The UAB women’s basketball team is among the 16-team field set to play in the 2011 Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
The Blazers join Baylor, Notre Dame, UCLA, Akron, Chattanooga, Detroit, East Tennessee State, Hartford, Howard, Indiana State, Long Island, Manhattan, McNeese State and Tennessee Tech to comprise the field.
The Preseason WNIT features a three-game guarantee format. The event opens Nov. 11 with first-round games. Second-round games will be played Nov. 13-14, the semifinals will be Nov. 16-17 and the championship is set for Nov. 20. Teams that lose in the first two rounds will play consolation games on the second weekend, Nov. 18-19. All games are hosted by participating schools. The tournament bracket will be announced in June.
First Round Winners
The eight Round One winners will continue on in traditional bracket play, with half of them hosting the other half in separate host sites. The winning teams will continue on, with separate host sites throughout the semifinals and championship. The two teams in the championship game will play four games in the tournament.
First Round Losers
The eight teams that lose their first games will be re-grouped into consolation bracket quads, which are two four-team pools. One team in each pool will be selected to host the other three teams. The host site will be announced after the completion of all Round One games. Each team in this consolation round will play two games for a total of three in the tournament. These are called Consolation Rounds 1 and 2.
Quarterfinal Round Losers (from original bracket)
Of the four quarterfinal teams that lose in that round, two teams will be selected to host one of the other quarterfinal round losers in a single game at separate sites. This game provides the third game for each of these schools. This round is Consolation Round 3.