INDIANAPOLIS – Michigan, Virginia, Kansas State and
Pittsburgh headline the 2012 NIT Season Tip-Off field, announced on
Tuesday by NIT selection committee chair C.M. Newton.
The 28th annual tournament will also feature number five-seed Lehigh,
six-seed Robert Morris, seven-seed Cleveland State and eight-seed
Delaware. The rest of the field features Ala.-Huntsville, Bowling Green,
Fairfield, Fordham, IUPUI, Lamar, North Texas and Penn.
“Once again, the NIT Season Tip-Off field is outstanding,” said Newton,
a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame and in his eighth year as chair
of the NIT. “This tournament has been an early showcase of the best in
college basketball, and many times you see these teams competing deep in
the NCAA championship come March.”
The first- and second-round doubleheaders will be played Nov. 12 and 13
on the campuses of the four highest-seeded teams — Michigan, Virginia,
Kansas State and Pittsburgh. The winners of the preliminary rounds
advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 21. The
consolation and championship games will be played Nov. 23.
The remaining teams will play third- and fourth-round doubleheaders
Nov. 19 and 20 on the campuses of the three highest remaining seeds.
Participating teams will not play any team twice and the third- and
fourth-rounds will be assigned to the most geographically compatible
site possible.
The sites and pairings are as follows:
• The North Regional, at Crisler Center on the campus of Michigan, will
feature the Wolverines versus IUPUI and Cleveland State versus Bowling
Green.
• The East Regional, hosted by Pittsburgh at the Peterson Events
Center, will have the Panthers facing Fordham and Lehigh against Robert
Morris.
• The Midwest Regional will be held at Kansas State’s Bramlage
Coliseum, with the Wildcats versus Lamar and North Texas against
Alabama-Huntsville.
• Virginia will host the South Regional at John Paul Jones Arena,
featuring the Cavaliers playing Fairfield and Delaware versus Penn.
The 2012 NIT Season Tip-Off will be carried by the ESPN networks.
More information at ncaa.com .
