saturdays ago. The Huskies lost four of their final five games, including an 84-81 setback to California that knocked them out of the Pac-10 Tournament in the opening round. Washington made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in both 2005 and 2006, but missed the postseason last year. In all, six Pac-10 teams made it to this year's NCAA Tournament, and two others received invites to the NIT. This will be the first time Valpo and Washington have ever met on the hardwood.

Valpo struggled with its perimeter defense against Cleveland State, allowing the Vikings to bury 10-of-19 from beyond the arc. CSU hit 8-of-15 three- pointers in the first half to grab a six-point halftime lead, then kept the pressure on with 55 percent field goal shooting in the second stanza. Jarryd Loyd paced the Crusaders with 25 points off the bench. He went 5-of-12 from downtown. Urule Igbavboa and Shawn Huff scored 15 points apiece, while Michael Rogers finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. On the season, Huff and Loyd are each scoring 12 ppg, while Igbavboa, Samuel Haanpaa and Brandon McPherson are each averaging 10 ppg.

The Huskies may once again be without the services of big man Jon Brockman, no doubt one of the top players in the Pac-10. Brockman injured his ankle late in a March 8th loss to Washington State and was forced to sit out last week's conference tourney, snapping a string of 69 straight starts. His status is day-to-day, though the Huskies are certainly crossing their fingers Brockman can suit up. His 17.6 ppg ranks fourth in the conference, and his 11.5 rebounds per game ranks third nationally. Ryan Appleby averages 11.5 ppg, and two other Huskies are averaging nine points. Against Cal, Quincy Pondexter (9.9 ppg) stepped up with 23 points.

The outcome of this game hinges on whether or not Brockman can play, and be effective at that. If he's able to move around and sky for rebounds, the Huskies should move on. If he is sidelined, look for the Crusaders to smell blood in the water, and attack.

Predicted Outcome

Valparaiso 79, Washington 77