Virginia Tech is a #1 seed in the 2008 NIT. The Hokies face #8 seed morgan state (22-10, 14-2 MEAC) on Wednesday night at Cassell Coliseum. It will be on ESPN Classic at 7:00 PM.

If the Hokies win on Wednesday, there could be a very intriguing match-up in the Second Round. VT would play the winner of #5 uab and #4 vcu. Both of those teams are very good. uab finished second in Conference USA behind memphis, and vcu won the Colonial regular season crown by three games before losing in the semi-finals to william and mary.

Rounding out Tech’s bracket is #3 nebraska against #6 charlotte, and #2 ole miss battling #7 uc santa barbara. The other #1 seeds are ohio state, syracuse, and arizona state. Two-time defending National Champion florida is a #2 seed.

But first things first. The Hokies must put their disappointment about not being in the Big Dance behind them and TCB against morgan state. The two teams are actually more familiar with each other than you might think. They have played six times since 1985, all at VT and all won by the Hokies. They played every year from 2002-2005, so Deron Washington has played them twice (2 points in 2004 and 16 points in 2005), and A.D. Vassallo (12 points) and Cheick Diakite (2 points) have each played morgan state once.

Note: Don Devoe was a part of the NIT Committee. Devoe coached Virginia Tech to the 1973 NIT Championship.

Note #2: As the #1 seed in their bracket, Tech will not have to play a road game in the NIT. The best seeded team hosts, so Tech could host 3 games before going to MSG for the NIT Final Four.