Stanford to Host Opening Rounds of 2011 NIT Tip-Off

Some news on the men's basketball front this afternoon. Stanford, along with Syracuse, Oklahoma State, and Virginia Tech, have been selected as host sites for the 2011 NIT Tip-Off tournament to start the season.

Joining Stanford in Palo Alto will be Fresno State, Colorado State, and SMU. The first round pits the Cardinal against the Bulldogs while the Rams take on the Mustangs on either November 14 or November 15. The second round will be held at Stanford on November 16. The semi-final and final games will be held at Madison Square Garden (hello Landry Fields!) November 23 and 25.

The NIT Tip-Off tournament is different from other tournaments in that if a team loses the first round, while they will be eliminated from advancing to the semi-finals in Manhattan, they will still play for runner-up positions the following weekend at the highest ranked school site of the remaining schools. In essence, it assures schools of playing the second weekend of the season, even if they can't play for the NIT Tip-Off championship.

While Stanford's men's basketball schedule has not been released, this has helped clear some non-conference scheduling. Pac-12 play will begin the final weekend of December.