Cards Draw a No. 1 Seed in National Invitation Tournament
March 12, 2006 | Men's Basketball
March 12, 2006
2006 NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT LINKS
2006 NIT Bracket in PDF Format | Official NIT Website | Ticket Info
Potential First Round Opponents:
Northern Arizona University | Delaware State University
Potential Second Round Opponents:
Clemson University | Louisiana Tech University
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville, selected as one of four No. 1 seeds, will play Delaware State in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Friday, March 17 at 7 p.m. ET in Freedom Hall.
Should the Cardinals advance, U of L would play the winner of the Clemson/Louisiana Tech matchup on March 20 in Freedom Hall at a time to be determined. The quarterfinal round would be played on March 22, however, the site is undetermined due to the availability of Freedom Hall. The semifinals will be played on March 28 in Madison Square Garden in New York, with the championship game played there on March 30.
"I was always a big proponent of the old NIT, when all the teams were brought into Madison Square Garden," said U of L Head Coach Rick Pitino. "Now that the committee has taken the same format as the NCAA in terms of seeding and brackets, it becomes very exciting for all those involved. I don't think you'll find a more competitive NIT field than the one I'm looking at with this one. We relish the challenge."
Delaware State produced a 20-13 record and won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season title with a 16-2 league record. The Hornets fell 60-56 to Hampton for the MEAC tournament title. Both U of L and Delaware State played Marquette during the regular season, with Delaware State falling 60-48 at Marquette and U of L beating Marquette 67-60. Delaware State won 58-53 at Northern Arizona in the opening round of the NIT on March 14. WDRB-TV, Channel 41 in Louisville, will televise the game live.
The event marks U of L's first appearance in the NIT since 2002, when the Cardinals reached the second round of the tournament. This is the 50th anniversary of U of L's 1956 NIT Championship and the Cardinals also advanced to the national semifinals in 1985.
Tickets, priced at $25 each, may be purchased through TicketMaster starting at 9 a.m. Monday by phone locally at (502) 361-3100; online at www.ticketmaster.com, where fans may print their game tickets and avoid waiting in will call lines; or by visiting any TicketMaster outlet, which includes statewide Kroger stores. Tickets for U of L students are available for $5 through both the U of L ticket office locations.
Tickets may also be purchased in person at four locations with no service charge: both U of L ticket offices located near Gate 2 on the Floyd Street side of Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and on the third floor of the Swain Student Activities Center; the Freedom Hall ticket office; and the box office at the Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown Louisville. Each site is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. weekdays.
A limited number of priority seats will be held for Cardinal Athletic Fund members. Those tickets must be purchased in person at either U of L ticket office location. Due to the short time period to sell and allocate tickets, these limited priority seats will be sold to CAF members on a first come, first served basis.
During NIT games, some donor benefits will also be available to Cardinal Athletic Fund members. The Hickman-Camp and VIP Rooms will be open for its respective card holders with limited food service. The ULA Room, which has a coat check area, will be open to everyone at the event. Only patrons with Lot 1 reserved parking permits during the regular season will have those same special parking privileges. All other lots at the fairgrounds will be open to the public.
