College Basketball’s NIT Visits Las Vegas, With North Texas Playing UAB In Final At Orleans Arena Thursday; Tuesday’s Semifinals’ Announced Attendance, 2,931

March 29, 2023March 29, 2023 Alan Snel

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Story by Alan Snel Photos by Hugh Byrne

The Las Vegas sports machine keeps on churning.

Sure, Las Vegas lost out on hosting FIFA World Cup soccer matches because the Allegiant Stadium field failed to meet FIFA standards. And events like the motocross and Rugby Sevens that used to come to Sam Boyd Stadium are gone because the UNLV football stadium near the Las Vegas Wash closed when Allegiant Stadium opened near the Strip.

But the LVCVA is going bananas over the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November and Super Bowl 58 in February, and amid the public tourism agency’s unbridled glee and over-the-top hype for F1 and the Super Bowl is a sports event here in Las Vegas that is usually associated with Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The publicly-funded Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority paid $150,000 to sponsor the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) to have the 32-team college basketball tourney stage its semifinals Tuesday and final Thursday at Orleans Arena.

LVSportsBiz.com photographer Hugh Byrne covered Tuesday’s semis at the arena where North Texas came back to defeat Wisconsin by two points and the University of Alabama at Birmingham beat Utah Valley in overtime.

North Texas and the UAB Blazers play for the NIT title tomorrow.

Las Vegas product Trey Woodbury drives to the basket against UAB.

The NIT is run by the NCAA, which operates the more famous March Madness national college basketball tournament. The NCAA tourney is down to its Final Four in Houston — Miami vs UConn and San Diego State from the Mountain West Conference vs Florida Atlantic from Boca Raton, Florida.

The women’s Final Four is also set — a high-profile match-up between Iowa and unbeaten South Carolina and LSU vs Virginia Tech.

The Orleans Arena was less than half full, checking in with announced attendance at 2,931 Tuesday.

But there was still hoopla over the NIT hoops, including the Utah Valley president who was cheering with pom poms and the Utah Valley band members in green bodysuits.

Utah Valley had a tender local connection with guard Trey Woodbury, a Clark High School graduate leading the charge and making a pleasant homecoming before family and friends.