NIT and CBI selections
Regular season champion and nationally-ranked Xavier (27-6) is the number three seed in the West bracket but travels east for their first round game. The Musketeers will play in Washington, D.C. against #14 Georgia (17-16), the unexpected SEC champion on Thursday, March 20, 2008,
at the Verizon (formerly MCI) Center.
Temple (21-12), the Atlantic 10 Champions, will take on #5 Michigan State (25-8), an at-large selection from the Big Ten on Friday, March 21st at the Alltel Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas in the South bracket.
Saint Joseph's (21-12), which lost by five to the Owls last night, takes on another at-large selection, no. 6 Oklahoma (22-11) from the Big 12, on Friday at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Alabama. They're in the East bracket.
Temple is a 12 seed and the Hawks are an 11 seed.
Dayton, even with an RPI of 32, didn't get an at-large bid but will again host the play-in game between a pair of Maryland teams, Mount St. Mary's and Coppin State, on Tuesday, March 18, 2008.
Note: The 32 teams invited to the National Invitational Tournament, now owned by the NCAA, will be announced on ESPNU and ESPN2 at 9:00 p.m. tonight. The teams invited to the College Basketball Invitational, a 16-tournament run by the Gazelle Group and benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, will also be announced on Sunday. According to the Chicago Tribune, teams could get bids to both the NIT and the CBI. (Now that's worth a TV show.)
The NIT and CBI both begin on Tuesday.
Note #2: Somehow missed the A-10 All-Tournament Team. Here it is:
Leemire Goldwire, Charlotte
Pat Calathes, Saint Joseph's
Ahmad Nivins, Saint Joseph's
Mark Tyndale, Temple
Dionte Christmas, Temple --- Most Outstanding Player