On Sunday, Stanford men’s and women’s basketball both found out their postseason fates. Stanford men’s basketball has gotten a No. 2 seed in the NIT and will face Cal State Northridge on Tuesday, March 18th at 8:00 PM PT on ESPN2. As for Stanford women’s basketball, they’ve gotten a No. 2 seed in the WBIT and will face Portland on Thursday, March 20th at 7:00 PM PT on ESPN+.
For both Stanford programs, getting to a postseason tournament was something they had as a goal at the beginning of the season. Obviously, they both were hoping to make the NCAA tournament, but in the event that they did miss the Big Dance, both head coaches Kyle Smith and Kate Paye knew that they would use an NIT/WBIT invite as an opportunity to improve their team and build momentum for next season.
For the men’s program, this is their first postseason tournament since the 2017-18 season when they played in the NIT. They would have at least been an NIT team in 2019-20 season in which they went 20-12 and 9-9 in the Pac-12, but all postseason play was canceled due to COVID.
Both programs will have something to prove in their respective tournaments. Stanford women’s basketball will look to bounce back from a tough 63-46 loss to Clemson in the first round of the ACC tournament. That tournament did not end the way they wanted it to and they’ll be eager to win some games and possibly win the whole tournament. Especially since they’re missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since the Michael Jackson BAD era (1987).
Stanford men’s basketball had a heartbreaking two point loss to Louisville in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. It’ll be interesting to see if they can put that loss in the rearview mirror and make a run of their own in the NIT.
For both Stanford programs, a trip to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana is on the line. That’s where the semifinals and championship game of both tournaments will be played. It’s home to the Butler Bulldogs and sometimes referred to as “Indiana’s Basketball Cathedral.”
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