Texas State to play North Texas in first round of NIT

For the first time in program history, Texas State Men's Basketball will play in the NIT.

The Bobcats were selected to go up against No. 2 seed North Texas in the first round of the tournament, the game set to tip off inside the Super Pit in Denton on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

"Regardless of the opponent, we're excited to have our name called," Texas State head coach Terrence Johnson said. "You know, essentially we feel like the people who had their name called today between the two tournaments on the selection shows — NCAA, NIT — you're one of the 100 best teams in the country. So that's the way we're looking at it and we're just excited about the direction of this program.

"I just think that it shows administration and the community, the league, and everybody around that we're taking steps, that we're coming into our own, that we have the makings of a pretty respectable program in the state of Texas and across the country. So I think across the state, I think we've had the respect since (former head coach Danny) Kaspar revitalized the program. But I think now with this, with having our name called on national television, it's given us the notoriety and the respect across the country."

Texas State (21-7, 12-3 Sun Belt) received an automatic bid to the NIT after clinching the Sun Belt regular season championship. The maroon and gold were eliminated from the league tournament last week after a 79-72 loss to Louisiana in the second round. It'll be the program's first appearance in a national tournament since the team played in the CIT in 2019.

The Mean Green (24-6, 16-2 Conference USA) also received an automatic bid to the NIT after winning the Conference USA regular season championship. North Texas was eliminated from the C-USA tournament in the semifinals on Friday in a 42-36 loss to Louisiana Tech. The team was one of the top defenses in the nation this season, leading the NCAA with just 55.0 points allowed per game. North Texas is also coming off an NCAA tournament appearance in 2021 in which the Mean Green, a No. 13 seed, upset No. 4-seeded Purdue in the Round of 64 before falling to No. 5 seed Villanova in the Round of 32.

"Switching gears to a Grant McCasland-coached team, I mean, what can I say?" Johnson said. "You know, Grant's a phenomenal coach and a great person and I consider him a friend. He has a great staff, they do a phenomenal job. Obviously, they've been one of the best programs in the state of Texas over the last five years since he's been there, he's done a great job. We know that that is going to be an extremely challenging game for us but I like our mindset and our approach headed in, so we're excited."

Johnson said the Bobcats were let down by their early exit in the Sun Belt tournament but they've moved past the letdown in the days since and are now excited about the opportunity to play again. Johnson and his staff will spend Sunday night looking into North Texas and go through a quick walkthrough and shootaround with the players on Monday before departing for Denton.

"When you're excited about going into the tournament, as we were last week, and then you kind of get the air let out of you, it can be somewhat of a setback," Johnson said. "But I tell these guys all the time that the people who make it first in life are the ones that get past their shortcomings and their setbacks the quickest. So naturally, it took a couple of days to shake the rust off and pick our ourselves back up, dust ourselves back off. But I think we're there, you know, so our guys are excited about competing and they understand it's tournament season, it's March and they're part of it. It's not that often that guys can say, 'I was a part of March Madness.' So you know, it's a blessing to be considered one of the best teams in the country."