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SU Hosts Robert Morris in First Round of MasterCard NIT
3/16/2008 9:05:33 PM | Men's Basketball
2008 MasterCard NIT Bracket (.pdf)
Game Notes (.pdf)
Live Stats
SYRACUSE, NY -- Syracuse (19-13) received its 12th berth in the National Invitation Tournament on Sunday. The Orange earned one of four top seeds in the event and will host Robert Morris (26-7) on Tuesday, March 18, at 8:00 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.
All Carrier Dome suite holders, courtside seat season ticket holders or executive suite patrons are invited to call the Orange Club (315-443-1419) to order tickets.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for Syracuse University faculty, staff and students with a valid SU ID, and youth age 12 and under. Season ticket seat locations will not be reserved. Fans who purchase tickets via the Internet (click here) are encouraged to use the “Print at Home” feature to avoid long lines at the Box Office on Tuesday night. Ticket sales will only be conducted online via SUathletics.com or in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office.
All 2007-08 basketball season parking passes will be honored in any of the University parking lots utilized for the game. Parking for those who do not have a regular-season parking pass is $10. Parking will be available on a first-come, first-served basis in the stadium west lots and Manley Field House.
Tuesday's game will be televised live on ESPNU. In addition, Voice of the Orange Matt Park will have the call on the Syracuse ISP Network’s flagship (TK-99.5 FM) with the pre-game show beginning 90 minutes before tipoff. The radio network broadcast is available live on Orange All-Access.
The Syracuse bracket also includes #2 Massachusetts (21-10) vs. #7 Stephen F. Austin (26-6), #3 Florida State (19-14) vs. Akron (23-9) and #4 Minnesota (20-12) vs. #5 Maryland (18-14). The top seeded team will host in the first three rounds of play. Should the Orange advance, it will host the winner of the Minnesota-Maryland game.
The other number one seeds in the 2008 NIT are Ohio State (19-13), Virginia Tech (19-12) and Arizona State (19-12).
SU's opponent, Robert Morris, owns an overall record of 26-7 and claimed its fifth Northeast Conference regular-season championship in 2008 before falling in the semifinals of the NEC Tournament, 83-65, to Mount St. Mary’s. The loss ended the Colonials' 14-game winning streak. Robert Morris is coached by Fordham graduate Mike Rice who is in his first year at the helm. The Colonials are making their sixth postseason appearance.
Jeremy Chappell (14.9 ppg) and A.J. Jackson (14.0) are their top two scorers and Tony Lee leads the Colonials in rebounding at 6.7 boards per game.
The Orange and Colonials have met once before with SU emerging victorious,103-67, on Dec. 19, 1994.
Syracuse is 12-12 all-time in the NIT. The Orange also received NIT spots in 1945-46, 1949-50, 1963-64, 1966-67, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1996-97, 2001-02 and 2006-07. The Orange reached the NIT championship game in 1981, losing to Tulsa in overtime, 86-84.
The program's most recent venture into the NIT was last season when the Orange defeated South Alabama (79-73) and San Diego State (80-64) before losing in the quarterfinals at Clemson (74-70).
