The Sam Houston men’s basketball team has made history by receiving an at-large selection to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) for the first time ever. As the No. 3 seed, they will travel to Santa Clara to play their opening match on Wednesday night at 8 p.m., which will be televised on ESPN+.
This will be the second time that the Bearkats have appeared in the NIT, having previously played at TCU in 2019. Head coach Jason Hooten expressed his excitement for the program and his players, who have earned this opportunity due to their hard work and impressive resumes. Hooten said, “It’s really hard to get an at large on any level and I’m so proud of our guys. We get a chance to get rid of the bad taste in our mouth from Friday night.”
The Bearkats had an outstanding regular season, winning 24 games for the first time in program history. Although they fell to WAC Tournament champion GCU in the semifinals, they managed to win one more game in the second round of the tournament. The team was led by WAC Player of the Year Qua Grant and was ranked No. 1 in the WAC Tournament. Grant was also named to the first-team All-WAC selection and all-newcomer team, while senior guard Donte Powers was selected to the second-team All-WAC. Additionally, senior guard Javion May was named to the all-defensive team and sophomore forward Cameron Huefner was tabbed to the all-newcomer team.
If the Bearkats win their opening match, they will be eligible to host their next game against the winner of either No. 3 seed North Texas and Alcorn State. If they continue to win, they may be able to host games in the quarterfinals if they remain the higher seed.
The 2023 National Invitation Tournament will feature a new beginning for the event, as it will be hosted by Las Vegas at The Orleans Arena for the semifinals and championship. The tournament has been played every year since 1938, except for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
