Freshman P’Allen Stinnett, left, Creighton’s leading scorer, has his shot blocked by Drake’s Jonathan Cox in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

>

AP / Tom Gannam

SOUTH KINGSTOWN — The University of Rhode Island’s basketball team was thrilled to receive a nice consolation prize last night for the work it turned in this season.

The Rams, whose 21-11 record was built with a great start and a disappointing finish, were invited to take part in the 32-team Master Card National Invitation Tournament.

They will meet Creighton, the fourth-place finisher in the Missouri Valley Conference, in the opening round tomorrow night at 10 on ESPNU.

The Bluejays, 21-10 overall and 10-8 in their conference, were made a third seed and the Rams a sixth seed, meaning it becomes unlikely URI would have any home games as long as it lasts in the tournament. The teams are divided in four eight-team pods, with the higher seeds getting the home court for all games.

For Creighton, this is their 9th NIT bid and the team's 11th straight post-season tournament.

If URI wins its opener, its likely second-round opponent would be two-time national champion Florida, which is the number-two seed in the pod. Arizona State is the top seed.

“It’s tremendous to be able to go to the postseason, especially for our upperclassmen. They’ve never been,” URI coach Jim Baron said after hearing the news. “We had our bumps in the road coming down the stretch, but by the same token it’s about the whole year of work, not just the last month.”

The coach said his team will be ready to play, even though it will have to travel and have little time to prepare.

“We’ve practiced the last two days. The kids were excited to be in the gym,” Baron said. “We’ve continued to move forward hoping for this. It’s a great opportunity for us. We want to take advantage of it.”

Baron was in his office with his coaches when the news came last night. He and his staff immediately began scrambling to gather Creighton tapes.

“We know they’re from a good conference, a very competitive conference,” Baron said. “Dana Altman (the Creighton coach) does a great job.”

Altman, in his 14th year at Creighton, often has been mentioned as a candidate for jobs at bigger schools in the past. He has coached the Bluejays to at least 20 victories in each of the last nine seasons. The Jays have earned a postseason berth for the 11th straight year, which includes seven NCAA appearances and four in the NIT. The team was 15-2 at home this season and averaged 15,768 fans.

Creighton averaged 72 points and gave up 65. Its leading scorer is freshman guard P’Allen Stinnett, who averaged 12.4 points a game. He was one of seven players who had more than 20 3-point baskets.

The Bluejays played two Atlantic 10 teams early in the season, beating Saint Joseph’s, 90-84, at home and losing at Xavier, 79-66.

The participation will be the Rams’ 12th appearance in the NIT. They are 9-12 in the event, including two losses in the 1945 tournament when only eight teams were invited. The last appearance was in 2004, when the Rams beat Boston University in the Ryan Center, then lost at West Virginia in the second round. URI’s best finish in the event was in 1946, when it was runner-up to Kentucky. That was the year URI legend Ernie Calverley fired “the shot heard round the world” when he drained a 62-footer at the end of regulation against Bowling Green. Rhode Island won in overtime, 89-86.

Getting a spot in the NIT was by no means a sure thing. URI’s finish — losing eight of its last 10 — had dropped the team out of the NCAA picture and to 79th in the RPI ratings. The NIT, like the NCAA, has some automatic qualifiers.

Eight of the 32 spots in the NIT were taken by teams that won their conferences during the regular season but lost in their conference tournaments. When the NCAA took over operation of the NIT, one of the new rules it installed was to reward a team that played well all season. It guaranteed that any team that was the best in its conference during the regular season would have a berth in the NIT.

Virginia Commonwealth (Colonial), Stephen F. Austin (Southland), Utah State (WAC), UC-Santa Barbara (Big West), Robert Morris (Northeast), UNC-Ashville (Big South), Morgan State (MEAC) and Alabama State (SWAC) all were given NIT spots for that reason.

URI is one of seven A-10 teams that made the postseason, three in the NCAA and four in the NIT. All won at least 20 games. That has never before happened in the conference. This year, only one conference had more teams win 20 — the Big East, with eight.

The NIT has been played since 1938, one year before the NCAA Championship was organized. It is now organized and run by the NCAA.

pkenyon@projo.com