Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU to Compete in NIT Season Tip-Off
July 20, 2011 | Cowboy Basketball
July 20, 2011
Stillwater, Okla. — Oklahoma State's Cowboy Basketball team will compete in the 2011 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off, announced today by NIT selection committee chair C.M. Newton. OSU will host first- and second-round games inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
The regional round contests will take place Nov. 14-16, on the campuses of the four top-seeded teams: Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Stanford and Oklahoma State. The Cowboys will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the first-round matchup while Oral Roberts and UTSA compete in the other Midwest Regional game. The winners of the four regionals will advance to Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. for the semifinals and finals, Nov. 23 & 25.
The other first-round game in Stillwater will feature an interesting twist. Both ORU and UTSA are led by former Cowboys. Scott Sutton, the head coach for the Golden Eagles, and Brooks Thompson, the head coach for the UTSA Roadrunners, both played at Oklahoma State from 1992-94.
This will mark the third appearance for OSU in the Preseason NIT. The Cowboys won the championship in 1991 with a 78-71 victory over Georgia Tech in the finals. The win propelled OSU into the top-10 nationally for the first time in 34 years in Eddie Sutton's first season at the helm of his alma mater. The Cowboys also advanced to the second round of the Preseason NIT in 1996.
Other teams competing in this year's 27th annual NIT Season Tip-Off are: Syracuse, Manhattan, Albany and Brown in the North Regional in Syracuse, N.Y.; Virginia Tech, Monmouth, George Mason and Florida International in the East Regional in Blacksburg, Va.; and Stanford, Fresno State, Colorado State and SMU in the West Regional in Palo Alto, Calif.
Regional round dates and times will be released at a later date.
