The University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team will make its first-ever appearance in the National Invitational Tournament.
UNI (19-13 overall, 9-9 MVC) will travel to St. Joseph’s (20-13, 9-7 Atlantic 10) to take on the Hawks in Philadelphia, Pa., on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. (ET). The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
UNI is the No. 7 seed, while St. Joseph’s is the No. 2 seed in the Seton Hall bracket. UNI and St. Joseph’s will play in Hagan Arena (4,200 capacity) on St. Joe’s campus.
UNI and St. Joseph’s have never met on the basketball floor. St. Joseph’s is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Hawks tied for fifth in the A-10 standings this season. St. Joseph’s lost to eventual A-10 Tournament champion St. Bonaventure in the quarterfinals, 78-71.
UNI and St. Joseph’s shared one common opponent in the 2011-12 season – the Creighton Bluejays. St. Joseph’s scored an 80-71 win over the Bluejays on Dec. 10 in Philadelphia. UNI split the season series with Creighton, with the home team winning each matchup.
UNI is making its fourth straight postseason appearance. The Panthers were in the NCAA Tournament in 2009 (first round) and 2010 (Sweet 16) and the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2011 (quarterfinals).
The winner of the UNI-St. Joseph’s game will take on the winner of the Drexel-Central Florida matchup.
