After 83-year run, NIT out of Garden

The NIT is moving the entire 2021 event to Texas, taking the semifinals and championship game out of Madison Square Garden for the first time in the 83-year history of college basketball’s oldest postseason tournament.

The pandemic is also reducing the field to 16 teams from the usual 32, and all games are set for the Dallas area. The two venues are the University of North Texas in Denton and an arena in Frisco that is home to a G League team affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks.

First-round games will be played March 17-20, with the quarterfinals March 25. The semifinals are set for March 27, followed by the championship game the next day. Specific arenas for each round weren’t announced Monday.

The field for the NIT will be announced after the NCAA Tournament is set March 14.

The NIT champion has been crowned in New York every year since the tournament started in 1938. Earlier rounds normally are held at the venues of designated home teams.

HAWKS FIRE PIERCE

Lloyd heightened expectations but was beset by injuries.

Hawks president Travis Schlenk announced the move on Monday in a short statement released by the team.

The Hawks are 14-20 and 11th in the Eastern Conference, following a 109-99 loss at Miami on Sunday night. It was the Hawks’ 11th loss after holding a fourth-quarter lead.

Pierce, 44, gave no indication that he thought he was in trouble after Sunday’s loss. He ran giving birth. The Hawks were 2-1 with McMillan during Pierce’s absence.

Atlanta’s was Pierce’s first job as a head coach. He was previously an assistant with Philadelphia, Memphis, Golden State and Cleveland.

Schlenk said the move to fire Pierce, which comes less than a week before Atlanta hosts the All-Star Game, was timed to help the team have a second-half resurgence.

“We have high expectations for our team on the court and we believe by making this change now that we can have a strong second half of the season,” Schlenk said.

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