DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – No. 8 seed Eastern Kentucky University will face No. 3 seed Charlotte in the championship game of the 2023 Discount Tire College Basketball Invitational (CBI) today on ESPN2.
 
The game is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET.  The live radio broadcast of the game is available in the Richmond area on WCYO 100.7 FM, or worldwide on EKUSports.com.
 
The title contest features two teams with contrasting styles.  EKU is 26th in the NCAA in scoring (78.9 ppg) while Charlotte is 17th in scoring defense (62.4 ppg).  The Colonels are 48th in turnovers forced per game, but the 49ers are 27th in the nation in fewest turnovers per game.  EKU is 39th in the NCAA in steals while Charlotte is 266th.  The Colonels out-rebound their opponents by 3.0 per game and the 49ers get out-rebounded by 0.2 boards per game.
 
THE COLONELS
-  After going to overtime in each of its first two CBI games, EKU (23-13, 12-6 ASUN) beat No. 4 seed Southern Utah, 108-106, in double overtime to earn a spot in the championship game.  Isaiah Cozart hit two free throws with 1.1 seconds left in the second overtime.
 
-  EKU's 23 wins are the third-most in one season by a Colonel team.  The record is 25 set in 2012-13.  The 2013-14 team won 24 games.
 
-  It might be time to change the name of the CBI to the "Cozart Basketball Invitational."  Cozart set a career-highs for points (20) and rebounds (17) in the opener.  In the semifinals he scored a new career-best 31 points.  He has had a double-double in all three games and is averaging 21 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks while shooting 65 percent.
 
-  In three CBI games the Colonels are shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range.  EKU is averaging 96 points per game.
 
-  The Colonels have trailed at halftime of each game in the CBI.
 
-  Tayshawn Comer set new career-highs for rebounds (7) and minutes (36), and tied his career-best with 15 points in the CBI semifinal victory over Southern Utah .
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
-  Charlotte is 21-14 this season.  The 49ers have beaten three double-digit seeds on their way to the championship game – No. 14 Western Carolina (65-56), No. 11 Milwaukee (76-65) and No. 10 Radford (63-56).   
 
-  Brice Williams, a 6-foot-7 redshirt junior guard, leads the team in scoring at 14 points per game, having hit 48 percent of his shots from the field and 40 precent from deep.
 
-  Aly Khalifa is second in scoring (11.5 ppg) and first on the squad in rebounding (6.4 rpg).  The 6-foot-11 redshirt sophomore center is shooting 50 percent on the season.
 
-  Williams had 14 points and 11 rebounds in Charlotte's semifinal victory over Radford.  Two of Khalifa's four field goal attempts came from 3-point range.  He was 2-for-4 from the field and 1-for-2 from behind the arc, finishing with six points, seven rebounds and five assists.
 
-  The 49ers shot 47 percent from the field against Radford.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
-  The all-time series between the two programs is tied 2-2.  The squads played four times between 1975 and 1979 with Charlotte winning the first two and EKU winning the next two. 
 
-  The most recent meeting was an 84-79 Colonel win in Richmond on Dec. 3, 1979.