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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 4:08 p.m., Sunday, March 15, 2009

CBKB: Saint Mary's, San Diego State headline NIT field

By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer

NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT

All Times EDT (subtract 6 hours for Hawai‘i times)

First Round

Tuesday, March 17

Davidson (26-7) at South Carolina (21-9), 7 p.m.

Rhode Island (22-10) at Niagara (26-8), 7 p.m.

George Mason (22-10) at Penn State (22-11), 8 p.m.

UAB (22-11) at Notre Dame (18-14), 9 p.m.

UNLV (21-10) at Kentucky (20-12), 9:30 p.m.

Weber State (21-9) at San Diego State (23-9), 10 p.m.

Nebraska (18-12) at New Mexico (21-11), 10 p.m.

Washington State (17-15) at St. Mary's, Calif. (25-6), 11 p.m.

Wednesday, March 18

Duquesne (21-12) at Virginia Tech (18-14), 7 p.m.

Miami (18-12) at Providence (19-13), 7 p.m.

Illinois State (24-9) at Kansas State (21-11), 8 p.m.

Bowling Green (19-13) at Creighton (26-7), 8 p.m.

Tennessee-Martin (22-9) at Auburn (22-11), 8 p.m.

Jacksonville (18-13) at Florida (23-10), 8 p.m.

Northwestern (17-13) at Tulsa (24-10), 9 p.m.

Georgetown (16-14) at Baylor (20-14), 9 p.m.

___

Second Round

March 19-23

Weber State-San Diego State winner vs. Illinois State-Kansas State winner, TBA

Davidson-South Carolina winner vs. Washington State-St. Mary's, Calif. winner, TBA

Tennessee-Martin-Auburn winner vs. Northwestern-Tulsa winner, TBA

Georgetown-Baylor winner vs. Duquesne-Virginia Tech winner, TBA

Bowling Green-Creighton winner vs. UNLV-Kentucky winner, TBA

Nebraska-New Mexico winner vs. UAB-Notre Dame winner, TBA

Jacksonville-Florida winner vs. Miami-Providence winner, TBA

Rhode Island-Niagara winner vs. George Mason-Penn State winner, TBA

___

Quarterfinals

March 24-25

Weber State-San Diego State winner-Illinois State-Kansas State winner, vs. Davidson-South Carolina winner-Washington State-St. Mary's, Calif. winner, TBA

Tennessee-Martin-Auburn winner-Northwestern-Tulsa winner, vs. Georgetown-Baylor winner-Duquesne-Virginia Tech winner, TBA

Bowling Green-Creighton winner- UNLV-Kentucky winner, vs. Nebraska-New Mexico winner-UAB-Notre Dame winner, TBA

Jacksonville-Florida winner-Miami-Providence winner, vs. Rhode Island-Niagara winner-George Mason-Penn State winner, TBA

___

Semifinals

Tuesday, March 30

At Madison Square Garden

New York

Semifinal, 7 p.m.

Semifinal, 9:30 p.m.

Championship

Thursday, April 2

Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.

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NEW YORK — Passed over by the NCAA tournament selection committee, Saint Mary's didn't even manage a top seed in the NIT.

The Gaels and playmaking guard Patrick Mills fell on the second line Sunday for the 32-team tournament, placed in the same bracket with San Diego State.

The other top seeds were Auburn, Creighton and Florida, which earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first team to follow consecutive national titles with back-to-back NIT berths.

Other notable teams that landed in the NIT included Davidson and scoring sensation Stephen Curry, NCAA tournament darlings last March, and Kentucky, which had been to 17 straight NCAA tournaments.

Saint Mary's was likely one of the last teams left on the doorstep when the NCAA field was announced, even though it went 2-3 against teams in the RPI top 50 and had won five straight entering the West Coast Conference tournament.

"I was hoping common sense prevailed," said Randy Bennett, the coach of the small Jesuit school near San Francisco. "Using common sense, we're one of the top 34 (at-large) teams. This was the best team we've ever had, so it's just disappointing to be in this situation."

Mills broke his hand on Jan. 29 and missed a big part of the second half, rushing back for the conference tournament. After losing to Gonzaga, the Gaels played a late game against Eastern Washington trying to remind the committee what they look like with their star in the lineup.

It evidently didn't make much difference.

"We did get our hopes up a little," Mills said, "but there's a great lesson to be learned on how to handle adversity and how to handle distractions and making the most of your opportunities."