The National Invitation Tournament wasn’t exactly Ohio’s idea of March Madness, but it will have to do, as the Bobcats are bracketed against Denver in the first round of the year-end tourney.
No. 6 seed Ohio will head west to tip off against No. 3 Denver at 9:15 p.m. EST Tuesday. The victor will advance to face either No. 2 Maryland or No. 7 Niagara later in the week.
Denver (21-9) had won 10 straight games heading into the Western Athletic Conference Tournament Thursday but fell to Texas State by four in the tournament quarterfinals.
Ohio’s sights were already set on the NIT by the time it left Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, the site of the MAC Tournament, Saturday.
Ohio (24-9) senior guard D.J. Cooper admitted as much after Ohio fell to Akron by 19 in the conference championship game.
“I know I’m going to cherish regardless whatever we’re playing for our last few games,” Cooper said. “Now the goal is to get — if we’re in the NIT — to Madison Square Garden.”
The first stop on their way to the NIT title game, which is played at MSG, will be the Pioneers’ Magness Arena, where they were undefeated in conference play this year.
Denver is one of the most efficient teams in the country, as its 1.47 assist-to-turnover ratio and 48 percent shooting mark are the 4th- and 12th-best in the NCAA, respectively.
The Pioneers average an NCAA-worst 25 rebounds per game, as opposed to the Bobcats’ 31.1 — giving Ohio an advantage it has rarely enjoyed this season.
The NIT bid is the fifth in Ohio history; the most recent was in 1995, when the Bobcats beat George Washington by 12 at The Convo before falling to Iowa by four in the second round.
The quick turnaround leaves little time for Ohio to tune its game before heading to Denver.
The NIT may not be what the Bobcats envisioned, but it offers a chance to replace the taste left in their mouths after this weekend’s MAC Tournament.
jr992810@ohiou.edu
