Sports

Rutgers Men's Basketball Team to Host Regional Round of NIT Season Tip-Off

The Scarlet Knights are seeded fourth and host Canisius College in the first round Nov. 18.

The Rutgers University men’s basketball team was seeded fourth in the NIT Season Tip-Off, and will host Canisius College in the first round on Nov. 18, the NCAA announced Tuesday night.

The Scarlet Knights will host Canisius College at 7:30 p.m. Nov 18 in a game that can be seen on ESPN3.

The game will be preceded by a matchup between sixth-seeded Elon and eighth-seeded Drexel at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway at 5 p.m.

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The winners meet the following day back at the Rutgers Athletic Center in the North Regional Championship, with the winner advancing to the semifinal round. Madison Square Garden will host the semifinals on Nov. 27 and the finals on Nov. 29.

Arizona received the top seed, followed by three-time Preseason NIT champion Duke at No. 2 and Alabama at No. 3.  The top four seeds host the regional round of the tournament, with four teams competing at each site.

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Rhode Island was seeded fifth and East Carolina was No. 7. Other teams in the tournament include Fairleigh Dickinson, Georgia State, McNeese State, Metro State, Norfolk State, UNC-Asheville and Stillman College.

The full bracket can be seen here.

“Year after year the NIT Season Tip-Off proves to be a showcase for outstanding teams, and this year is no different,” NIT selection committee chair C.M. Newton said in a prepared statement. “We won’t be surprised at all to see these teams competing deep in the NCAA Championship come March.”

Newton is a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame and has been serving as the NIT Chair for nine years, according to the NCAA.

The Scarlet Knights play three games prior to the tournament. They open the Eddie Jordan era at home on Nov. 8 against Florida A&M in a matchup that will be shown on ESPN3. They then travel to UAB on Nov. 11 and host Yale on Nov. 14.

Rutgers (15-16 in 2012-13) will attempt to build around three returning starters from last year’s squad, including guard Myles Mack, who averaged 13.6 points per game last season, according to scarletknights.com.

Guards Jerome Seagers, who had 81 assists and 22 steals last year, and Wally Judge, who led the team with 168 rebounds last season, also return.

Rutgers’ first round opponent, Canisius, won 15 games last season, but will also be breaking in a new head coach in Jim Baron. Senior guard Billy Baron averaged 17.2 points per game last season, according to The Sporting News.

Elon returns all five starters from last season, and is among the favorites to win the Southern Conference this season, according to The Sporting News. Drexel had high expectations last season, but finished 13-18 and is looking to turn things around this season.



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