Monday, March 17, 2008

NIT Bound

The Carrier Dome Box Office begins selling tickets at noon today to the general public for Syracuse's first round of the NIT Tournament against Robert Morris. Tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for SU faculty, staff and students with an ID. Tickets for youth ages 12 and under also cost $5. You can also purchase tickets at Syracuse's athletics Web site.

The Orange hosts Robert Morris, the Northeast Conference regular-season champions, on Tuesday at 8 p.m., televised by ESPNU. The NCAA Selection Committee elected a record-tying eight Big East teams, but SU didn't make the cut.

This is only the second time during Jim Boeheim's 32-year tenure as SU's head coach that the Orange will play back-to-back NIT tournaments. SU also played in the NIT in consecutive seasons from 1980 to 1982.
Many pundits and fans believe the Orange were snubbed out of the tournament last year. And an NIT Record of 26,752 fans attended Syracuse's NIT second-round game against San Diego State.
NCC News Videographer Jordan Bernfield talked with a Carrier Dome event staffer, who said they don't have an official count on tickets sold. The staffer says the Dome is unsure how many tickets they expect to sell. About 20 season-ticket holders were in line to buy tickets before noon. 45 people stood in line to buy tickets once the box office opened to the general public.
NCC News Sports Reporter Ashley Miller will give us an update in the 4:30 p.m. newscast about ticket sales and the game itself. Also, look for updates on the Web site as the story develops. You can view the NIT bracket here.

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