NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State men's basketball team, winners of the regular season MEAC title, will face Virginia on Tuesday night in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament, as the complete NIT bracket was announced Sunday night on ESPNU.

NSU, the No. 8 seed in the 32-team NIT, will play at No. 1 seed Virginia at 9 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena in a matchup of teams with identical 21-11 records. The Spartans secured the MEAC's automatic bid to the NIT for winning the regular season title outright with a 16-0 conference record.

The game against the Cavaliers will be broadcast live on ESPNU. NSU fans can also listen to the game live on WNSB Hot 91.1 FM, with Ross Gordon and Matt Michalec Matt on the call.

The contest with Virginia will be a rematch of a game two years ago that NSU almost pulled off at JPJ Arena. NSU fell by one point, 50-49, on Dec. 20, 2010 after Virginia knocked in a tip in off a missed free throw with less than five seconds to go in the game.

The Department of Athletics will have a very limited quantity of tickets for NSU's first-round game against the Cavaliers. If fans are interested in purchasing from NSU's allotment of tickets, complete the request form located here by 9 a.m. this Monday. Fans who submit the online form will be contacted by an NSU representative later on Monday. Fans can purchase a maximum of four (4) tickets per customer.

If any of NSU's allotment remains following Monday, more details will be released regarding how fans can secure the unsold tickets. If the allotment is sold out after Monday, fans will need to contact Virginia's ticket office to purchase tickets.

NSU fell to Bethune-Cookman in overtime in the quarterfinal round of the MEAC tournament last Wednesday by a 70-68 score to fall into the NIT.

The first, second and quarterfinal rounds of the NIT are played at campus sites, while the semifinals and NIT final are played at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com