Virginia Tech has been selected to the 2008 National Invitation Tournament.
The Hokies are one of four #1 seeds in the 32-team field, and they’ll host #8 seed Morgan State
on Wednesday night at 7pm. The game will be televised by ESPN Classic.
The Hokies went 19-13 overall, 9-7 in the ACC, and won an ACC Tournament
game against Miami, an NCAA tournament team, 63-49. The Hokies faced UNC in
the semifinals and lost a heartbreaker 68-66. They were one of the last few
teams left out of the NCAA tournament.
The postseason bid is Tech’s third in the last four years: NIT in 2005,
NCAA in 2007, and now NIT in 2008. The last time the Hokies made postseason
play at least three times in four years was over 20 years ago, when Tech went
to the NIT and NCAA tournaments nine times in eleven years from 1976-1986. VT
made just two postseason appearances from 1987-2004 (NIT in 1995 and NCAA in
1996).
Morgan State, nicknamed the Bears, plays in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished
the season 21-10 overall, and 14-2 in conference play. They finished first in
their conference in the regular season and were all set to go to the NCAA
tournament, but they were upset in their conference championship game by
Coppin State.
Morgan State didn’t play many top level teams this year, going 0-2
against teams in the Top 50 of the RPI. However, they played very well in
those two games, losing to UConn 69-65 on the road, and dropping a tough game
at Miami 55-51. They did defeat American 92-54. American defeated Maryland
during the regular season and is heading to the NCAA tournament.
The Hokies are 6-0 all time against Morgan State, including four games in
Cassell Coliseum from 2002-2005. The last time the two teams squared off, Tech
won 77-49 on November 25th, 2005.
The game will be played in Cassell Coliseum. If the Hokies beat Morgan
State, they’ll face the winner of #4 VCU/#5 UAB. That game would also be
played in Cassell Coliseum at a date and time to be announced.
The Hokies won the NIT in 1973 and 1995, and their last appearance was in
2005. The Hokies beat Temple at 60-50 at home before being crushed by up and
coming Memphis 83-62 on the road.
We’ll have more about Virginia Tech’s invitation to the NIT as more
details become available. Tickets can be purchased on hokiesports.com.
Visit the official NIT web site and view the entire tournament bracket by
clicking here.
Adibi, Flowers and Brown to Appear at Collegiate Inn of Blacksburg This
Coming Saturday
Former Hokie football players Xavier Adibi, Brandon Flowers and Duane Brown
will appear together in a signing event at Collegiate Inn of Blacksburg this
coming Saturday, March 22nd. The players will be available for signing items
and meeting with the public from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm. Bring your Hokie items
for these three great Hokies to sign. If you’ve got Hokie friends and/or
family coming into the area for Easter weekend, this is a great chance for
them to meet some of their heroes from the last four seasons of Virginia Tech
football.
Collegiate
Inn of Blacksburg is located in the former Holiday Inn on Price’s Fork
Road. We’ll have more details as the planning of this great event takes shape,
so watch the site for more information.
Tech Sideline is Presented By: