March 15, 2009
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's basketball team has been extended a bid to the National Invitation Tournament and will play a first round game at Kentucky on Tuesday, March 17 at 9:30 p.m. EDT. The game, which will be held at Memorial Coliseum because of a conflict with Rupp Arena, will be televised on ESPN.
The Runnin' Rebels (21-10), who are a No. 5 seed in the 32-team event, lost in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament to San Diego State, 71-57, on Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. UNLV finished in fifth place in the MWC this season with a 9-7 mark.
Kentucky (20-13) is a No. 4 seed and lost to LSU, 67-58, in the Southeastern Conference Tournament Quarterfinals in Tampa, Fla., on Friday. The Wildcats tied for fourth in the SEC's Eastern Division with an 8-8 league mark. Kentucky's streak of 17 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances was snapped with this NIT bid.
Fans interested in purchasing tickets, may call Ticketmaster starting tonight at 1-800-745-3000, visit ticketmaster.com or call the Kentucky Athletics Ticket Office beginning at 8 a.m. EDT on Monday at 1-800-928-2287. Prices are $33 each and everyone must have a ticket, regardless of age.
Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky., is a 9,000-seat multi-purpose facility, which housed the Wildcats men's basketball team before 1976, when Rupp Arena was built.
Kentucky's NIT Central Website
NIT Website
The Runnin' Rebels played in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2007 and 2008, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2007 and the second round in 2008. This will be UNLV's first NIT appearance since 2005, which was head coach Lon Kruger's first season with the Runnin' Rebels. That year, UNLV beat Arizona State, 89-78, in the first round at the Thomas & Mack Center on March 17, then lost at South Carolina in the second round, 77-66, on March 22. UNLV played in four straight NITs from 2002-05.
The 2009 NIT marks UNLV's 10th all-time appearance in the event, as it has an 8-10 all-time record in the tournament. The Runnin' Rebels turned in their best NIT finish in 1980 when they advanced to the semifinals in New York. The 1980 NIT also marked UNLV's first year playing in the event.
Kruger, who is in his fifth season as head coach of the Runnin' Rebels with a record of 112-52 (.683), is in his 23rd overall as a collegiate head coach (430-285, .601) and has led 15 of his teams to the postseason, including four to the NIT.
UNLV is 0-3 all-time against Kentucky. The last meeting was on March 15, 1985, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kentucky won that matchup 64-61. The other two meetings were at Kentucky on March 4, 1978, a 90-72 Wildcat win, and in Las Vegas on Feb. 17, 1980, a 74-69 Kentucky victory.
The winner of the UNLV at Kentucky game will face the winner of No. 1 seed Creighton vs. No. 8 seed Bowling Green in the second round. Possible second-round dates are March 19, 20, 21 and 23.
The last time UNLV traveled to an NIT first-round game was in 1999 when the Runnin' Rebels lost at Nebraska. UNLV traveled to Boise State in 2004 for an NIT opening-round game, when the tournament was made up of 40 teams, but lost. The opening-round winner then advanced to the first round that year.
