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CIT 2016

Men's Basketball

NJIT Men Selected For The 2016 CIT

This Marks the Second Consecutive Season the Highlanders will Compete in this National Postseason Tournament

NJIT's 2016 CIT Promo (Video)

NJIT 2015 CIT Recap (Video)


NEWARK, NJ—For the second consecutive season, the NJIT men's basketball team will play in a national postseason tournament. After an historic run to the semifinals of the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) last season, it was announced Tuesday that the Highlanders will return to the CIT this season and host a first-round game on Wednesday, March 16, at Fleisher Athletic Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. against an opponent yet to be determined.

Ticket information will become available this Wednesday afternoon at www.NJITtix.com.

"I'm very excited for our players to have the opportunity to compete on a national stage for the second straight season," said Highlanders Head Coach Jim Engles, now in his eighth year at the post. "We are proud to represent the Atlantic Sun and challenge ourselves against some of the best mid-majors in the country. We are all very thankful for the CIT and its selection committee for acknowledging our accomplishments this season."

During the regular season, the Highlanders (17-14, 8-6) finished in second place in the Atlantic Sun Conference -- their first season in the league. NJIT's 17 victories marked the program's second-highest, single-season win total while its eight road wins set a program record. The eight-team Atlantic Sun now has three representatives in postseason play with Florida Gulf Coast making the NCAA Tournament and North Florida slated for the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

NJIT, which began Division I competition in 2006-07 and became postseason championship-eligible at the top level in 2009-10, won three consecutive home games in the 2015 CIT before eventually falling in the semifinals at Northern Arizona, 69-61, on March 31, in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Yet, the Highlanders' improbable March run a year ago as the nation's only D-I independent and in their first-ever D-I national postseason tournament led CollegeInsider.com to dub NJIT "a true Cinderella."

"We are excited to have Jim Engles and NJIT back in the CIT again this year," said Angelo Lento, co-founder of CollegeInsider.com. "The Highlanders have overcome adversity and injuries to have another terrific season."

The complete 2016 CIT field of 32 teams, including NJIT's opponent for the March 16 opening-round game, will be announced by CollegeInsider.com on the evening of March 13, "Selection Sunday."

Founded in 1996, CollegeInsider.com notes on its website that it has been covering online sports almost as long as online sports coverage has existed. Since its founding, CollegeInsider.com has increased its scope to include 16 national coach and player awards, the Mid-Major Top 25 and the production of online programming that has garnered a New York City Emmy Award in 2013 and three other Emmy nominations.

One of their awards -- the John McClendon National Coach of the Year -- was won by Engles following the 2014-15 season. The annual McLendon Award is bestowed to one men's basketball coach across the full spectrum of college basketball competition—NCAA Division I, II, and III; NAIA; and junior college.

Lento and co-founder Joe Dwyer added the CIT to their portfolio in 2009 with a field of 16 that expanded to 24 in 2011 and then to the current 32 in 2012.

The annual field is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast and Western Athletic.

 
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