Virginia Tech didn’t want an NIT bid, but George Mason and Liberty don’t mind playing another game or two.
Mason and Liberty both got NIT invites, and they’re meeting in Fairfax on Tuesday, in a game with a 6 p.m. ET quarter-hour tip, to be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
It makes more sense for mid-majors to take advantage of the chance to play in the NIT, for the exposure on ESPN2, and because you’re more likely to have the bulk of your roster back for next year than the big boys are.
For Liberty (25-7), the game is still a stark dose of reality: the Flames won the Conference USA regular-season title with a 17-3 league record, before being dumped by #9 seed Missouri State, 77-69, in the tournament quarterfinals.
Former top UVA assistant Ritchie McKay is still the coach down at Liberty, which he has taken to three NCAA Tournaments, and would have had a fourth bid in 2020, in his 10 seasons down there, with a 297-141 overall record at the school.
Mason finished the 2025-2026 regular season with a 23-9 record, after getting out to an 18-1 start, and being part of the discussion for an at-large NCAA bid for a couple of weeks.
George Mason made it to the second round of the NIT last season under coach Tony Skinn, who has put up three 20-win seasons since taking the helm at his alma mater in 2023.
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Chris Graham
