FAYETTEVILLE - The NIT has a strong SEC flavor, but Arkansas isn’t getting a taste.
The Razorbacks (19-13) were left out of the NIT’s 32-team field, which included No. 1 seeds Kentucky and Alabama and No. 2 seed Tennessee, when the first-round pairings were announced Sunday night.
Arkansas submitted a bid to the NIT to host a first round game, and the Razorbacks had been projected to be included in the NIT by several websites which predict the field. Instead, the Razorbacks will miss the NCAA Tournament and NIT for the fifth consecutive year.
The Razorbacks’ last postseason appearance came in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, when they beat Indiana and lost to North Carolina.
Arkansas went 4-6 this season against eight teams that made the NCAA Tournament and 3-2 against four teams in the NIT field, but all seven of those victories were in Walton Arena, where the Razorbacks went 17-1.
The NIT selection committee apparently snubbed Arkansas because the Razorbacks went 1-12 in out of-state games, including a 75-72 loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
Arkansas beat Alabama A&M at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock and won at Auburn for the Razorbacks’ only victories away from Walton Arena.
In games against NCAA Tournament teams, the Razorbacks went 2-2 against Florida and Missouri, beat Oklahoma and Northwestern (La.) State and lost to Michigan, Ole Miss, Syracuse, Wisconsin.
The Razorbacks’ victories over NIT teams were against Kentucky, Robert Morris and Tennessee.
They lost at Alabama and to Arizona State in Las Vegas.
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson and several players said after losing to Vanderbilt last Thursday night that they hoped to play in the NIT.
“I’d love for this team to continue to play,” Anderson said. “They’ve had a good year. They’ve improved from last year. They did some good things.”
There was no official word from Arkansas Sunday night, but it seems unlikely the Razorbacks would opt to play in the CBI, a tournament in which the participating teams have to pay. The fee for a first round CBI game is $35,000.
No SEC team has played in the previous five CBI Tournaments.
Arkansas’ failure to receive an NIT bid possibly could mean the end of the college careers for redshirt junior forward Marshawn Powell and sophomore guard BJ Young, who both are considering whether to enter the NBA Draft or return to play for the Razorbacks next season.
“Who knows what I might choose?” Powell said after losing to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament. “I really don’t know, man.
“I really don’t like to go out like that, the way we lost. I don’t want to leave a bad taste in people’s mouths.”
Defending NCAA champion Kentucky is a No. 1 seed in the NIT, but the Wildcats play at Robert Morris Tuesday night in Moon, Pa., in suburban Pittsburgh because Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., is hosting NCAA Tournament games this week.
Alabama will open against Northeastern and Tennessee will open against Mercer.
Sports, Pages 15 on 03/18/2013