Loyola men’s basketball coach Jimmy Patsos has taken another step toward putting his program on the nation’s radar.
Loyola will be one of 16 schools participating in the 2008 Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament, which annually showcases many of the country’s top teams.
The Greyhounds, who are guaranteed four games in the tournament, opens at Boston College on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. in front of a national television audience on ESPNU. The winner of the game faces the winner of Cornell and St. John’s the next day on ESPN2 in Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The winner advances to the semifinals in Madison Square Garden. The losers advance to a consolation bracket to play two games the following week.
“Once again we have been given the opportunity to get our program exposure on a national stage,” Patsos said. “Just to be selected to play in the NIT says a lot about what the committee thinks of Loyola basketball.”
Other participants are Eastern Michigan, Mississippi Valley State, James Madison, Florida Atlantic, UAB, Santa Clara, Loyola (Ill.) and five squads that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season: Arizona, Purdue, Davidson, Georgia and Oklahoma.
The Greyhounds posted a school-Division I record for wins last year, going 18-13 before a heartbreaking, season-ending 65-63 loss to eventual-Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament champion Siena in the semifinals.
Loyola boosted its national image last year by playing on the road against Dayton, Illinois and eventual-national champion Kansas. This season, the team also has non-conference games N.C. State and a nationally televised matchup against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“We have all been working hard to get ready for the big games and feel we have a lot to prove,” Loyola junior guard Brett Harvey said. “We aren’t at [the highest] level, but with our league, our goal every year is to get to the NCAA Tournament.”
[email protected]
