Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Men's Basketball Team To Play In Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament
2007 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament Bracket
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men’s basketball team has been selected as part of the 16-team field for the 2007 Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament to be held Nov. 13-14.
The Islanders, playing in the South Regional, have their opening-round game in College Station against Texas-El Paso on Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. at Reed Arena on the campus of Texas A&M. Oral Roberts and Texas A&M make up the other half of the quadrant and will tip off at 8 p.m. the same night.
The NIT Season Tip-Off, founded in 1985, will feature all first- and second-round contests at campus sites. All teams in the tournament are guaranteed at least two games.
“This is a terrific opportunity for both our basketball program and our university to be included in the NIT Season Tip-Off,” Director of Athletics Brian Teter said. “Our program has achieved the success over the past three years to garner national attention from around the country. Consequently, we are on people’s radar screens and the NCAA and the NIT recognize that and have invited us into the tournament.”
A&M-Corpus Christi is coming off its best season in school history with a 26-7 record and a first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. In just their first year in the Southland Conference, the Islanders won both the regular season and the Southland Conference Tournament titles. Not only did TAMUCC garner the most wins in school history, but concluded that with its best signing class since starting the program in 1999.
“What a great opportunity for us to go to College Station to play UTEP and potentially Texas A&M. It’s a great way to start the season,” Teter said.
The East Regional will take place on Nov. 12 and 13 at Syracuse. The first round doubleheader will showcase Syracuse and Siena while St. Joseph’s will square off against Fairleigh Dickinson. The championship and consolation games follow the next day.
In the West Regional on Nov. 13, the Washington will host New Jersey Institute of Technology in the first game while Utah takes on High Point in the second contest.
The Midwest Regional will take place at Ohio State on Nov. 12 when the Buckeyes play the Wisconsin Green-Bay and Columbia faces Delaware State.
The winners of each region will meet in New York’s Madison Square Garden with the semi final doubleheader tipping at 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 21 and will be televised on ESPN2. The championship doubleheader will be played on Nov. 23, with the consolation game starting at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN while the championship game will tip at 7 p.m. ET.
"Certainly we are very excited about playing in the preseason nit when looking at all the outstanding teams from last year they could have invited,” head coach Perry Clark said. "It should be an honor to Ronnie Arrow and to the team he had last year to be selected to play in this tournament. We are very much looking forward to playing on that stage.”