Georgetown-Princeton Game Leads Field

L.A. Times Archives

March 8, 1999 12 AM PT

From Associated Press

NEW YORK —

Four ACC teams and a rematch of the memorable Georgetown-Princeton game in the 1989 NCAA tournament highlight this year’s NIT field.

Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Clemson and Georgia Tech earned NIT bids Sunday from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Only three ACC teams were chosen for the NCAA tournament.

Princeton, which nearly pulled the biggest upset in NCAA tournament history 10 years ago before losing to top-seeded Georgetown, 50-49, in the first round, will play host to the Hoyas on Wednesday.

There are eight 20-game winners in the 32-team NIT, including Fresno State (21-11), Mississippi State (20-12) and Xavier (21-10).

“We really felt like we earned an opportunity for the NCAA tournament,” said Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury, whose Bulldogs will play at Colorado State (17-10) in the first round. “We won 20 games in one of the best conferences in America. . . . I don’t understand why we weren’t selected.”

The Big East, WAC and Big 12 also placed four schools in the NIT.

Other intriguing first-round matchups are Jerry Tarkanian’s Fresno State squad at California (17-11), an interstate battle between Northwestern (15-13) and DePaul (17-12), and Providence (16-13) at North Carolina State (18-13).

The first three rounds of the tournament will be played at campus sites. All first-round matches will be played on Wednesday. The second round will be held March 15-16, and the third round is March 17-19.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

NIT: First Round

National Invitation Tournament schedule; some times remain TBA

WEDNESDAY

Hofstra (22-9) at Rutgers (18-12)

Georgia (15-14) at Clemson (16-14)

Seton Hall (15-14) at Old Dominion (24-8)

Butler (20-9) at Bradley (17-11)

Xavier (21-10) at Toledo (19-7)

Alabama (17-14) at Wake Forest (16-13)

Providence (16-13) at North Carolina State (18-13)

Georgetown (15-15) at Princeton (20-7), 4:30 p.m.