After just missing out on making the NCAA Tournament, one of four "replacement teams" for March Madness, the Ole Miss men's basketball team received a No. 1 seed in the National Invitational Tournament.

Making the 13th NIT appearance in school history, including the second postseason bid in three seasons under Kermit Davis, Ole Miss earned a top seed and will face Louisiana Tech at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas (March 19). Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2. The winner will of that matchup will advance to the quarterfinals (March 25) to play the winner between No. 2 seed Saint Mary's and No. 3 seed Western Kentucky. All NIT games will take place in the North Texas area and air on ESPN's family of networks.

The Rebels have battled Louisiana Tech on the hardwood 13 times throughout history, leading the all-time series 8-5. The last time the two teams played one another, Ole Miss cruised to a 99-80 victory in the second to last game in Tad Smith Coliseum (Dec. 15, 2015).

Ole Miss (16-11) enters the NIT as one of the hottest teams in college basketball, winning eight of the past 11 games. Predicted to finish ninth in the SEC by the media, the Rebels went 10-8 in conference play to place sixth. Ole Miss was one of only two teams (Louisville) from a power six conference (ACC, Big 12, Big East Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC) to finish at least two games above .500 in conference play and not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss leads the SEC in scoring defense (63.4) and holds a NET ranking of 53 with seven wins between Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 2.