By Ben Dickison, Sports Editor

Xavier’s men’s basketball season is still illuminated by a glimmer of hope. In the first ever season in which teams with a record below .500 are eligible to play in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), the 16-17 Musketeers have been selected to continue their season as part of the 32 team tournament. 

On Sunday night after the reveal of the 68 team bracket for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Musketeers learned they would be playing on, March 19, at Stegman Coliseum against the University of Georgia Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs, coached by former University of Florida Gators head man Mike White, enter the tournament with a 17-16 overall record and 6-12 in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Highlights of their regular season include a win over fringe NCAA Tournament competitor Wake Forest, who will play the winner of tonight’s game, barring an upset loss at home to Appalachian State. Additionally, the Bulldogs own wins over High Point University this season—the number one overall seed in the Ro College Basketball Invitational and NCAA Tournament six seed South Carolina.

Georgia finished 11th overall in the 14-team SEC,  eighth in rebounds per game, tied for 11th in assists per game, 12th in scoring, eighth in three point percentage and fifth-lowest in fouls of any league team. The Bulldogs are led in scoring by Niagara University transfer graduate student Noah Thomasson, who averages 12.8 points a game as  the starting point guard. The only other Bulldog averaging double digit scoring is senior guard Jabri Abdur-Rahim at 12.4 points per game. Abdur-Rahim’s father, Shareef, had a legendary playing career in the NBA and is currently president of the NBA G-League, which serves as a developmental alternative to the league.

“We had practice today, not knowing if we’d have another opportunity to play and guys still got after it,” Bulldogs Head Coach Mike White said after being informed of the matchup on Sunday night. 

Amid a number of notable teams, including Big East bubble team St. John’s, declining bids in the NIT, presumably to focus on recruiting in the now-open transfer portal, neither White nor Xavier Head Coach Sean Miller indicated the intention by any member of their roster to opt out of competition.

The Musketeer’s bid extends the Xavier career of All-Big East Honorable Mention player Quincy Olivari, a native of Atlanta, Ga. In lieu of the news that tonight’s game would be a homecoming for Olivari, the star guard said simply in an X post, “I’m happy.”

Following Xavier’s final regular season game against Marquette, Miller noted, “I think Quincy Olivari is really understated with the type of season he’s had. With the schedule we’ve had, the consistency he’s had, I just really want to highlight him.”

The tournament will also provide development opportunities for Xavier’s Big East All-Freshman Team Selections, including guard Trey Green and forward Dailyn Swain, along with this season’s Big East Most Improved Player, sophomore guard Desmond Claude.

Even in the absence of St. John’s, Big East teams clinched five bids to the NIT, the most of any conference. Seton Hall, who prevailed in home games against both top overall NCAA Tournament seed UConn and NCAA Tournament two-seed Marquette, earned a one seed in the tournament. Providence, who notably knocked off NCAA Tournament three-seed Creighton in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament, earned a three seed. Butler, whose home court at Hinkle Fieldhouse will play host to the tournament’s semifinals and championship, finds themselves in the same bracket as Cincinnati. Villanova is a one-seed and will host VCU on Wednesday.

Following Xavier’s loss to UConn in the Big East tournament, Miller remarked, “I think this team has more basketball left in us.”

The Musketeers have the potential to tip off five more games, starting tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN.