DAYTON — The University of Dayton men's basketball team is a No. 3 seed — in the National Invitation Tournament.

The Flyers will host Cleveland State in a first-round NIT game at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

UD was hoping for an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, which would have been its first appearance in the college game's premier event since 2004.

"Making it would've been great, but making that tournament wouldn't have changed the pride I feel in this year's team," UD coach Brian Gregory said Sunday night, March 16. "With the effort they gave in the face of so much adversity, I don't need verification from some committee to know what these guys accomplished."

UD has a 21-10 record and will make its 21st NIT appearance. CSU, which tied Wright State for second place in the Horizon League regular-season standings, is 21-12 and is making its first postseason appearance since 1988.

If UD beats the Vikings, it will face the winner of Wednesday's Illinois State-Utah State game. If ISU, a No. 2 seed, beats No. 7 Utah State it would host a second-round game in Normal, Ill. Second-round games will be played March 20-24.

The Flyers are in the eight-team Midwest Region with Ohio State, which is one of the NIT's top seeds. If both UD and Ohio State win their first two games, they would meet in the quarterfinals (March 25-27) with a trip to New York City at stake. There are 32 teams in the NIT field.

The NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden are scheduled for April 1. The title game is April 3.

Joining Ohio State — which hosts North Carolina-Asheville at 7 p.m. Tuesday — as top seeds in the NIT are Virginia Tech, Arizona State and Syracuse.

UD is one of four Atlantic 10 teams in the NIT, joining Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Charlotte. Three A-10 teams — Xavier, Temple and Saint Joseph's — will play in the NCAA tournament.

UD was one of five teams left out of the NCAA field despite having RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) standings of 40 or better. Dayton's RPI was the 32nd-best in the country.

The Flyers' last NCAA tournament victory came in 1990.

Ticket info

All tickets for Wednesday's NIT game will be reserved seats and cost $20 for lower arena, $10 for upper arena and $4 for UD students.

Season-ticket holders will be able to purchase tickets according to their seating donation level on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Monday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in UD Arena's Boesch Lounge.

Phone orders also will be taken by calling (937) 229-4433 for season-ticket holders during those times.

Parking passes will be distributed based on current parking assignments.

The general public can purchase tickets through Ticketmaster.com at anytime or in person in the Boesch Lounge on Wednesday only starting at 9 a.m.

UD students need a valid ID and can purchase tickets all three days in the Boesch Lounge.