Razorbacks to compete in NIT tournament

The University of Arkansas’ season is not finished yet.

The No. 5 seed Razorbacks (17-15) tussle with No. 4 seed Providence (18-15) today at 8 p.m. in the men’s NIT Basketball Tournament.

UNC Greensboro, Indiana, Alabama and TCU are the No. 1 seeds for the 32-team tournament, which begins today on the campuses of the higher seeds.

Among the second seeds is North Carolina State of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which was disappointed at being snubbed by the NCAA Tournament despite a strong resume. The Wolfpack meets Hofstra of the Colonial today.

Indiana (17-15) was 54th in NET, but owned six Quadrant 1 wins to keep itself in the running amid all its losses, while Alabama (1815) was 59th in NET and just 3-10 against Quadrant 1 opponents.

Alabama, led by 17-year-old point guard Kira Lewis Jr., failed to make a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Tide has lost four of its last five games, but coach Avery Johnson said he thinks his team was only one victory away from an NCAA bid.

Also in the field are Clemson, Nebraska, Butler, Memphis, Georgetown, and Wichita State.

The NIT will feature two of the top-10 leading scorers in NCAA history—Campbell’s Chris Clemons , fourth all-time with 3,193 points, and Mike Daum of South Dakota State at 3,042.

Loyola-Chicago (20-13) lost its chance to make another impact on the NCAA Tournament when it fell to Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference semifinals. The Ramblers are seeded seventh in the NIT and will face Creighton in the first round.

Last year the Ramblers and their 99-year-old team chaplain, Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt, helped make the NCAA Tournament one of the most memorable in recent years, going on an amazing 14-game winning streak to reach the Final Four before losing to Michigan.

Arkansas sophmore Daniel Gafford has opted for the NBA and will not participate with the Razorbacks in the postseason.

The Arkansas-Providence game will be broadcast on ESPN2.