RENO, Nev. - The University of Nevada men's basketball team will travel to Wichita State University on Wednesday, March 17 in the National Invitation Tournament.
Wednesday's game will tip off at 7:05 p.m. Central Time (5:05 p.m. Pacific Time) at the 10,506-seat Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. The game can be heard locally on Nevada's flagship radio station, ESPN 630 AM, with Ryan Radtke calling the action.
This season marks Nevada's school-record eighth consecutive postseason invitation and its first appearance in the postseason NIT since 2003. The Wolf Pack earned a No. 6 seed in the NIT, while Wichita State is a No. 3 seed. The winner of Wednesday's game will take on the winner of a March 17 contest between second-seeded Rhode Island and seventh-seeded Northwestern.
"We're very excited to be playing in the NIT. Our team deserves a chance to continue to play in the postseason," first-year Nevada head coach David Carter said. "Our team has accomplished a lot this season, and this is the reward for winning 20 games and finishing second in the WAC.
"Wichita State has a very good, well-coached team and is a great representative of the Missouri Valley Conference. We look forward to going there and playing the Shockers."
The 32-team, single-elimination NIT runs from March 16 through April 1. The first and second rounds as well as the quarterfinals are played at on-campus sites, while the semifinals and championship game will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The dates of this year's NIT are March 16-18 for the first round, March 18-19 and 20-22 for the second round, March 23-24 for the quarterfinals, March 30 for the semifinals and April 1 for the championship.
Under the direction of third-year head coach Gregg Marshall, the Wichita State Shockers have turned in a 25-9 overall record and finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 12-6 league mark this season. The Shockers are led by senior guard Clevin Hannah at 12.1 points per game, while sophomore guard Toure' Murry is averaging 11.9 points and a team-best 5.0 rebounds per contest. Wichita State has turned in a 17-0 home record this season.
The Wolf Pack has turned in its seventh consecutive 20-win season at 20-12 and finished in a tie for second in the Western Athletic Conference with an 11-5 league record. Nevada is led by WAC Player of the Year and sophomore forward Luke Babbitt who is averaging 22.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
"We are thrilled about the invitation to play in this year's National Invitation Tournament," Nevada Director of Athletics Cary Groth said. "Our team has had a very successful season and will represent the University of Nevada and the Western Athletic Conference very well in the NIT."
More information about the NIT is available at www.nit.org.
