In falling to lower-seeded teams in their conference tournament openers, Richmond and Virginia Tech saw their NCAA Tournament hopes vanish sooner than expected last week.
The Spiders (23-9) and Hokies (18-14) begin their quest for a consolation prize as they meet in the opening round of the NIT Tuesday night in Blacksburg, Va.
Third-seeded Virginia Tech is here after getting bounced in the opening round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament by Florida State, 86-76.
Unlike several power-conference schools that rejected offers to play in the NIT, Virginia Tech was anxious to keep its season alive.
“Absolutely, to play in the postseason, sign me up,” Hokies coach Mike Young said when asked about the NIT. “We all want to play in the big one, but to coach these guys again and make a run in that thing, you’re doggone right.”
This is the second straight trip to the NIT for Virginia Tech, which fell in the opening round last year to Cincinnati. The Hokies won the NIT in 1973 and 1995.
Virginia Tech is led by Sean Pedulla (16.4 points, 4.4 assists per game) and Hunter Cattoor (13.5 ppg), while top rebounder Lynn Kidd (12.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg) propels the frontcourt.
Richmond makes the short trip west to Virginia Tech for the first meeting of the teams since 2009. The Hokies lead the series 69-39, with many of the games coming when both were members of the Southern Conference from 1936-65.
Richmond seeks renewal after losing as the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic 10 tournament, falling to ninth-seeded St. Joseph’s 66-61 in the quarterfinals.
It was a crushing defeat for a team that had maxed out under 19-year coach Chris Mooney after it was slotted 11th among 15 teams in the A-10 preseason poll.
“I think that a postseason appearance, more than ever before, is a great accomplishment,” Mooney told reporters Monday. “We’ve already had a tremendous accomplishment, winning the regular-season championship. This is another opportunity to play in the postseason, to play at an ACC school we greatly respect.”
A-10 co-Player of the Year Jordan King (18.4 ppg) leads the Spiders outside while 7-footer Neal Quinn (12.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg) patrols the frontcourt.
The winner will play Cornell or second-seeded Ohio State.
–Field Level Media
