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Miami Among NIT Selections

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The Associated Press

Published: March 16, 2009

The Miami Hurricanes were chosen for the 32-team NIT field, and will take on Providence on Wednesday night in a first-round game on the road.

Miami (18-12) had little hope of making the NCAA field after losing to Virginia Tech 65-47 in a first-round ACC Tournament game Thursday. Providence (19-13) tied for seventh in the Big East regular-season standings with West Virginia.

"Top to bottom, the Big East is, I believe, the best-ever conference," Providence guard Jeff Xavier said. "I mean, it's tough to swallow missing the NCAA Tournament. It's ridiculous, in my opinion.

Another team passed over by the NCAA Tournament selection committee, Saint Mary's didn't even manage a top seed in the NIT.

The Gaels and playmaking guard Patrick Mills fell on the second line Sunday for the 32-team tournament, placed in the same bracket with San Diego State.

The other top seeds were Auburn, Creighton and Florida, which earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first team to follow consecutive national titles with back-to-back NIT berths.

Other notable teams that landed in the NIT included Davidson and scoring sensation Stephen Curry, NCAA Tournament darlings last March, and Kentucky, which had been to 17 straight NCAA Tournaments.

Saint Mary's was likely one of the last teams left on the doorstep when the NCAA field was announced, even though it went 2-3 against teams in the RPI top 50 and had won five straight entering the West Coast Conference Tournament.

"I was hoping common sense prevailed," said Randy Bennett, the coach of the small Jesuit school near San Francisco. "Using common sense, we're one of the top 34 at-large teams. This was the best team we've ever had, so it's just disappointing to be in this situation."

Mills broke his hand Jan. 29 and missed a big part of the second half, rushing back for the conference tournament. After losing to Gonzaga, the Gaels played a late game against Eastern Washington trying to remind the committee what they look like with their star in the lineup.

"We did get our hopes up a little," Mills said, "but there's a great lesson to be learned on how to handle adversity and how to handle distractions and making the most of your opportunities."

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