Projo College Hoops

Hello from Nebraska. Welcome to the NIT.

It is a hectic night here at the Qwest Center, and not just because of the Rhode Island-Creighton game. This building _ which is a gorgeous facility on the edge of downtown Omaha, several miles from the Creighton campus _ also is the site of first and second-round NCAA game Thursday and Saturday.

All kinds of people, a lot of them in suits, are working in the building tonight. The thing is, a good number of them are not here for the game. They are from CBS television and the NCAA, planning for the NCAA Tournament contests that will be in this building later in the week.

It also is different in the stands. Creighton was 15th in the nation in attendance, averaging 15,700. However, it does not look as if there will be anywhere that many people here tonight.

URI is without one of its coaches. Pat Clarke is making a hectic but happy return home. He received a call this morning that his wife, Kristin, had gone into labor and he caught the first plane home to be with her.

The teams just turned in their starting lineups. Jason Francis, who has been in and out of the lineup in the second half of the season, is back in.

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