PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men’s basketball team will host Minnesota on Wednesday at 7 PM in the first round of the 75th annual National Invitation Tournament. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 from Tom Gola Arena.
Tickets are on sale beginning Monday morning at 10 AM at the Hayman Center Ticket Office. Chairback seats are $25 and all other seats are $15. Order your ticket by calling 215-951-1999 or emailing tickets@lasalle.edu.
The third-seeded Explorers won 21 games this season and tied for fifth in the Atlantic 10 Conference. La Salle was a seven seed in the A-10 Tournament, defeating Richmond, 80-72, in the first round before falling to Saint Louis, 78-71, on Friday in the quarterfinals in Atlantic City, N.J.
The 75th edition of the National Invitation Tournament has a 32-team field featuring 25 teams with 20 or more wins, 11 automatic qualifiers and four teams out of the Atlantic 10 Conference, including the 2010 NIT champion, Dayton. First-round play kicks off on March 13 and 14, with the second round taking place March 15 through the 19. Quarterfinals follow on March 20 and 21, and for the 75th time, the NIT semifinals and final game will take place in New York’s Madison Square Garden on March 27 and 29.
With a win, the Explorers would visit #2 Miami or host #7 Valparaiso on March 15-19.
In addition to being the 75th anniversary of the NIT, it is also the 25th anniversary of the 1987 La Salle team that reached the NIT finals before falling to Southern Miss and the 60th anniversary of La Salle winning 1952 NIT Championship. LU has made 11 appearances in the tournament overall.
Sixth-seeded Minnesota will head into the contest with a 19-14 record following a 1-1 showing in the Big Ten Tournament. The Gophers took #13 Michigan to overtime in the Big Ten quarterfinals before falling 73-69.
GoExplorers.com will have coverage leading up to Wednesday’s game.
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