For the first time in program history, the Sam Houston men's basketball team has earned an at-large selection to the NIT. The Bearkats received a No. 3 seed and will travel to Santa Clara for an opening round matchup Wednesday night at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN+.
 
This will be the second appearance in the NIT for the Bearkats after playing at TCU in 2019. 
 
"I'm really excited for our guys and the program," said head coach Jason Hooten, who last week was named as one of 25 finalists for the 2023 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award by CollegeInsider.com. "They really deserved this opportunity because of their body of work and resume. It's really hard to get an at large on any level and I'm so proud of our guys. We get a chance to get rid of the bad taste in our mouth from Friday night."
 
The Bearkats had the best regular season in program history, winning 24 games for the first time. They added another win in the second round of the WAC Tournament before falling in the semifinals to WAC Tournament champ GCU. 
 
Led by WAC Player of the Year Qua Grant, the Bearkats were the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament in the first year of a new ranking system to determine the seeding for the post season tournament. 
 
Grant was also a first-team All-WAC selection and named to the all-newcomer team. Senior guard Donte Powers was named second-team All-WAC, senior guard Javion May was named to the all-defensive team and sophomore forward Cameron Huefner was tabbed to the all-newcomer team as well.
 
The Bearkats would be eligible to host in the second round or the quarterfinals depending on future matchups. 

The 2023 National Invitation Tournament marks a new beginning for the event. The NIT, after a nation-wide bid process, selected Las Vegas to host this season's NIT semifinals and championship, to be played at The Orleans Arena. The tournament has been played every year (except for 2020) since 1938. 

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