Going to the Little Dance

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The opening round of the National Invitation Tournament provides a homecoming of sorts for Michigan coach Tommy Amaker and his Missouri counterpart and friend, Quin Snyder.

The two former Duke players and assistant coaches face each other for the first time as head coaches tonight when Amaker's 18-11 Wolverines play host to Snyder's 16-13 Tigers at Crisler Arena.

The winner will face either Oklahoma or LSU, which play Wednesday night. Second round games will be played March 20-23.

"I haven't talked to Quin yet, but I imagine that we both would like to have played someone else to start the tournament so that we could have extended our seasons," Amaker said Monday. "Obviously, that won't be the case after (Tuesday) night. But that's the way the draw has been determined, so we'll go on from there."

Amaker and Snyder were teammates for two seasons (1985-87) at Duke and were assistants together under Coach Mike Krzyzewski from 1993-97.

"It will exciting to have two Duke guys coaching against each other," Michigan freshman guard Deon Harris said. "Coach (Amaker) hasn't said anything to us yet about that aspect of the game, but I expect we'll hear something about it."

Missouri is playing in its first NIT since 1998, when the Tigers lost in the first round to Alabama-Birmingham 87-74. Snyder was hired the next season.

"I don't think our guys are even remotely aware of Missouri's NIT history," Snyder said. "These guys are not accustomed to playing in the NIT."

Snyder held out hope on Sunday the Tigers' strong non-conference schedule -- including games against NCAA teams Gonzaga, Illinois and Memphis -- would be enough to earn his team a place in the field of 65.

But a pair of late losses to Kansas, including by 25 in the Big 12 tournament, were apparently the final blemishes the selection committee couldn't look past.

"We do have an opportunity to objectively to evaluate our scheduling philosophy," Snyder said. "We've been told that you're rewarded for playing a difficult schedule and that wasn't the case here."

With a roster that included four seniors and preseason all-American candidate Rickey Paulding, Missouri was considered a favorite to win the Big 12 and started the year ranked fifth in the Top 25. But after losing to then-No. 17 Gonzaga on Dec. 13, Missouri was unable to win two games in a row until beating Colorado and UNLV in mid-February.

Other things the selection committee likely looked at when it decided against a Missouri bid: The Tigers lost eight of their 13 road games, loss at home to unheralded Belmont, and suffered a heartbreaking 84-82 defeat to archrival Kansas in the final game at the 32-year-old Hearnes Center.

"I'm disappointed we didn't control more of the things we could control, so we'd be in the tournament," Snyder said.

The coaching matchup makes an interesting story, but Amaker said he is more concerned with the opportunity the NIT presents to his young team. He and his players watched the NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday and were disappointed not to get a bid, even though they knew they were long shots.

The Wolverines' mood changed a few hours later when they learned they would get a first-round NIT game at home against a tough opponent.

"I don't think anyone felt sorry for themselves because we're not playing in the NCAA Tournament," sophomore guard Daniel Horton said. "We've got a chance to play another basketball game, and we're playing in the postseason."

Michigan is making its eighth appearance in the NIT, in which it has a 10-5 record. It has a 7-0 record in NIT games played at home and won the tournament in 1985. The Wolverines also won in 1997, but that championship later was nullified by self-imposed sanctions following the scandal involving former Michigan booster Ed Martin, who said he lent money to Sacramento Kings star Chris Webber and others during their time at the university.

Michigan and Missouri have played four times previously, and the Wolverines are 3-1 in those games. The last meeting between the two teams was in the 1976 NCAA Tournament, when Michigan posted a 95-88 win en route to the championship game.

The Wolverines likely will have to do it without their leading scorer, sophomore forward Lester Abram. Abram injured his left shoulder last Friday during the second half of Michigan's Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal win against Iowa, and he did not play Saturday against Illinois. Amaker said Abram is doubtful for tonight's game.

Asked to speculate about which of his two former players Krzyzewski would be rooting for in this game, Amaker replied: "I'm sure Coach K will be watching tape of his team's first-round (NCAA Tournament) opponent."