South Alabama was Sun Belt regular-season co-champions this season, finishing in a four-way tie with Troy, James Madison and Arkansas State, but earning the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. The Jaguars (21-11) lost in the semifinals of the Sun Belt tournament, with Troy winning and claiming the league’s sole “March Madness” bid.

Coach Richie Riley slammed an apology given by the NIT, which dropped his Jaguars after learning that UC Riverside was spurning the CBI tournament.

In need of a team to take UC Riverside’s spot, South Alabama was brought in, but the Highlanders were able to get out of their CBI obligation and were available for the NIT. Because of that, the NCAA had to make a second call about an hour later to the Jaguars to inform them they were no longer invited.