Alabama One of Four Teams to Host 2013 NIT Season Tip-Off

September 17, 2013

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WCBI/UA Athletics) – The Alabama men’s basketball team was selected as the No. 3 seed and will serve as one of four host teams for the 2013 NIT Season Tip-Off, which was formally announced Tuesday afternoon by the NCAA.

Joining the Crimson Tide as Regional host will be top-seeded Arizona (West Region), No. 2 seed Duke (East Region) and No. 4 seed Rutgers (North Region).

(Kelly Lambert/US PRESSWIRE)
Head coach Anthony Grant and the Alabama Crimson Tide will be one of four hosts in the 2013 NIT Season Tip-Off.

The South Region, which will be played in Coleman Coliseum on the University of Alabama campus, features Georgia State, McNeese State and Stillman College.

The event begins on Monday, Nov. 18 with Georgia State taking on McNeese State at 4:30 p.m. CT, followed by the Tide squaring off against Stillman at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN3. The losing teams of the first day will square off on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 4:30 p.m. CT, with the winners from day one meeting at 7 p.m. CT (ESPN3). The winner from that contest will then earn a trip to the semifinal round, which will be held in Madison Square Garden on Nov. 27. The consolation and championship games will be played Nov. 29.

The 2013 NIT Season Tip-Off will be carried by the ESPN family of networks, televising games on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. All game broadcasts will also be available on WatchESPN.

The 29th annual tournament will also feature number five-seed Rhode Island (Atlantic 10), six-seed Elon (Southern), seven-seed East Carolina (Conference USA) and eight-seed Drexel (Colonial). Canisius (Metro Atlantic), Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast), Metro State (RMAC), Norfolk State (MEAC) and UNC-Asheville (Big South) complete the field.

The remaining teams don’t advance to New York will play third and fourth-round doubleheaders Nov. 25 and 26 on the campuses of the three highest remaining seeds. Participating teams will not play any team twice and the third and fourth-rounds will be assigned to the most geographically compatible site possible.