Media release from the University of Kentucky on going to the NIT...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UK MEDIA RELATIONS
March 17, 2013
UK Earns NIT Top Seed, To Face Robert Morris in Opening Round
2013 NIT • Opening Round • Tuesday, March 19 • 7:30 p.m. • Moon Township, Pa. • Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056)
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Despite missing out on an NCAA Tournament at-large bid to defend their national championship, the Kentucky Wildcats have been selected to play in the National Invitation Tournament.
UK’s NIT bid extends the Wildcats' streak of postseason appearances in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT to 22 consecutive seasons.
Kentucky (21-11) earned a No. 1 seed and will face eighth-seeded Robert Morris on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Charles L. Sewall Center in Moon Township, Pa., outside of Pittsburgh. The game will be televised live on ESPN.
Kentucky is 1-0 against Robert Morris all-time with the lone meeting coming in a 92-67 triumph for the Wildcats on Dec. 30, 1993 in Rupp Arena.
“I’m really disappointed we didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, but we are going to use this time to make us better,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “We had our chances, but I’m not going to stop. It’s a great lesson for the future of our program and a humbling experience for me as a coach.”
UK is 13-6 in the NIT all-time. UK last played in the NIT during the 2009 season reaching the quarterfinals before falling 77-67 at Notre Dame.
“I’m excited to return to Pittsburgh and look forward to facing a team that is going to present a real challenge for us,” Calipari said. “Robert Morris won their league in the regular season. They shoot a lot of 3-pointers, produce a lot of steals, so we have to come prepared.”
Kentucky is making its ninth NIT appearance, having won the tournament twice, in 1946 and 1976. The Wildcats are 5-3 all-time in NIT openers.
Since 1992, UK owns a 105-28 (.789) record in postseason play (SEC, NIT and NCAA).
John Calipari has used the NIT as a springboard in his previous two stops at Massachusetts and Memphis. Overall, this marks the sixth NIT appearance in Calipari’s career. He reached the NIT semifinals in four of those appearances while winning the NIT championship in 2002 with Memphis. In three of the seasons he used the NIT as a building block for an NCAA Tournament berth the following year, including an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance with Memphis in 2006 after reaching the NIT semifinals in 2005.
In Calipari’s first year at Kentucky the Wildcats reached the 2010 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight the year after UK appeared in the 2009 NIT.
“To the Big Blue Nation, you did your part all season long,” Calipari said. “You showed up in droves and helped us pull through key games. We didn’t do our part. Even now, I’m going to coach these guys, try to make them better and give everything I can to make sure we control our destiny in the future.”
The first three rounds of the NIT are hosted at the campus site of one of the participating teams. For each game, the higher-seeded team has the first option to host unless logistical circumstances preclude such an opportunity.
“We did not place a bid to host the first round of the NIT due to limited staff availability to properly host a game at Memorial Coliseum,” said UK Executive Associated AD DeWayne Peevy. “Because the University of Kentucky is hosting the NCAA second- and third-round games at Rupp Arena on March 21 and 23, the facility was not available for a first-round NIT game. We placed a bid to host both the second round and quarterfinal games at Rupp Arena if we advance.”
Kentucky is a host institution for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament to be held Thursday and Saturday in Rupp Arena.
First-round games will be played March 19 and 20. Second-round games can be played March 21-25 and quarterfinal games will be played March 26 and 27.
The winner of the UK-Robert Morris matchup will face the winner of the first round game between No. 4-seed Providence and No. 5 Charlotte.
The 2013 Postseason NIT will be in its 76th season at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. On Tuesday, April 2, the four quarterfinal winners will square off with the Championship scheduled for Thursday, April 4.
Tickets to the first round game at Robert Morris University can be purchased by calling the RMU ticket office at 412.397.4949. Tickets are $20 for reserved seating, $15 for general admission and $5 for students.
John Calipari, UK Head Coach
On Kentucky’s NIT Selection
“I’m really disappointed we didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, but we are going to use this time to make us better. We had our chances, but I’m not going to stop. It’s a great lesson for the future of our program and a humbling experience for me as a coach. To the Big Blue Nation, you did your part all season long. You showed up in droves and helped us pull through key games. We didn’t do our part. Even now, I’m going to coach these guys, try to make them better and give everything I can to make sure we control our destiny in the future. I’m excited to return to Pittsburgh and look forward to facing a team that is going to present a real challenge for us. Robert Morris won their league in the regular season. They shoot a lot of 3-pointers, produce a lot of steals, so we have to come prepared.”
DeWayne Peevy, UK Executive Associate AD
On Kentucky traveling for its first round NIT game…
“We did not place a bid to host the first round of the NIT due to limited staff availability to properly host a game at Memorial Coliseum. Because the University of Kentucky is hosting the NCAA second- and third-round games at Rupp Arena on March 21 and 23, the facility was not available for a first-round NIT game. We placed a bid to host both the second round and quarterfinal games at Rupp Arena if we advance.”
No comments:
Post a Comment