ORU To Host First-Round Game In NIT

Oral Roberts University will host a first-round game in the 2012 NIT Tournament as the field was unveiled Sunday night.

ORU will take on the Nevada Wolf Pack in the first round of the tournament and play Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. at the Mabee Center.

The Golden Eagles are the No. 4 seed in their region of the tournament and Nevada is the fifth seed. The game will not be televised but will be available for watching online at ESPN3.com.

Coach Scott Sutton said he and his team are excited to make a run in the NIT.

"We face a very talented and well-coached Nevada team on Wednesday night," he said. "You don't get an opportunity like this very often. Last time in the NIT we had to go to Maryland. Hopefully our fans and our students will come out. This team has done an amazing job all year and they deserve for the fans to support them."

This will be the eighth trip to the NIT for the Golden Eagles, the second under Sutton (2004-05).

If Oral Roberts makes it past the first round, it would play the winner of top-seeded Arizona and 8-seed Bucknell.

The higher seed in any given NIT matchup gets to host that particular game, until the NIT semifinals begin at Madison Square Garden.

The Golden Eagles were the top-ranked RPI team to miss out on an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. Though Oral Roberts wasn't considered seriously on the bubble by most, many ORU fans were still holding their breath waiting for some good news as the NCAA field was announced.

ORU was the heavy favorite to win the Summit League and grab the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after a 17-1 regular season conference record. But the Golden Eagles ducked out early in the semifinals, dropping a tough 54-53 matchup against Western Illinois.