After falling short in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game Saturday, men’s basketball is scheduled to face the Colorado State Rams in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament at the University of Northern Texas Coliseum in Denton, TX.
After losing to Utah State in the Mountain West Tournament semifinals, the Rams were selected as an NCAA Tournament replacement team behind Louisville in the event a team is forced to withdraw due to COVID-19.
The Rams finished third in the MWC with an 18-6 overall record, including a 14-4 record in conference play.
The winner of No. 1 seed Colorado State and No. 4 seed Buffalo will advance to the quarterfinals to play the winner of No. 2 seed Davidson and No. 3 seed North Carolina State.
After canceling the 2020 tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s NIT has been reduced from 32 to 16 teams. Normally held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, North Texas will host the 2021 tournament.
Once considered the most prestigious tournament in college basketball, the NIT now plays second-fiddle to the NCAA Tournament, but is still the oldest college basketball tournament in the U.S., beginning in 1938.
This will be the Bulls’ second appearance in the NIT. The Bulls’ only other appearance came in 2005, when UB defeated Drexel in the opening round before losing to Saint Joseph’s in the following round.
If Colorado State remains in the NIT, this will be the second meeting between the two schools. The Rams and Bulls last met in the finals of the 2008 Outrigger Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, HI, with UB coming out on top in a 67-53 win.
UB will take on CSU in the first round Friday at 5 p.m. at UNT Coliseum in Denton, TX. The game will air live on ESPN 2.
Anthony DeCicco is the senior sports editor and can be reached at anthony.decicco@ubspectrum.com
Anthony DeCicco is the Editor-in-Chief of The Spectrum. His words have appeared in outlets such as SLAM Magazine andSyracuse.com. In 2020, he was awarded First Prize for Sports Column Writing at the Society of Professional Journalists' Region 1 Mark of Excellence Awards. In his free time, he can be found watching ‘90s Knicks games and reading NFL Mock Drafts at 3 a.m.
