Cleveland State Earns NIT Bid, Set to Face Stanford

With the brackets set for the men’s NCAA championship tournament, the Cleveland State Vikings (22-10) earned a bid for the nation’s other tournament — the National Invitational Tournament.

The 32-team NIT features a handful of teams considered to be snubs for the former tournament, this season setting Washington, Tennessee, Seton Hall and Arizona as the four No. 1 seeds. The Gary Waters-led CSU team will head west to lock up in a first-round pairing against Standford’s Cardinal. A win over Stanford would set the Vikings against the winner of Ole Miss and Illinois State. 

“I am so happy for the young men in our program because they have been given the opportunity to play in the postseason,” Waters said. “This team has played hard throughout the season and played against some of the best teams in the country. This group is very deserving of receiving a postseason bid and I thank the NIT selection committee for the honor.”

This is the seventh postseason appearance for the Vikings in program history with CSU owning a 3-2 record in two NCAA appearances and a 3-4 mark during four trips to the NIT.

Akron University and the University of Dayton round out the rest of the Ohio-based schools that will take part in the 2012 NIT. 

[Related: Opportunity Lost: Cleveland State’s Big Dance Dreams Shattered in Indiana]