Coach Don Maestri and the Trojans will head to Oxford on Wednesday to face Ole Miss in the NIT. (Photo courtesy Kevin Glackmayer/Troy Unv. Athletics)

Contributed
(March 15, 2010)

TROY – The Troy Trojans will travel to Oxford, Miss. to take on Ole Miss in the first round of the 2010 National Invitational Tournament on Wednesday night at 7.

“I think our team is very excited,” head coach Don Maestri said. “It’s an honor to be in postseason play. Obviously, it’s an honor to be in the top 90-plus teams in the country and we look forward to competing in this tournament.

“It’s a tremendous honor for our university, our program and our players.”

Sun Belt regular season champion Troy earned an NIT bid with its first place finish and will face a Rebels team that it has previously faced on six occasions – most recently a 106-72 defeat on November 27, 2007.

Ole Miss finished the 2009-10 season with a 21-10 record, including a 9-7 mark in the Southeastern Conference en route to a west division title. The squad is led by a talented pair of guards in junior Chris Warren (17.2 ppg) and sophomore Terrico White (14.4 ppg).

The squad features five players scoring nine-plus points per game. Mississippi is coached by Andy Kennedy, who is in his fourth season in Oxford.

“Ole Miss,” Maestri said. “I’ve watched them over the course of the season, they are very athletic. They play four guards. They’ve got a good inside guy. They are well coached. Andy Kennedy has done a heck of a job with the Ole Miss program. We are in for a challenge.”

The NIT appearance is the second for the Trojans, but the first since 2004. That season, Troy won a regular season Atlantic Sun title, but fell to UCF in the tournament championship. Troy fell to Niagara 87-83 in the first round of the tournament.

“It’s definitely a reward,” Maestri said. “We were picked to do well this year because we had five seniors and four senior starters that returned. For them to be able to live up to those expectations and to come up at the end of the season with the word champion by their name – they deserve the reward.”

Tickets for Wednesday night’s game can be purchased from the Troy ticket office beginning at 9 am on Monday morning. Fans can purchase tickets either in person or by calling 1-877-878-WINS.