Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Runnin' Utes' opportunity of being invited to the NCAA tournament was squashed in its blowout loss to No. 4 Arizona on Thursday. A postseason run in the NIT is where Utah now hopes to make its mark.
On Sunday, the Utes were officially invited to the NIT, earning one of the four No. 5 seeds out of the 32 participating teams.
The Utes will play its first game Tuesday, March 18, against the Saint Mary’s Gaels. Utah was projected as a top 4 seeded team, but dropped to No. 5. Whether Utah’s decision to renovate the Huntsman Center starting this week was a factor in the seeding is unknown.
Saint Mary’s finished fourth in the West Coast Conference, behind Gonzaga, BYU and San Francisco. The Gaels finished the season with a 22-11 record and an RPI of 60.
Prior to Utah's loss to Arizona, the Utes were considered a bubble team for an invitation to the NCAA tournament with a deep run in the Pac-12 tournament. But, a 32-point loss to the Wildcats was the decider in Utah missing out on the Big Dance.
Arizona went on to play in the Pac-12 championship, losing to UCLA 75-71 in a hard-fought battle of the two best teams in the conference.
Utah could potentially meet up with in-state school Utah Valley, who narrowly missed an opportunity of playing in the NCAA tournament after losing 74-69 in the WAC semifinals to Idaho. However, the two teams would only meet up in the NIT finals game at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Utah Valley was an automatic bid to the NIT for being the WAC regular season champions and will play No. 2 Cal.
