NIT Season Tip-Off to include seven NCAA tournament teams

NEW YORK -- Stephen Curry will lead Davidson against James Madison in the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

The Wildcats are one of seven teams from last season's NCAA tournament in the field of 16, which was announced Tuesday by the NIT Selection Committee.

Purdue and Oklahoma both reached the second round of the NCAA last season while Cornell, Arizona, Mississippi Valley State and Georgia all lost first-round games.

Curry, a junior who averaged 25.9 points last season and is the nation's leading returning scorer, carried the Wildcats into a regional final where they lost to eventual NCAA champion Kansas. Davidson will play James Madison in the South Regional at Norman, Okla., while Oklahoma faces Mississippi Valley State.

Boston College will host the East Regional and will play Loyola, Md., while Cornell faces St. John's.

Purdue hosts the North Regional and will play Eastern Michigan. Georgia will play Loyola, Ill., in the region's other game.

Arizona hosts the West Regional and will play Florida Atlantic, while Santa Clara faces UAB.

The first-round games will be Nov. 17, with the regional championship and third-place games on Nov. 18.

The four winners advance to Madison Square Garden with the semifinals on Nov. 26 and the championship game on Nov. 28.

The other 12 teams will play two more rounds of games on Nov. 24 and 25, at campus sites.

The tournament started as the Preseason NIT in 1985.