University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Bears Continue Season in the NIT
3/16/2025 8:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UNC Travels to California for a First-Round Battle with the Anteaters
BOISE, Idaho – For the first time in program history, Northern Colorado earned a bid to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), the selection committee announced Sunday.
UNC (25-9) faces UC Irvine (28-6) from the Big West Conference in the first round Wednesday at 8 p.m. MT. The Anteaters earned the top seed in the Irvine Region after falling to UC San Diego in the Big West Conference title game Saturday.
The Bears earned their sixth trip to the postseason in the NCAA Division I era, including the third trip under head coach Steve Smiley. They competed in the College Basketball Invitational after the 2021 and 2024 campaigns.
UNC made three appearances in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, earning bids to the 2010 and 2014 tournaments before winning the 2018 CIT. Following the 2021-22 campaign, the Bears defeated FAU 74-71 before an 87-84 triumph over UNC Ashville in the quarterfinals of the CBI before falling to eventual champion UNC Wilmington in the semifinals.
The Bears 25 wins rank second in school history, while the 15 wins in Big Sky Conference action matches the most for UNC.
UNC won its first Big Sky Conference regular-season championship before falling in the title game against Montana.
Dayton qualified for the 28th time, the most in the 87th NIT, the oldest postseason tournament in college basketball. CSUN, Jacksonville State, Northern Alabama, Samford UC Riverside and UNC each earned an invite for the first time.
First-round action on campus sites features the number one seeds SMU, Dayton, San Francisco, and UC Irvine, which face UNI, Florida Atlantic, Utah Valley, and Northern Colorado, respectively.
Other first round games include Wichita State at Oklahoma State, Saint Louis at Arkansas State, Furman at North Texas, Jacksonville State at Georgia Tech, UAB at Saint Joseph's, UC Riverside at Santa Clara, Chattanooga at Middle Tennessee, North Alabama at Bradley, Samford at George Mason, Loyola Chicago at San Jose State, Kent State at St. Bonaventure, and CSUN at Stanford.
Tournament Schedule
UNC (25-9) faces UC Irvine (28-6) from the Big West Conference in the first round Wednesday at 8 p.m. MT. The Anteaters earned the top seed in the Irvine Region after falling to UC San Diego in the Big West Conference title game Saturday.
The Bears earned their sixth trip to the postseason in the NCAA Division I era, including the third trip under head coach Steve Smiley. They competed in the College Basketball Invitational after the 2021 and 2024 campaigns.
UNC made three appearances in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, earning bids to the 2010 and 2014 tournaments before winning the 2018 CIT. Following the 2021-22 campaign, the Bears defeated FAU 74-71 before an 87-84 triumph over UNC Ashville in the quarterfinals of the CBI before falling to eventual champion UNC Wilmington in the semifinals.
The Bears 25 wins rank second in school history, while the 15 wins in Big Sky Conference action matches the most for UNC.
UNC won its first Big Sky Conference regular-season championship before falling in the title game against Montana.
Dayton qualified for the 28th time, the most in the 87th NIT, the oldest postseason tournament in college basketball. CSUN, Jacksonville State, Northern Alabama, Samford UC Riverside and UNC each earned an invite for the first time.
First-round action on campus sites features the number one seeds SMU, Dayton, San Francisco, and UC Irvine, which face UNI, Florida Atlantic, Utah Valley, and Northern Colorado, respectively.
Other first round games include Wichita State at Oklahoma State, Saint Louis at Arkansas State, Furman at North Texas, Jacksonville State at Georgia Tech, UAB at Saint Joseph's, UC Riverside at Santa Clara, Chattanooga at Middle Tennessee, North Alabama at Bradley, Samford at George Mason, Loyola Chicago at San Jose State, Kent State at St. Bonaventure, and CSUN at Stanford.
Tournament Schedule
- First-round games are Tuesday, March 18 and Wednesday, March 19
- Second-round games are Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23
- The quarterfinal games are Tuesday, March 25 and Wednesday, March 26
- The 2025 NIT semifinals are at 5 p.m. MT (ESPN) and 7:30 p.m. MT (ESPN2) Tuesday, April 1 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
- The 2025 NIT championship game is at 7 p.m. MT on ESPN Thursday, April 3 at Hinkle Fieldhouse
Head Coach Smiley, Jaron Rillie, Zach Bloch, and Isaiah Hawthorne Post Game Press Conference v Idaho
Sunday, February 23
Head Coach Steve Smiley, Jaron Rillie, and Quinn Denker Post Game Press Conference vs E Washington
Friday, February 21
Head Coach Steve Smiley, Quinn Denker, and Jaron Rillie Post Game Press Conference vs Montana State
Sunday, February 09
Langston Reynolds and Quinn Denker Post Game Press Conference vs NAU
Saturday, February 08
