Butler in the pNIT

[wsu97]

Butler To Face Notre Dame In NIT Season Tip-Off
Bulldogs will play in the Midwest Region at Conseco Fieldhouse


May 11, 2006

Butler will renew a long-time rivalry when it faces Notre Dame in the opening round of the 2006-07 NIT Season Tip-Off on Nov. 13, 2006. The Bulldogs and Irish will meet for the 102nd time overall and for the first time since 1995 when they square off as part of a first round doubleheader at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The NIT Season Tip-Off is returning to elements of its original format after 22 years. The tournament is moving to a doubleheader "common site" format with four first round regions. The East Region will be played in Charlotte, N.C., the South will be in Nashville, Tenn., the Midwest is in Indianapolis and the West will be in Spokane, Wash. Each participating team is guaranteed at least two games.

North Carolina, the 2005 NCAA Men's Basketball Champion, headlines the 16-team tournament field which includes, Baylor, Belmont, Butler, Colorado State, Fordham, Gonzaga, Indiana, Iona, Lafayette, North Carolina-Wilmington, Notre Dame, Rice, Sacred Heart, Tennessee and Winthrop.

Joining Butler and Notre Dame in the Midwest Region will be Indiana and Lafayette. The Midwest Region championship and consolation games will be played on Nov. 14. Winners from each of the four regions will compete in New York's Madison Square Garden in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinal and championship doubleheaders, Nov. 22 and 24.

Butler's last game against Notre Dame was on Feb. 15, 1995, and the Bulldogs captured a 76-60 decision at Hinkle Fieldhouse behind the 17-point performance of guard Travis Trice. The Bulldogs had five consecutive victories over Notre Dame before the series was ended following the 1995 meeting.

butlersports.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/051106aaa.html

[Fastbreak]

Updated: May 11, 2006, 5:45 PM ET
NIT Season Tip-Off gets new format
Associated Press


NEW YORK -- Gonzaga and North Carolina, which both finished in the final Top 10 last season, headline the field for next season's newly formatted NIT Season Tip-Off.

The field for the 16-team tournament was announced Thursday, and the 22nd annual event will be played at four "common sites" before the semifinals and finals are again held at Madison Square Garden.

The tournament will begin in four regions: East (Charlotte, N.C.); South (Nashville, Tenn.); Midwest (Indianapolis); and West (Spokane, Wash.).

At Indianapolis, Indiana will play Lafayette and Notre Dame will face Butler. At Nashville, Tennessee plays Fordham and UNC Wilmington meets Belmont.

At Charlotte, North Carolina will play Sacred Heart and Winthrop will take on Iona. At Spokane, Gonzaga will play Rice and Baylor will face Colorado State.

"We've been examining this event for the past eight months and the importance of giving our teams an opportunity to play at least two games in regional sites showed itself as a priority early in the process," NIT Committee chairman C.M. Newton said. "Going to regional sites and guaranteeing teams two games levels the playing field and just makes good basketball sense."

In the past, first- and second-round games were played at campus sites with the winners advancing to New York. Now, there will be two doubleheaders at each region, with the first-round losers meeting in a consolation game.

In addition to Gonzaga, which was fifth in the final poll, and North Carolina, which was No. 10, six other teams that played in last season's NCAA Tournament are in the 2006 field.

Gonzaga advanced the farthest, losing in the regional semifinals to UCLA. North Carolina, Indiana and Tennessee all reached the second round, while Belmont, Iona, North Carolina-Wilmington and Winthrop lost in the first round.

The Indianapolis and Nashville regionals will be Nov. 13 and 14, while Charlotte and Spokane will be held Nov. 14 and 15.

The semifinals and finals will be Nov. 22 and 24.

At least 12 of the games will be covered by an ESPN network.

Duke beat Memphis in last year's championship game.

sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2441833