For the first time in nine years, Virginia is not among the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament field. Instead, the Wahoos will compete in this year’s NIT.
UVa will face Mississippi State, one of four No. 3 seeds in the 32-team NIT bracket, at 7pm Wednesday in the first round of the tournament. Despite being unseeded, the Cavaliers will host that first-round game at John Paul Jones Arena. The Bulldogs entered Selection Sunday ranked No. 57 in the NET and No. 45 by KenPom after going 18-15, including an 8-10 record in SEC play.
The winner of that first-round game will face either Texas State or No. 2 seed North Texas.
It’s the program’s 14th all-time appearance in the NIT and the second under head coach Tony Bennett. Virginia reached the quarterfinals of the 2013 NIT as a No. 1 seed in the bracket, beating Norfolk State and St. John’s at John Paul Jones Arena before losing at home to Iowa.
UVa has advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT six times and won the tournament twice, in 1980 and 1992. The program is 17-11 all-time in NIT contests.
Virginia enters this year’s NIT at 19-13, following last Thursday night’s 63-43 loss to North Carolina in the ACC quarterfinals. UVa finished the regular season in sixth place in the ACC standings. Four of the teams who finished ahead of the Hoos—Duke, Miami, North Carolina and Notre Dame—earned spots in the NCAA Tournament, as did Virginia Tech, who finished a game behind UVa in the standings but earned the league’s automatic bid by winning the ACC Tournament.
Wake Forest, a No. 2 seed, is the only other ACC team in the NIT field.
UVa will face Mississippi State, one of four No. 3 seeds in the 32-team NIT bracket, at 7pm Wednesday in the first round of the tournament. Despite being unseeded, the Cavaliers will host that first-round game at John Paul Jones Arena. The Bulldogs entered Selection Sunday ranked No. 57 in the NET and No. 45 by KenPom after going 18-15, including an 8-10 record in SEC play.
The winner of that first-round game will face either Texas State or No. 2 seed North Texas.
It’s the program’s 14th all-time appearance in the NIT and the second under head coach Tony Bennett. Virginia reached the quarterfinals of the 2013 NIT as a No. 1 seed in the bracket, beating Norfolk State and St. John’s at John Paul Jones Arena before losing at home to Iowa.
UVa has advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT six times and won the tournament twice, in 1980 and 1992. The program is 17-11 all-time in NIT contests.
Virginia enters this year’s NIT at 19-13, following last Thursday night’s 63-43 loss to North Carolina in the ACC quarterfinals. UVa finished the regular season in sixth place in the ACC standings. Four of the teams who finished ahead of the Hoos—Duke, Miami, North Carolina and Notre Dame—earned spots in the NCAA Tournament, as did Virginia Tech, who finished a game behind UVa in the standings but earned the league’s automatic bid by winning the ACC Tournament.
Wake Forest, a No. 2 seed, is the only other ACC team in the NIT field.
