Georgetown to Host Harvard in the NIT

The Georgetown Hoyas are back in the postseason for the first time since the 2014-15 season!

The Hoyas are a 3 seed and will host the 6 seed Harvard Crimson the in the 1st round of the NIT at 7pm on Wednesday night on ESPN2 at McDonough Gymnasium.

Press Release:

WASHINGTON – Georgetown University’s men’s basketball team was selected to play in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), as announced on Sunday night. The Hoyas earned a third seed and will host fourth-seeded Harvard at McDonough Arena on Wednesday night.

Wednesday’s action is set for a 7 p.m. tip and will air on ESPN2. The game can be heard locally on The Team 980 with Rich Chvotkin calling the action.

Tickets will go on sale on Monday, March 18. Tickets will first be available only to current-year athletics donors and 2018-19 men’s basketball plan holders. Additional ticket information will be available on Monday, March 18. At that time, please visit WeAreGeorgetown.com/NIT.

Georgetown enters the NIT with a 19-13 overall record after falling 73-57 to Seton Hall in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament, Presented by Jeep on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. The postseason bid is the first for second-year Head Coach Patrick Ewing and the first postseason nod for the Hoyas since an NCAA Tournament berth in 2014-15.

The Hoyas have played in the NIT 12 times prior to this season and hold an all-time record of 15-13. Most recently, the Blue & Gray garnered an NIT bid in 2013-14, defeating West Virginia in the first round at McDonough Arena before falling on the road at Florida State.

Georgetown is 3-0 all-time against the Crimson with their last meeting coming on December 23, 2009. The Hoyas defeated Harvard 86-70 in the Nation’s Capital. Chris Wright led the Blue & Gray with 34 points while Jeremy Lin scored a team-high 15 points for Harvard.

For the fourth time in five years, the NIT will feature experimental rules intended to give the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee, the Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee and the Division I Men’s Basketball Competition Committee data as well as feedback to assist in making decisions regarding rules changes.

The winner of GU’s showdown with Harvard will face the winner of the matchup between second-seed NC State and seventh-seed Hofstra on the home court of the highest remaining seed.

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Georgetown is joined by fellow Big East teams Providence, Creighton, Xavier and Butler in the NIT.

Full Bracket below:

NIT will have some weird rules this go around:

There will be four rule modifications for the 2019 tournament:

• The 3-point line will be extended by approximately 1 foot, 8 inches to the same distance used by FIBA for international competition (22 feet, 1.75 inches).
• The free throw lane will be widened from 12 feet to 16 feet, consistent with the width used by the NBA.
• The shot clock will reset to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound instead of the full 30 seconds.
• Team fouls will reset at the 10-minute mark of each half for the purpose of determining free throws and one-and-one free throws will be eliminated. Teams will shoot two bonus free throws after the fifth team foul of each 10-minute segment. Additionally, teams will be awarded two bonus free throws after the second team foul committed under two minutes remaining in each half if that foul occurs before the fifth team foul of the segment. In each overtime period, team fouls will reset, and teams will shoot two free throws beginning with the fourth team foul or the second team foul committed under two minutes remaining if that comes before the fourth team foul of the overtime period.

Hoya Saxa!