In setting goals for the Virginia Athletics Department a few years back, Athletic Director Craig Littlepage referenced a desire for the Cavaliers to be the Stanford of the East. Well in an interesting twist, the men’s basketball team’s rebuilding journey will feature a trip to Stanford in this season’s National Invitation Tournament.

The Cavs and the Cardinal square off in a first round game on Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m. The contest will be televised on ESPN.

“As I said the other day, if you can continue to keep playing, I think that’s a great thing at this time of year,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao said in a recorded statement. “Especially for this group because it worked extremely hard all year long and this is a good reward. And because we’re young, I think it’s also great preparation for the following year.”

Certainly some would debate just how rewarding a cross-country flight on short notice is. Regardless, the Hoos have a limited amount of preparation time before tip-off, which will come approximately 48 hours after the NIT brackets were announced.

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