Iowa State, Kansas Lead Four Big 12 Teams Receiving Tournament Invites
Iowa State landed a berth in the Preseason NIT while Kansas will play in the 2021 ESPN Events Invitational next November, part of several tournament invitations offered to Big 12 teams earlier this week.
Iowa State, under first-year head coach T.J. Otzelberger and coming off a two-win season, will join Memphis, Virginia Tech and Xavier at the Preseason NIT on Nov. 24 and No. 26 at Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets. This will be the Cyclones’ third appearance all-time in the NIT, with the last coming in the 1992-93 season.
Kansas returns to the state of Florida for the second season for a non-conference invitational tournament. The 2021 ESPN Events Invitational will be held Nov. 25-28 HP Field House at ESPN World of Sports near Orlando, Florida.
The Jayhawks, which reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, will join a field that will include Kansas, Alabama, Belmont, Dayton, Drake, Iona, Miami (FL) and North Texas. Kansas won this tournament in 2014 when it was called the Orlando Invitational.
READ MORE: Big 12 Basketball Transfer Tracker
READ MORE: Big 12 Basketball Recruiting Tracker
West Virginia, also coming off a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament, has accepted a berth in the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic at TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina. The tournament will be held Nov. 18-21.
The Mountaineers join a field that includes Boise State, Clemson, Elon, Marquette, Ole Miss, St. Bonaventure, and Temple. There is potential for West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins to coach against a former Big 12 rival coach in Shaka Smart, who is now at Marquette.
Finally, first-year Oklahoma coach Porter Moser will take the Sooners to the Myrtle Beach Invitational from Nov. 18-21. The last time the Invitational was played, in 2019, defending national champion Baylor won the event.
Moser and the Sooners could face Davidson, East Carolina, Indiana State, New Mexico State, Old Dominion, Penn, and Utah State.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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