Beavers Will Host NIT Opening-Round Game
March 13, 2005
Corvallis - The Oregon State men's basketball team, having its best season in the last 15 years, will make its first National Invitation Tournament appearance since 1987, and has earned its first postseason bid since 1990. The Beavers will host an opening-round game at Gill Coliseum against Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Oregon State is 17-14 overall, its first winning season since 1989-90. The Beavers finished fifth in the Pacific-10 Conference with an 8-10 record, and reached the semifinals of the Pac-10 Tournament.
"I feel great about it," OSU Coach Jay John said. "It's a great reward for the kids. They earned it and deserve it. It's a chance to continue the season. Playing in the postseason fulfills a dream for the seniors that they've had since they got here. It's significant that we'll play a postseason game here in Corvallis."
The OSU-Cal State Fullerton game is one of eight opening-round contests in the 40-team NIT. Its winner will move on to the 32-team first round and will face either Denver or San Francisco.
Cal State Fullerton (19-10) tied for third place in the Big West Conference, then reached the semifinals of the Big West Tournament before losing to eventual champion Utah State, 84-77. The Beavers and Titans did not play any common opponents this season. The two schools' only meeting was in the Beavers' season opener in 2000-01, a 68-35 OSU victory at Gill Coliseum.
This is OSU's fourth appearance in the NIT. The Beavers went 3-3 in three previous tournaments. Five of the six games were played in Gill Coliseum. The Beavers lost in the first round in 1979, then reached the third round in 1983 and the second round in 1987.
Tickets will go on sale Monday morning and may be purchased via phone (1-800-GOBEAVS), internet (www.osubeavers.com) or in person (at the Gill Coliseum ticket office). The ticket office will extend its hours from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Season-ticket holders will have until 5:30 p.m. on Monday to order the same seats that they held for the regular season. After that time, the seats will be opened up for purchase by the general public. On Monday, non-season ticket holders will have the option of getting their seat allocation immediately, or taking the best available seats that are not purchased by season-ticket holders.
Reserved seat tickets are $19 (chairbacks) or $12 (bench). Approximately 750 tickets are available to OSU students for free. Once those are gone, OSU student tickets will be $4 each. The normal $10 handling charge for phone orders and $7 handling charge for internet orders will not be charged on NIT orders.
Tickets will not be mailed. They will need to be picked up at will call, which will move to tables located at Gate 9.
