California Irvine Athletics

NIT Bracket

IRVINE, Calif. -- UC Irvine, a No. 1 seed in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), will host Northern Colorado on Wednesday Mar. 19 for a first round game inside the Bren Events Center.
 
The game will start at 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET) and will be televised on ESPN+. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Monday Mar. 17. 
 
UC Irvine makes their third consecutive postseason appearance in the NIT after earning an at-large bid in 2024.
 
UCI enters the postseason tournament with a 28-6 overall record under 15th-year head coach Russell Turner, the most wins since the 2018-19 season (31-6). The 28 wins marks the 15th 20-win season in program history, third straight, and tenth under the helm of Turner.
 
This will be the third meeting in program history between the Anteaters and the Bears and first since Jan. 1997.

Northern Colorado, 25-9 overall, is making their program's first appearance in the NIT. The Bears completed the Big Sky portion of the schedule with a 15-3 record and fell to Montana, 91-83, in the Starch Madness championship game.

UNC is 9-6 on the road this season, including a win over common non-conference opponent California Baptist, 79-68.

The winner of Wednesday's game will move on to face the winner of the No. 4 seeded Georgia Tech-Jacksonville State.

UC IRVINE IN THE NIT
1982
Won at San Diego State, 70-69
Lost at Oklahoma, 80-77

1986
Won at UCLA, 80-74
Lost at BYU, 93-80

2001
Lost at Tulsa, 75-71

2002
Lost at BYU, 78-55

2014
Lost at SMU, 68-54

2017
Lost at Illinois St., 85-71

2023
Lost at Oregon, 84-58
 
2024
Lost at Utah, 84-75