‘Nova to face #2 Liberty in NIT

Mar 13, 2023 - 2:20 AM

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Not a typo!

After the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday shows came the bracket reveal for the NIT.

Some teams, like North Carolina, opted out and declined the bid hours before the show.

Villanova decided to play on, and the ‘Cats learned their fate: unseeded among the field of 32 of the 2023 NIT.

The NIT, which only seeds the top four teams in each eight-team section of the bracket, features Villanova in a similar region with No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Liberty, No. 3 Wisconsin, and No. 4 Flroida. UCF, UC-Irvine and Bradley are the other unseeded teams in the section.

The winner of the No. 2 Liberty-Villanova game, will face the winner of the No. 3 Wisconsin-Bradley game in the NIT Round of 16.

The Flames are 26-8 this season. They went 15-3 in conference play and made it to the ASUN finals, where they lost to Kennesaw State by one-point.

All seeded teams get to host the opening round of the NIT at their home gym, so Villanova will be travelling to Lynchburg, Va. to face the Flames. From there, the higher seed hosts, until the NIT is down to the final four, which will be hosted in Las Vegas this year.

The Villanova-Liberty game will tip-off on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET.