UL Set To Take On LSU In NIT
For the first time in 15 years, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajun men's basketball team will be participating in the National Invitation Tournament.
Louisiana, who accepted a bid to the tournament on Sunday night, will travel to Baton Rouge, to face the LSU Tigers.
Tipoff time is set for 6 pm on Wednesday night.
Tickets go on sale on Sunday night at 9 pm here, and over the phone at 225-578-2184.
UL is the #6-seed in their bracket, while LSU, who is 17-14 on the season, is the #3-seed.
The winner of the Louisiana/LSU contest will play the winner of the Utah (#2-seed)/UC Davis (#7-seed) match-up.
St. Mary's is the top seed in the bracket, and will play 8th-seeded Southeastern Louisiana in an opening round contest.
View the complete NIT bracket here.
The Cajuns, who fell in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Saturday night to UTA, 71-68, enter the NIT at 27-6 on the season.
UL received an automatic bid into the NIT, provided that they didn't get an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, by winning the Sun Belt Conference regular season title.
It will be Louisiana's fifth all-time appearance in the tournament, and first since 2003, when they lost to UAB, 82-80.
The last NIT victory for the Cajuns was back in 1985, when they defeated Florida, 65-64, at Blackham Coliseum.
The farthest Louisiana has ever advanced in the NIT was 1984, when they qualified for the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York, before losing to Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, to finish fourth.
UL is 6-6, all-time, in NIT games.
View more on the NIT, below:
Participating Teams
Any regular-season champion from a conference that doesn't qualify for March Madness automatically earns a berth in the NIT.
The other participants were determined once the field of 68 for the NCAA tournament was set, from any conference.
Tournament Format
Thirty-two teams are split up into four different brackets, with the highest seed in each matchup hosting the game on campus before the final four teams play at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The NCAA announced a set of experimental rules for the 2018 NIT, including an extended three-point line and widened free-throw lane.
Instead of playing two 20-minute halves, the NIT will use four 10-minute quarters, and the shot clock resets to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound.
Schedule
Tuesday, March 13 and Wednesday, March 14: First round at campus sites
Thursday, March 15 through Monday, March 19: Second round at campus sites
Tuesday, March 20 and Wednesday, March 21: Quarterfinals at campus sites
Tuesday, March 27: Semifinals at Madison Square Garden
Thursday, March 29: Final at Madison Square Garden