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Basketball isn’t done at the Huntsman Center this year: Runnin’ Utes are in the NIT

Utah will be a No. 2 seed and host the UC Irvine Anteaters on Tuesday.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes guard Gabe Madsen (55) screams in celebration forcing the first of three overtimes in PAC-12 basketball action between the Utah Utes and the Arizona Wildcats at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes guard Gabe Madsen (55) screams in celebration forcing the first of three overtimes in PAC-12 basketball action between the Utah Utes and the Arizona Wildcats at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024.

By https://author-service-images-prod-us-east-1.publishing.aws.arc.pub/sltrib/0f523731-12a9-4c6a-b27f-8683989c8181.jpg Aaron Falk
 | March 17, 2024, 8:20 p.m.

In the moments after being bounced from the Pac-12 tournament, Utah’s Branden Carlson and Gabe Madsen made it clear they didn’t want their season to be done just yet.

“As many times as you can play basketball,” Madsen said, “I feel that’s a good thing.”

Well, the Runnin’ Utes will have at least one more shot.

Utah will host UC Irvine in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday night.

Tipoff at the Huntsman Center is set for 9 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Utah looked like a team on the NCAA tournament bubble heading into the final week of the regular season. After two road losses in Oregon and an early exit from the Pac-12 tournament, those dreams of the big dance dried up.

This will be Utah’s 15th appearance in the NIT. The Utes are 15-13 all time in the competition. In 2018, Utah made a run to the NIT championship game where the Utes fell to Penn State, 82-66.

UC Irvine (24-9) led the Big West in the regular season but lost to Long Beach State in the conference championship game. The Anteaters feature guards Justin Hohn (12.7 points per game) and Andre Henry (10.6 ppg).

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