State College, Pa. ¨C June 18, 2002 ¨C The Penn State Nittany Lion basketball team will trek to Chapel Hill, N.C., to battle the North Carolina Tar Heels in the first round of the 2002 Pre-Season National Invitation Tournament. The game, which will be broadcast nationally by ESPN2, will tip at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 18.

This will mark Penn State¡¯s first-ever appearance in the prestigious pre-season tournament. The winner of the Penn State/North Carolina game will battle the winner of the match-up between Columbia and Rutgers. The second rounds will occur on Nov. 20, 21, or 22, with the winner of the second round game advancing to the national semifinals and finals in Madison Square Garden. The final rounds take place on Nov. 27 and Nov. 29.

Other first round games include (in the top half of the bracket) Boston University at Stanford, St. Peter¡¯s at Xavier, Eastern Illinois at Boise State and Louisiana Tech at Florida. The bottom portion of the bracket features the PSU/UNC game, Columbia at Rutgers, Wagner at UNC-Greensboro and Holy Cross at Kansas.

The Pre-Season NIT originated in 1985 and has been a staple of early-season basketball since. Nine games, including Penn State¡¯s first rounder and the national semifinals and finals, will be broadcast nationally by ESPN/ESPN2. Three former tourney champions are featured in this year¡¯s field of 16, including North Carolina, Florida and Kansas.

Penn State, under the guidance of veteran head coach Jerry Dunn, will announce its full 2002-03 schedule later this summer. The Nittany Lions are coming off a 7-21 season and return four of five starters, having lost only three lettermen. Junior Sharif Chambliss (Racine, Wisc.) led the Big Ten in free throw shooting and three-pointers and returns along with senior point guard Brandon Watkins (Bellwood, Ill.), who had 110 assists.