July 15, 1999

NEW YORK — The University of Notre Dame basketball team, under first-year head coach Matt Doherty, will kick off the 1999-2000 season on Tuesday, November 16, when it travels to Ohio State for the first round of the Preseason National Invitation Tournament. The game will be played at the Value City Arena (19,500 seats) on the Columbus campus.

The game will be played at 8:30 p.m. EST in Columbus and will be televised nationally on ESPN2. The winner of that contest will advance to the second round of the single-elimination, 16-team event and play the winner of the Davidson vs. Siena first round game on Thursday, November 18, at of the two schools. The semifinals and finals of the tournament are played at Madison Square Garden in New York on Wednesday and Friday, November 24 and 26.

Ohio State, led by head coach Jim O’Brien, posted a 27-9 record last year and advanced to the NCAA Final Four. The leading returner scorer for the Buckeyes is guard Michael Redd, who averaged 19.5 points per game last year.

1999 Preseason National Invitation Tournament

First Round

Tuesday, November 16
NOTRE DAME at Ohio State, Hofstra at New Mexico State, Kansas State at Arizona, Davidson at Siena.

Wednesday, November 17
Arkansas State at Utah, Pennsylvania at Kentucky, San Francisco at Maryland, Fordham at Tulane.

Second Round

Thursday, November 18
NOTRE DAME-Ohio State winner vs. Davidson-Siena winner.

Friday, November 19
Hofstra-New Mexico State winner vs. Kansas State-Arizona winner, Arkansas State-Utah winner vs. Pennsylvania-Kentucky winner, San Fransico-Maryland winner vs. Fordham-Tulane winner.

Wednesday, November 24
Semifinals at Madison Square Garden

Friday, November 26
Finals and third place game at Madison Square Garden