Illinois' bursting NCAA Tournament bubble disappointed many in Champagne, to be sure. But on the bright side, nearby acrobatics fans couldn't be happier.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the Illini will be unable to host their opening-round game in the NIT on Wednesday because the university had previously booked Cirque du Soleil to perform in Assembly Hall. When the early-season assumption of an NCAA berth went by the wayside, the need for the gym became apparent, but the traveling show could not be rescheduled.
Illinois, the top-seeded team in their region of the NIT bracket, will be able to host later-round games, but it will have to travel to the home of its first-round opponent to begin play.
As opposed to the NCAA Tournament — where all games are played on a neutral court — the first three rounds of the NIT are on the campus of the higher-seeded team. The tourney then moves to Madison Square Garden in New York for the semifinals and final.
With Assembly Hall out of the question and the NCAA discouraging an NIT game at a neutral site, the Illini's opening game will be moved to the home gym of eighth-seeded Stony Brook.
The Seawolves' gym holds just 5,000 people, but the atmosphere should be passionate. Stony Brook won the America East regular-season crown but lost to Boston University in the conference's postseason tournament. Even though they failed to qualify for the big dance, the Seawolves' regular-season title punched them an automatic ticket to the little dance, and now they have the added bonus of an unexpected home game.
"For us, this is just a huge opportunity, nothing our community has ever felt," Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell told the Tribune. "The name and the tradition of Illinois basketball is just exciting around here. The students are lined up outside my office now, getting their student lottery tickets."
Stony Brook joined Division I in 1999 and had yet to qualify for any postseason tournament before earning the NIT berth.
