Murray State University Athletics
Lady Racers Open Women's NIT At Arkansas State
3/12/2007 5:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Murray State Lady Racers will open its Women's National Invitation Tournament at Arkansas State on Thursday. The tipoff time will be announced on Tuesday.
Murray State (21-9) earned an automatic berth in the Women's NIT after finishing in second place in the Ohio Valley Conference. Arkansas State (20-10) earned an at-large berth after beating Western Kentucky in the quarterfinal round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament and falling to eventual champion Louisiana-Lafayette in the semifinals.
The Lady Indians finished in fourth place in the Sun Belt's seven-team West Division with an 11-7 league mark. ASU beat ULL twice during the regular season, and beat Oklahoma State 80-73 in Jonesboro, Ark., on Dec. 9. Arkansas State has a Sagarin rating of 80 (Murray State is 144) and a CollegeRPI.com rating of 72 (MSU is 117).
The winner of the MSU-ASU game will advance to play at Wisconsin in the second round of the Women's NIT, to be played March 16-19. Wisconsin earned a first-round bye.
"It is a honor and a privilege to play in any post-season tournament," said MSU head coach Joi Felton. "We are excited about this opportunity, and will compete to the best of our ability."
Murray State's only previous post-season experience came in 1989, when the Lady Racers became the first team from the OVC to take part in the Women's NIT, an eight-team tournament held in Amarillo, Texas. MSU finished in fourth place, winning the first-round game and falling in the next two.
Other first-round games include:
Wednesday: Illinois-Chicago at Minnesota, Montana at Utah, Jackson State at Tulane.
Thursday: Nevada at Wyoming, UC Santa Barbara at San Diego, Long Island at Iona, Rice at Illinois State, East Tennessee State at Western Carolina, Davidson at Alabama-Birmingham, Kentucky at Oakland, Stephen F. Austin State at Southern Illinois, High Point at UNC Charlotte, Coppin State at St. Joseph's, Bucknell at Hartford, Dartmouth at Seton Hall.
Teams earning first-round byes and their first-round opponents include: Western Kentucky (Illinois-Chicago vs. Minnesota winner), Illinois (Montana vs. Utah winner), Mississippi State (Jackson State vs. Tulane winner), Wisconsin (Murray State vs. Arkansas State winner), South Carolina (Bucknell vs. Hartford winner), Hofstra (Dartmouth vs. Seton Hall winner), Virginia (High Point vs. UNC Charlotte winner), South Florida (Coppin State vs. St. Joseph's winner), Ball State (Kentucky vs. Oakland winner), Missouri (Nevada vs. Wyoming winner), Oregon (UC Santa Barbara vs. San Diego winner), Indiana (Iona vs. Long Island winner), South Dakota State (Rice vs. Illinois State winner), Virginia Tech (East Tennessee State vs. Western Carolina winner), Auburn (Davidson vs. Alabama-Birmingham winner) and Kansas State (Southern Illinois vs. Stephen F. Austin State winner).
