RENO, Nev. — Nevada will play Houston tomorrow night in Reno after accepting an invitation to join the inaugural 16-team College Basketball Invitational.

Nevada accepted the bid last night after being snubbed by both the NCAA tournament and National Invitation Tournament. It marked the end of the Wolf Pack's four-year run in the NCAA tournament.

"I think Houston is a terrific team," Nevada coach Mark Fox told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "It may be the best team to come into this building this year."

Nevada had to pay $60,000 to participate in the new tournament, something fellow Western Athletic Conference member New Mexico State refused to do.

The tournament is run by The Gazelle Group, a promotional organization which stages basketball events during the regular season.

"We think it's worth the expense," Keith Hackett, Nevada's associate athletic director for operations, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "It's a chance to get the kids back on the floor, playing in the postseason and in Lawlor (Events Center)."

The Wolf Pack (21-11) lost 83-75 to New Mexico State in a semifinal game Friday night in the WAC tournament.

Houston of Conference USA is 6-1 lifetime against Nevada, and the two schools last met in 1993 in Reno, when Houston posted a 92-80 win.

The game is set to begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday.