By Danielle Daniels

ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men’s basketball team has earned the program’s first-ever berth in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) when it was slotted to face No. 2 Ohio State on Tuesday, March 19 at 7 p.m. at Value City Arena. The contest will be televised on ESPN2. The Big Red is joined in the 32-team NIT field by Ivy League regular season champion Princeton, who will face UNLV in round one.

The Buckeyes were 20-13 this season and 9-11 in the Big 10, reaching the conference tournament quarterfinals. Ohio State owns a win over NCAA No. 1 seed Purdue as well as victories over UCLA, Michigan State and Alabama. Jake Diebler was named the permanent head coach earlier this week.

With its 22-7 record, Cornell tied for second in the final Ivy League standings and made the Ivy League Tournament for the third consecutive season. The Big Red and head coach Brian Earl sports one of the nation’s top offenses, ranking in the top 20 in scoring offense, 3-pointers made, assists and field goal percentage. Cornell has 12 wins away from home this year, including 10 true road victories, to rank among the very best in the nation. With its balance and senior leadership, the Big Red will be making its second postseason appearance under Earl (2019 CIT).

Founded in 1938, the NIT was long considered the most prestigious postseason college basketball tournament. The 2024 NIT Final Four will be held at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. on April 2-4.

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