♣Tuesday, March 17, 2026 |
Photo – Basketball in the net – Bigfoot99 file photo
The 88th edition of the National Invitational Tournament begins today at college campuses across the country.
The championship game will be played on Sunday, April 5, at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers.
The Wyoming Cowboys will join teams from across the country, including top seeded Auburn, New Mexico, Wake Forest and Tulsa.
Wyoming, which finished the season with an 18-14 record, 9-12 in conference play, is one of five Mountain West teams that were invited to this year’s event.
The Cowboys will play Wichita State in the opening round this afternoon.
The Shockers will have home court advantage inside the Charles Koch Arena. Wichita State is making its 15th appearance in the NIT and second straight. The Shockers are hosting an NIT game for the first time since 2011 when they rattled off five straight wins on the way to the championship.
Head Coach Paul Mills has 56 wins through his first three seasons at Wichita State, third most in the country.
The Shockers rank fourth in the nation for rebounds—nearly 15 per game this season.
Wyoming and Wichita State have history. They first played in 1948 on back-to-back days in Laramie. The teams split the two-day doubleheader. They played nine more games between 1948 and 1963. They last played in 2007 in a game played in Casper.
Wyoming is led in scoring this season by Leland Walker at 13.7 points per game, good for 10th in the Mountain West. Naz Meyer is adding 12.8 points per game.
Tip is set for 5 p.m. Mountain Time. Bigfoot 99 will be on the air with the UW pregame show at 4:30.
