The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team’s loss to Robert Morris in the Northeast Conference Finals last Wednesday shattered the team’s dreams to play in its first NCAA Tournament.
Now, the Bobcats will get a second chance to shine in its first National Invitation Tournament appearance on Wednesday against the first-seeded Virginia Tech Hokies. Quinnipiac (23-9) clinched a berth to the NIT after a first-place regular season finish in the NEC.
“It’s obviously a great thrill and a great honor to be the first Quinnipiac team to play in a national postseason tournament at Division I in the history of this school,” said Quinnipiac head coach and NEC Coach of the Year Tom Moore.
“It’s the culmination of what’s been a record-setting season for us. We’re thrilled and excited to have the opportunity to play in the NIT. It’s something that’s never been associated with our school’s name, so to be noticed nationally in such a historic postseason tournament is a great honor.”
Junior forward and NEC Player of the Year Justin Rutty will lead the Bobcats from the post after averaging 15 points per game this season. Rutty has compiled 12 double-doubles in his last 14 games and his 11 rebounds per game currently rank ninth in the nation.
Senior forward James Feldeine, along with Rutty, earned All-NEC first-team honors and Feldeine led Quinnipiac in scoring with 17.3 points per game this season.
Tech (23-8) narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament as well after losing in its Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinal matchup against Miami 70-65 on March 12.
Junior guard Malcolm Delaney leads the Hokies, along with the rest of the ACC, averaging 20.4 points per game. Junior guard Dorenzo Hudson is 10th in the ACC, averaging 14.5 points per game. Junior forward Jeff Allen is a physical force inside, averaging 12.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
“Virginia Tech is a terrific basketball team, extremely well-coached by Coach (Seth) Greenberg,” Moore said. “Anytime you’re playing a team that’s won 10 games in the ACC, you know you’re playing a fantastic team. They are always playing with a lot of energy and coach Greenberg historically gets his team to play hard.”
The winner of Wednesday’s game will face the winner of the University of Connecticut and Northeastern matchup in the second round of tournament play.
A version of this article appeared in the Mar 17 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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