Hofstra University Athletics

HOFSTRA OPENS NIT SEASON TIP-OFF AGAINST YALE TONIGHT

11/16/2009 8:00:00 PM

Storrs, Conn. - The Hofstra Men's Basketball team begins play at the NIT Season Tip-Off tonight against Yale (at UConn's Gampel Pavilion), before facing either Colgate or No. 12 Connecticut on Tuesday,

Hofstra's game against Yale will tip off at 6:30 p.m., with Connecticut facing Colgate at 9 p.m. On Tuesday, Connecticut will play at 7 p.m. (regardless of whether it wins or loses against Colgate), in a game that will be televised on Sportsnet New York, while Colgate will play either Yale or Hofstra at 4:30.

The NIT Season Tip-Off is a 16-team event in which each team will play four games. Hofstra is the sixth-seeded team in the event, while North Region host Connecticut is seeded second. The North Region champion will advance to the NIT semifinals and finals at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 25-27, with the champions of the other three regions, which are being held at Duke, LSU and Arizona State. If Hofstra does not win the North Region, it could potentially host one of the three consolation brackets, which will take place on November 23-24.

Hofstra opened the 2009-10 season with a 101-65 loss to No. 1 Kansas at Phog Allen Fieldhouse on Friday night. The Pride received 23 points from junior guard Charles Jenkins (Queens, NY) and also saw significant contributions from two freshmen off the bench. Freshman forward Halil Kanacevic (Staten Island, NY) had 12 points and 12 rebounds, making the first player to have a double-double in his Hofstra debut since Kenny Adeleke against Florida Atlantic in 2001. Freshman guard Chaz Williams (Brooklyn, NY) also contributed seven points, five rebounds, six assists and no turnovers in 37 minutes of playing time.

The Pride will be facing some unfamilar opponents in the NIT North, as it has not faced any of the three other teams in the region this decade. Hofstra last played Yale in 1994-95, which was head coach Tom Pecora's first year on the Hofstra staff (as an assistant to current Villanova coach Jay Wright). The Pride faced Colgate last in 1997-98, when it swept a rare home-and-home with a non-conference opponent. The only time Hofstra has faced UConn was in the 1976 NCAA Tournament, which the Huskies won in overtime at the Providence Civic Center.

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