Pepperdine, UC Santa Barbara Among 32 Teams Going to NIT

Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara were among the 32 teams selected Sunday for the National Invitation Tournament.

Pepperdine (19-12) is scheduled to play a first-round game Thursday at New Mexico State (21-10), while the Gauchos (21-8) are scheduled to play at Wichita State (18-13).

California is the lone Pacific 10 team invited by the NIT committee. The Bears (19-11) are scheduled to play host to Hawaii (17-12) on Thursday.

Santa Clara also made the field and the Broncos (20-10) will play at New Mexico (20-9) Thursday.

Defending champion Connecticut and Ohio State, whom the Huskies beat in last year’s final, were also selected. The Huskies play at North Carolina Charlotte on Wednesday, while the Buckeyes play host to Akron.

The tournament will include 13 schools with 20 or more victories, led by Georgia Southern (23-5), Boise State (23-6), and St. Louis (23-9).

Other teams picked were Temple (18-11), Villanova (16-15), Arkansas State (20-9), Kent State (20-10), Richmond (20-9), St. Peter’s (22-8), Southern Illinois (20-13), Alabama-Birmingham (18-11), Mississippi (15-14), New Orleans (19-10), St. John’s (15-13), Wisconsin (17-11), North Carolina Charlotte (17-11), Murray State (19-10), Penn State (19-11), Hawaii (17-12), Nebraska (16-15), Michigan State (15-13), and Oklahoma State (16-12).

St. John’s is in the NIT for a record 25th time and seeking a record fourth title. The last time the Redmen won the NIT was in 1965, the last year St. John’s was coached by Joe Lapchick.

The tournament gets underway Wednesday and the first round will be completed Friday. The second round will be played March 20-21 and the third round March 22-23-24, all at campus sites. The semifinalists will play in New York’s Madison Square Garden March 27, with the final set for March 29.