Norfolk State to play at Virginia on Tuesday in NIT

NORFOLK, Virginia  --  Norfolk State and the University of Virginia - two basketball teams disappointed not to be playing in the NCAA tournament - will meet at 9 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament in Charlottesville.

The teams met two years ago at John Paul Jones Arena, when U.Va. beat the Spartans 50-49 on Assane Sene's tip-in of a missed foul shot with 4.8 seconds left. It was the only meeting between the schools.

Tuesday's game will be televised on ESPNU, the third appearance for the Spartans this season on national TV.

Norfolk State (21-11) went 16-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and won 15 consecutive games entering the conference tournament this past week at Scope. But the Spartans' hopes of returning to the NCAA tournament, where they upset second-seeded Missouri last season, ended with a quarterfinal overtime loss to Bethune-Cookman.

U.Va. (21-11) was among the last teams left out of the NCAA tournament. The Cavaliers lost five of their past eight games, including a 75-56 blowout loss Friday to North Carolina State in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.

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