Men's basketball gets NIT bid, plays at Louisville tonight in first round

It might not be the Big Dance, but the National Invitational Tournament still involves some strutting on the national stage. The men's basketball team takes on Louisville tonight at 9 p.m. in the first round of the NIT. Princeton has now advanced to the postseason seven straight seasons.

ESPN is nationally televising the game, which will be held at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. On Feb. 27 at Freedom Hall, Louisville knocked off conference rival Cincinatti, which went on to receive a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

The Cardinals (18-12) are best known for their head coach, ex-Boston Celtics skipper Rick Pitino. He burst onto the national stage while he was coaching at Louisville's archrival, Kentucky.

Louisville, a member of Conference USA, won its first game in the league tournament against Texas Christian before falling to No. 13 Marquette. The Cardinals exploded for 110 points against the Horned Toads, more than double Princeton's scoring average for the season. But TCU is known for its lax defense, and Louisville managed only 76 points in its eight-point loss to the Golden Eagles.

Guard Reece Gaines soared the highest for the Cardinals against Marquette, and has been Pitino's most dependable scorer all season long.

Gaines, who averages 20.5 points per game — no Tiger averages double digits in scoring — was named First-Team All-Conference USA along with stars such as Cincy's Steve Logan and Dajuan Wagner of Memphis.

The biggest advantage for Louisville, however, might not be Gaines' scoring but the venue. The Cardinals started 8-0 at home and finished the season 14-2 at Freedom Hall. They scored more than 90 points seven times.

Another possible problem for the Tigers is Louisville's full-court press.

The Cardinals went to the pressure defense in their game against the Golden Eagles. Pitino's move paid off, slicing an 18-point lead to single digits and forcing Marquette to come up with big shots down the stretch to hold off the charging Cardinals.

To break the press the Tigers have a number of good ball-handlers in the backcourt, including senior Ahmed El Nokali, sophomore Ed Persia and freshman Will Venable. El Nokali and senior forward Mike Bechtold were both named Second-Team All-Ivy last week. They get a chance to prolong their careers in orange and black with the NIT bid.

The winner of the Princeton-Louisville game will do battle with the winner of Fresno State-Temple in the second round of the NIT. The tournament's final rounds are held in New York's Madison Square Garden.