March 14, 2004

NIT Bracket

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will host Rice University of the Western Athletic Conference in an opening round game of the National Invitation Tournament.

The game will be played Wednesday, March 17 at 7 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Arena. Tickets for the game will go on sale through Ticket Master beginning Monday. Season ticket holders should contact the UWM Ticket Office at 414-229-5886 to reserve their seats.

This will be UWM's first-ever appearance in the NIT. The winner of Wednesday's game will face either UNLV or Boise State in the next round.

"What a great moment for our program and a great testament to our fans," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said of the invitation and the chance to play a home game. "It really shows what a tremendous step this program has taken. But, when you play a competitive non-league schedule and win a good league, you should be rewarded. It's an exciting opportunity for our players to play in the post-season for a second-straight year."

The Panthers (19-10) won their first-ever Horizon League regular season title this year before falling, 65-62, to the University of Illinois-Chicago in the league tournament title game in front of a record crowd of 10,254 at the U.S. Cellular Arena. Seven of UWM's 10 losses this season came to teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Rice (22-10) is making its first post-season appearance since the 1993-94 NIT, when the Owls won a first round game at Wisconsin.

UWM advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season and has won 59 games in the last three seasons under Pearl.