BYU Basketball to play UAB in the 1st round of the NIT Tournament

The BYU Cougars are dancing in the National Invitation Tournament. The Cougars first round matchup is against UAB. BYU was awarded a 2 seed, while their opponent, UAB, was given a 7 seed. The two basketball teams will play on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 at 8:00 PM MDT at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

West Coast Conference Player of the Year and Triple-Double King Kyle Collinsworth will lead the Cougars who are making their 12th NIT appearance with a 23-10 record. The Cougars have won the NIT twice in their history -- 1951 and 1966. BYU's all-time record in the NIT is 15-9.

UAB is led by guard Robert Brown (13.6 PPG and 3.1 APG) and forward Chris Cokley (13.1 PPG and 6.4 RPG). The Blazers have a 26-6 this season.

These two teams have history. The Cougars and the Blazers have played each other 3 times in their history. The Cougars lead 2-1 with the last game being played in 1989.

This marks the third time BYU is heading to the NIT in Dave Rose's 11-season tenure. Rose's NIT record is 3-2. The last time BYU entered the NIT was in 2013 when the Cougars made a run to the semifinals in Madison Square Garden.

The selection process for the NIT is similar to the NCAA Tournament, as both are run by the NCAA. Teams are selected for at-large b their resumes -- including good wins, bad losses, RPI, and record -- and teams must finish about .500 in order to qualify for selection.

Teams that win their conference regular season titles, but do not win their conference tournaments and are not selected for the NCAA Tournament, are given automatic bids to the NIT.

Watch for previews and analysis of BYU's NIT matchup on Vanquish The Foe.