The San José State men’s basketball team held a media day on Tuesday afternoon to interview Head Coach Tim Miles, Senior Guard Josh Uduje and Center Robert Vaihola.
The Spartans season isn’t over yet as the team secured a spot to compete in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) for the first time in 44 years, according to a March 16 article from SJSU Athletics.
SJSU (15-19, 7-13 MW) secured the No. 4 seed and is set to host the No. 5 seed Loyola Chicago (22-11, 12-6 A-10) on Wednesday 8 p.m. at the Provident Credit Union Center, according to the same SJSU Athletics page.
The Spartans are coming off a 63-52 loss to New Mexico on March 13 in the Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas and the announcement of participating in the NIT came as a surprise to the team.
Vaihola said that the team was caught off hearing that the team’s postseason run will continue.
“To make it was already a typical surprise but we’re playing at home too,” Vaihola said. “I mean it’s going to be exciting.”
Uduje was also thrilled to hear the news while admitting it has been a roller coaster of emotions for him when he thought about the New Mexico loss being his potential final game with the Spartans as a senior.
He is the Spartans’ leading scorer, averaging 16.3 points per game which ranks sixth in the Mountain West while shooting 49.2% from field goal range and 35.2% from beyond the arc, according to a Mountain West 2024-25 Men's Basketball Overall Statistics page.
The guard sees the matchup as a way to get the Spartan fans excited and the attendees to bring energy in the stands.
“We've got a great opportunity to make some noise and play a postseason tournament game,” Uduje said.
The game marks the first NIT bid since 1981, according to the same SJSU Athletics page.
The Spartans most recently played in the College Basketball Invitational in 2023, defeating Southern Indiana 77-52 and falling to Radford in the second round 67-57.
Miles is hopeful that there would be a high-crowd turnout within students and other people showing support in a tough game.
With a quick turnaround preparing for the game in a short amount of time, Miles praised the Ramblers all around talent with outstanding perimeter players being able to make threes and an overall aggressive team.
Loyola ranks third in field goal percentage shooting 45.8% and 3-point percentage while shooting 35.4% in the Atlantic 10 Conference, according to an Atlantic 10 stats page.
Miles believes that with the team having the opportunity to compete at a national college tournament such as the NIT and the exposure that goes within an ESPN game is significant for the basketball program.
“I think it’s great for recruiting. I think it tells people we are establishing ourselves as a team and a program that can compete all the time,” Miles said.
