Weber States Draws Cincinnati of the Big East in the First Round of the NIT

Men's Basketball

Courtesy: Weber State
Release: Friday 03/14/2010

Courtesy: Weber State

2010 NIT Bracket

NOTE: Weber State is set to depart Salt Lake City on Monday, March 15 at 2:00 p.m. aboard FRONTIER AIRLINES to Denver. WSU then changes planes and flies to Dayton, Ohio landing at 11:38 p.m. (EDT). ... The Wildcats will practice at 10:00 a.m. on Monday morning at the Dee Events Center.

Weber State’s men’s basketball season has been extended by at least one game. The Wildcats (20-10) are a #7 seed in the 2010 NIT and will play at Cincinnati (18-15), a #2 seed, this coming Wednesday, March 17 at 7:00 p.m. (EDT /5:00 (MDT). The game will be televised on ESPN2.

The Bearcats of the Big East Conference were 18-15 overall and 7-11 in conference play. Cincinnati defeated Rutgers (69-68) and Louisville (69-66) in the first two rounds of the Big East Tournament before falling to West Virginia, 54-51.

Cincinnati had big early season wins over Vanderbilt (67-58) and Maryland (69-57) at the Maui Invitational, then lost to Gonzaga, 61-59 in overtime, in the championship game. The Bearcats beat Connecticut, twice, 71-69 at home and 60-48 on the road. They defeated Notre Dame at home (60-58) and lost at home to Marquette in overtime, 79-76.

“They are a very talented team which played in the toughest conference in the country this season,” said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. “They are one of the best rebounding teams in the country, especially on the offensive glass where they average a ridiculous 14 per game. Our challenge will be to find our man when the ball goes up and be mentally strong."

The Bearcats are led by a talented back court of LANCE STEPHENSON (6-5, 210 Fr.) and DEONTA VAUGHN (6-1, 190 Sr.). Stephenson averages 12.3 points per game while Vaughn is at 11.1. YANCY GATES, a 6-9, 260 sophomore forward averages 10.7 points and leads the team in rebounding at 6.0 boards per game.

Cincinnati will be the second Big East team Weber State has ever faced. In the 1995 NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats lost to Georgetown, 53-51, in the second round of the tournament on a put back of an Allen Iverson miss by Donald Reid with two-tenths of a second on the clock.

ILLINOIS BRACKET                                           VIRGINIA TECH BRACKET
#8 Stony Brook vs. @#1 Illinois                        #8Quinnipiac @#1 Virginia Tech
#5 Tulsa vs. @#4 Kent State                           #5Northeastern @#4 Connecticut
#6 Illinois State vs. @#3 Dayton                      #6 Nevada @#3 Wichita State
#7 WEBER STATE vs. @#2 CINCINNATI          #7Northwestern @#2 Rhode Island

ARIZONA STATE BRACKET                           MISSISSIPPI STATE BRACKET
#8Jacksonville @#1 Arizona State               #8 Jackson State @#1 Mississippi State
#5 Texas Tech @ #4 Seton Hall                 #5 William & Mary @# 4 North Carolina
#6 St. John’s (NY) @#3 Memphis               #6 N.C. State @#3 South Florida
#7 Troy vs. @#2 Mississippi                      #7 Coastal Carolina @#2 UAB

The winner of the Illinois bracket faces the winner of the Arizona State bracket in the quarterfinals, while the winner of the Virginia Tech bracket faces the winner of the Mississippi State bracket in the other quarterfinal. Those four winners meet in the semifinal at Madison Square Garden on March 30th with the championship game set for Thursday, April 1.

Weber State Men's Basketball