Late Sunday night, Virginia Tech was included in the 2023 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) field. The Hokies open play on Wednesday at Cincinnati at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The winner will play the winner of Rutgers-Hofstra on March 18 or 19.
The Hokies are in the NIT field for the 14th time in program history, the first since 2016. Virginia Tech is a two-time NIT champion (1973, 1995) and is 25-11 all-time in the event. In 2016, the second year under then-head coach Buzz Williams, Tech beat Princeton in Blacksburg before falling to BYU in Provo, Utah.
After its season came to a conclusion on Wednesday night in Greensboro vs. NC State, Tech (19-14, 8-12 ACC) fell short of making the NCAA tournament field. It wasn't the only ACC team to come up short in terms of its résumé, though - North Carolina (20-13), Clemson (23-10) and Wake Forest (19-14) all missed out. The Tar Heels declined a bid while the Demon Deacons didn't make the field. The Tigers are a No. 1 seed.
The Hokies wanted another opportunity to play together after a rocky season, and they got it. Unhappy with the way the year played out, seniors Justyn Mutts, Hunter Cattoor and Grant Basile all expressed interest in closing 2022-23 out the right way. Head coach Mike Young said the same after the defeat in Greensboro.
"19 wins? I think that's worthy," Young said. "And I hope like crazy that that comes to fruition. ... We'll see how all that falls out on Sunday. But I hope that that happens."
Tech and Cincinnati (21-12, 11-7) have met 30 times before, most recently in March 1991. They were Metro Conference foes from 1978 to 1991 before the Hokies went to the Atlantic 10. Tech holds the all-time record 18-12.
The Bearcats, coached by Wes Miller, rank 54th in KenPom and 70th in the NET. Young and Miller go back to their SoCon days when they were at Wofford and UNC Greensboro, respectively. Cincinnati was just 1-7 in Quadrant 1 games in 2022-23; the victory came at UCF (No. 71 in NET) in mid-February. Former Hokie forward Landers Nolley, who averages 17 points and six rebounds per game, is part of the squad.
Information on tickets can be found here. Here is the full NIT bracket:
