The University of Toledo men’s basketball season will continue in the National Invitation Tournament.
The No. 3 seed Rockets (21-8) play second-seeded Richmond (13-8) at 7 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN2 at UNT Coliseum in Denton, Texas.
If UT wins, it will play the winner of No. 1 seed Saint Louis (14-6) and No. 4 seed Mississippi State (15-14) on March 25.
“Winning a MAC championship by two games, our team, our program, in particular, our seniors, are extremely excited and proud to represent the Mid-American Conference,” Toledo coach Tod Kowalczyk said.
This is UT’s 10th trip to the NIT and third during the Kowalczyk era. Toledo has made five postseason appearances under Kowalczyk — three NITs, one College Basketball Invitational, and one CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
The Rockets last won a postseason tournament game in the 2012 CIT. They haven’t won an NIT game since 2001.
Richmond beat two NCAA tournament teams: Loyola (Chicago) and Morehead State. In November, the Spiders beat Kentucky 76-64 at Rupp Arena. They also own a 78-67 victory at Vanderbilt.
“Richmond runs such a complex offense,” former Kansas star Danny Manning said during the bracket reveal. “Backdoor cuts. Three-point shots. They get to the rim.”
Richmond’s starters all average in double figures scoring, led by 6-foot point guard Blake Francis’ 16.1 points per game. Jacob Gilyard, a 5-foot-9 guard, leads the country with 3.5 steals per game.
The Spiders are ranked 65th in KenPom and 68th in the NET. Toledo is No. 62 and No. 67, respectively.
“They’re a very well-coached team,” Kowalczyk said. “I’ve known [Richmond coach] Chris Mooney for a long time. They’re a lot like us — they’re extremely skilled, they score a lot of points, and they’re a very difficult preparation. They play a lot of the Princeton style. We’re going to have to play with great discipline.”
Toledo won a school-record 15 conference games en route to the MAC regular-season title. The Rockets lost to eventual MAC tournament champion Ohio in the semifinals.
Marreon Jackson was named MAC player of the year, Ryan Rollins was the freshman of the year, and Kowalczyk was honored as coach of the year.
“This is a Toledo team that likes to move, and when I say move, [I mean] move to score,” ESPN analyst Jon Crispin said. “They have a number of weapons. They shoot it quickly. They move with great pace. Richmond is going to have to find ways to score against a team that can chuck it.”
The entire NIT will be played in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, with games taking place at the Comerica Center in Frisco and UNT Coliseum on the University of North Texas campus in Denton.
First-round games will be played Wednesday through Saturday. The quarterfinals will take place March 25. The semifinals, championship, and third-place games will be March 27 and March 28.
All 16 games of the NIT will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2.
The usual 32-team field was whittled to 16 and there were no automatic qualifiers. The Rockets were one of two MAC teams selected, joining No. 4 seed Buffalo.
There are only three Power Five conference schools in the tournament, although some opted out.
“It speaks to the parity in college basketball,” Manning said.
First Published March 15, 2021, 12:45 a.m.
