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It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It: Hawkeyes Earn First NIT Berth Since 2004

By PlannedSickDays

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You got him? No you get him. That's my man! No I got him. Who's got him? (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
You got him? No you get him. That's my man! No I got him. Who's got him? (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Getty Images

IT'S NOT THE NCCA TOURNAMENT BUT IT'S SOMETHING. It was a surprise when Iowa was announced as a seventh seed in the 2012 National Invitational Tournament (NIT). The number two seed Dayton, due to a scheduling conflict with the NCAA tournament, will play on the road Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are already on sale; $15 for adults, $5 for students and children.

Coach McCaffery will earn a $10,000 bonus for getting the Hawkeyes into the NIT. It's quite the accomplishment, Fran in his second year on campus and with a team picked to finish last in the Big Ten by some prognosticators. McCaffery held a teleconference last evening and had this to say,

"We are absolutely thrilled, I'm so proud of our guys and how they persevered and grew throughout the season. We have a phenomenal leader and captain in Matt Gatens and we got great play from Bryce Cartwright. Our young guys really developed throughout the course of the season."

This will be the first postseason game for senior Matt Gatens and he gets to do it at home. Gatens also spoke with the media last night and had this to say,

"It's incredible, you don't want to take the jersey off. You want to keep playing. It's a great opportunity to continue to play, wear the Hawkeye uniform, try to keep winning and chase a championship."

McCaffery added that will be "gratifying" to watch Gatens play a postseason game. Gatens is currently sixth all-time on Iowa's scoring list with 1,621 points. He's started 126 games in his Iowa career and his teammates recognize the legacy he'll leave. Zach McCabe said of Gatens, "Matt's one of the greatest Hawkeyes there is." McCabe went on to add,

"He's one of the greatest teammates I've ever had playing basketball, and he's a great guy on and off the court. He's a fierce leader and competitor - that's what I love about him. We're really going to miss him because he meant a lot to Iowa basketball. He's one of the greats."

Besides speaking briefly to the media Gatens took to the Twitter last night with this message:

Gatenstweet_medium

Yep, we're proud of you too Matt.

AARON WHITE KEPT A JOURNAL FROM THE BTT FOR THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER. With only two games in the tournament it's not the world's longest diary but there are some good quotes there. White talks about next year when he writes,

"If I'm going to be playing the 4 [power forward] next season, which I think coach probably wants me to, I have to get a lot stronger, and that showed tonight. Draymond Green and Adreian Payne are big dudes. You can't go down there soft. So I'll put on weight and get more explosive."

MIKE GESELL'S TEAM LOSES THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. Gesell had a terrific tournament run but it wasn't enough to win the Nebraska class B state championship. Gesell poured in 39 points including 6/8 from beyond the three point line in the semi-finals Friday afternoon. On Saturday Gesell finished the championship game against Scottsbluff with 30 points and nine rebounds.

ADAM WOODBURY'S SIOUX CITY EAST TEAM BEAT THE STATE'S #1 TEAM ANKENY FRIDAY. The win propelled the Black Raiders into the class 4A state championship game against Iowa City West. Woodbury would foul out in the second overtime; he finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. On Saturday's finale Woodbury had 16 points and nine rebounds. He, like Gesell, would finish the state runner-up as Iowa City West went on to win the championship 67-52.

HAWKEYE FOOTBALL OFFER A SCHOLARSHIP TO A FORT WAYNE, INDIANA WIDE RECEIVER. Mike Rogers, a 6'1" 190 pound wide receiver/safety prospect received an offer from Iowa Saturday. It is Roger's first offer. He is receiving interest from Bowling Green and Indiana. Check out his YouTube highlights.

THE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS CUT DALLAS CLARK. The Colts continue to clean house and cut salary. Former Hawkeye Dallas Clark spent nine years with the Colts and was selected to two Pro Bowls. Several teams are rumored to be interested in Clark. He'll certainly land somewhere.

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