DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team has accepted an invitation to participate in the inaugural Vegas 16 Basketball Tournament, March 28-30, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
The Huskies will meet UC Santa Barbara on Monday, March 28 at 4:30 p.m. CT (2:30 p.m. PT) in the Vegas 16 quarterfinals, live on CBS Sports Network.
“We are very excited to have the opportunity to participate in postseason play and be a part of the first Vegas 16 Tournament,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “This tournament is a great reward for our student-athletes after a successful 20-plus win season and we are looking forward to playing in a very good field on a neutral site.”
The Huskies will be . . .
The Huskies will meet UC Santa Barbara on Monday, March 28 at 4:30 p.m. CT (2:30 p.m. PT) in the Vegas 16 quarterfinals, live on CBS Sports Network.
“We are very excited to have the opportunity to participate in postseason play and be a part of the first Vegas 16 Tournament,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “This tournament is a great reward for our student-athletes after a successful 20-plus win season and we are looking forward to playing in a very good field on a neutral site.”
The Huskies will be . . .
. . . playing in the postseason for the fourth time in school history, and the first time in 20 seasons. NIU appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 1982, ’91 and ’96.
“Our men’s basketball program has enjoyed its most successful season in 20 years, also the last time they qualified for post-season play. It is only fitting that the season continues at an outstanding new single-site postseason event, that is extremely attractive based on being in a destination city like Las Vegas,” said NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier. “I’m looking forward to seeing this team continue to compete while providing our student-athletes with a first-class experience.”
The Vegas 16 is a single-elimination, eight-team postseason basketball tournament. The event will begin on Monday, March 28, with the quarterfinals and continue with the semifinals on Tuesday, March 29 and the final on Wednesday, March 30. All games will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
The Vegas 16 field includes six 20-win teams; the winner of the NIU-UCSB quarterfinal will meet the winner of the Tennessee Tech-Old Dominion quarterfinal. The other half of the bracket includes Oakland, Towson, Louisiana Tech and East Tennessee State.
NIU will head to Las Vegas with a 21-12 record, 9-9 in Mid-American Conference play. The Huskies defeated Western Michigan in the first round of the MAC Tournament (March 7) before falling to Ohio in the MAC Quarterfinals (March 10). NIU’s 21 victories is tied for the second-best single-season mark in school history.
“Our men’s basketball program has enjoyed its most successful season in 20 years, also the last time they qualified for post-season play. It is only fitting that the season continues at an outstanding new single-site postseason event, that is extremely attractive based on being in a destination city like Las Vegas,” said NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier. “I’m looking forward to seeing this team continue to compete while providing our student-athletes with a first-class experience.”
The Vegas 16 is a single-elimination, eight-team postseason basketball tournament. The event will begin on Monday, March 28, with the quarterfinals and continue with the semifinals on Tuesday, March 29 and the final on Wednesday, March 30. All games will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
The Vegas 16 field includes six 20-win teams; the winner of the NIU-UCSB quarterfinal will meet the winner of the Tennessee Tech-Old Dominion quarterfinal. The other half of the bracket includes Oakland, Towson, Louisiana Tech and East Tennessee State.
NIU will head to Las Vegas with a 21-12 record, 9-9 in Mid-American Conference play. The Huskies defeated Western Michigan in the first round of the MAC Tournament (March 7) before falling to Ohio in the MAC Quarterfinals (March 10). NIU’s 21 victories is tied for the second-best single-season mark in school history.
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