Cowboys Travel to Miami for NIT First-Round Action

March 14th, 2006

Oklahoma State will travel to Miami, Fla., to face the Miami Hurricanes in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament, it was announced Sunday night. The Cowboys and Hurricanes will tip off at 8 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday, March 15, inside the BankUnited Center on the Coral Gables campus.

OSU is 17-15 overall this season and finished seventh in the Big 12 Conference. Miami is 16-15 overall this season and finished seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference. This will mark OSU’s eighth appearance in the NIT and the first since 1997. It is also Oklahoma State’s 10th consecutive postseason appearance. The Cowboys went to the NIT in 1997, and made eight-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. OSU has been to the postseason in 15 of Eddie Sutton’s 16 years at Oklahoma State.

On Television
The Cowboys’ first round NIT game will be televised live by ESPNU. Jon Sciambi will handle the play-by-play duties while Donny Marshall will provide expert analysis. It is the first time OSU will make an appearance on ESPNU. The network launched from Stillwater, Okla., on March 4, 2005, and has been very successful in providing coverage of collegiate athletics across the nation.

OSU in the NIT
Oklahoma State will be making its first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament since 1997, when the Cowboys lost in the second round to Michigan in Ann Arbor. OSU finished third at the NIT in 1938 and finished fourth in 1940 and again in 1944. Oklahoma State has won its first-round game in each of the three appearances in the modern era, with all three games being played in Stillwater. The Cowboys lost in the second round of each of those appearances, all on the road.

About the Hurricanes
Miami is 16-15 overall this season and finished 7-9 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, good for sixth place. The Hurricanes defeated Clemson in the first round of the ACC Tournament 66-63 before falling to eventual tournament champion Duke 80-76 in the quarterfinals. Miami is led by junior guard Guillermo Diaz who is averaging 17.4 points per game. Senior guard Robert Hite is chipping in 16.4 points per contest, while junior guard Anthony Harris is also averaging in double figures at 10.1 points per game. Junior forward Anthony King leads the team with seven rebounds per contest. As a team, the Hurricanes are only averaging 68.6 points per game, but they’re allowing just 65.5 points per contest.

Series History with Miami
This will be the first meeting between Oklahoma State and Miami on the hardwood. OSU also played Boston College, a member of the ACC, for the first time this season. The Cowboys are 8-6 all-time against the Atlantic Coast Conference. OSU is 2-1 vs. Georgia Tech, 1-0 all-time against Florida State, North Carolina, NC State and Virginia, 1-1 against Duke and Wake Forest, and 0-1 vs. Clemson. After Wednesday’s game, the only team in the ACC that Oklahoma State has yet to play is Virginia Tech.

Looking Ahead
If Oklahoma State advances to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament, the Cowboys would either travel to Omaha, Neb., to face the Creighton Bluejays or, should the ‘Jays lose their first-round game to the winner of the opening-round Temple/Akron contest, then OSU would host that winner. The game would be played on Monday, March 20. The Cowboys are 19-21 all-time against Creighton, with the majority of the games played while both teams were part of the Missouri Valley Conference. Oklahoma State is 5-3 all-time against the Temple Owls, and the last game in the series was in 1995. OSU has never played Akron on the hardwood. The highest seed remaining would host the quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 22, with the winner heading to New York City to play in the semifinals on Tuesday, March 28, with the finals being played on Thursday, March 30. Those two rounds will be played at Madison Square Garden.

Entry Filed under: Cowboys,Oklahoma Sports