Razorbacks fall to Florida in SEC tournament

Razorbacks fall to Florida in SEC tournament

Arkansas accepts bid to play in NIT

sports@theeveningtimes.com

FAYETTEVILLE — It turns out, the Arkansas Razorbacks’ 66-50 loss to Florida on Thursday in the SEC Tournament wasn’t their last game this season.

While Florida ended any hopes the University of Arkansas men’s basketball team (17-15) had of making the NCAA Tournament — the Razorbacks needed to win the SEC Tournament to gain the conference’s automatic bid — Coach Mike Anderson and his players were holding out hope they’d receive an invite to the NIT.

And they did.

The Razorbacks, seeded fifth, will play at fourthseed Providence College in the opening round of the 2019 National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday.

Tip-off in Providence, Rhode Island, at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center is set for 9 pm (ET)/8 pm (CT) and the game will be telecast on ESPN2.

Arkansas finished ninth in the SEC while Providence was 18-15 and finished eighth in the Big East. The Razorbacks and Alabama Crimson Tide were the two teams from the SEC to earn an NIT bid and a total of nine that will be playing in the postseason.

Arkansas and Providence have met on three previous occasions with the Friars owning a 2-1 advantage in the series. Both teams have won on their home courts (Arkansas won at home 118-79 on Jan. 23, 1999, and Providence won at home the following year, 87-81) while the Friars won the lone meeting on a neutral court, 67-51 at the 2007 Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

This will be the fourth time Arkansas has played in the NIT. The Razorbacks reached the second round of the 2014 NIT, reached the Final Four of the 1997 NIT and the second round in 1987.

The NIT is a single-elimination tournament that awards automatic bids to regular-season conference champions that didn’t advance to the NCAA tournament. The 32-team bracket is split into four groups of eight seeded No.

1 through No. 8.

The first three rounds are held at campus sites and in most cases, the higher seed is the host.

The semifinals and finals are held at New York’s Madison Square Garden on April 2 and 4. All 31 games will be televised on ESPN networks.

By the Times Sports Staff