Women’s basketball: OU in preseason NIT
The Oklahoma Sooners headline the 16-team field for the 2008 Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
Oklahoma will host UC Riverside at the Lloyd Noble Center in the first round of the tournament Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. Central. The game falls on a bye week for OU football.
“Our participation in the Preseason WNIT affords our fans the opportunity to experience competitive women’s basketball at the highest level,” OU head women’s basketball coach Sherri Coale said.
“From a team development standpoint this tournament allows us a tremendous competitive advantage in that we will be tested by some of the strongest teams in the nation in November. And the November piece of that is important because of what we will learn about our team so early in the season.”
Oklahoma and North Carolina are the featured programs in a field that includes 12 teams that played in last year’s postseason: Arizona State, Cleveland State, Illinois State, Indiana, Liberty, Middle Tennessee, Robert Morris, Virginia Commonwealth, Western Carolina and Xavier. Also in the mix are Ball State, Lafayette (Pa.), Tulane and UC Riverside. The 16 teams are represent 16 different conferences.
First-round games begin Friday, Nov. 14, and Saturday, Nov. 15. The second round will be played Nov. 16-19; semifinals will be Nov. 19-21 and the championship game is slated for Sunday, Nov. 23. All games are played on home campuses, which are announced after each round.
The WNIT format, introduced for last year’s tournament, guarantees each team to at least three games. Teams that lose in the first two rounds will play consolation games on the Nov. 21-23 weekend.
Maryland defeated LSU to claim the 2007 Preseason WNIT. The Terrapins finished the season ranked No. 7 in both the AP and Coaches polls with a 33-4 record. LSU won the Southeastern Conference title and advanced to the Final Four.
The appearance will be Oklahoma’s third in the preseason WNIT. The Sooners lost in the tournament’s first round to begin the 1994-95 season and played in the championship game in the 2005-06 season.
The Preseason WNIT will be one of the just three major women’s college basketball tournaments to be played in the Oklahoma City area in the upcoming season. The Big 12 Tournament and NCAA Women’s Tournament Regional Semifinals and Finals return to the Ford Center in 2009.
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