Virginia Tech, Liberty receive bids to the NIT

Hokies to play No. 4 Cincinnati

Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young directs his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Duke in Durham, N.C., Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown) (Ben Mckeown, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

ROANOKE, Va. – The 2022 ACC Tournament Champion Virginia Tech Hokies have received a bid into the NIT Tournament. The Hokies will play No. 4 seed Cincinnati on Wednesday at 9 p.m. The Hokies hold an overall record of 19-14 and will face the Bearcats for the first time since 1991. Cincinnati is coming off an AAC Semifinals loss to No. 1 Houston. They sit at 21-12 overall.

The Hokies will be competing in the NIT for the first time since 2016 when they went 1-1. That season, Tech, the No. 3 seed, opened with an 86-81 overtime victory over Princeton in Blacksburg before falling 80-77 to No. 2 seed BYU in Provo, Utah.

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The Liberty Flames finished as runner up in the ASUN Tournament Championship but their season will continue. The Flames received the No. 2 seed in the NIT field and will host Villanova on Tuesday at 9 p.m. Liberty holds an overall record of 26-8 and is led by standout ASUN Player of the Year Darius McGhee who will look to finish out his career with another championship. This is Liberty’s first ever NIT berth in program history.

Liberty finished 15-3 in ASUN regular-season play, earning a share of the regular-season title for the fourth time in five years. The Flames finished as the ASUN Championship runner-up after facing Kennesaw State in the title game. Liberty has appeared in a conference title game in five of the last six seasons.

Villanova finished 10-10 in the BIG EAST and reached the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championship. The Wildcats went 6-2 in league play over their last eight regular-season games.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the Flames and Wildcats, a 2022 Final Four team.


About the Authors:

Eric is no stranger to the Roanoke Valley. He is a Roanoke native and proud graduate of William Fleming High School.