Season continues: Arkansas Razorbacks to play in NIT

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KATV) — Arkansas' up and down season is not over yet. In fact, the epitaph has yet to be written.

The Razorbacks (17-15, 8-10 SEC) have earned and accepted an invitation to play in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). No. 5 seed Arkansas will travel to No. 4 seed Providence. The game will be played Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

"I think for a young basketball team, I welcome the opportunity for them to continue to play. As I told them, you may have some more basketball in you, but we have to see a better performance than what we saw tonight," Mike Anderson said following his team's 66-50 loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament.

"They hopefully get a chance to continue to play because they only can get better."

Click here to view the full NIT bracket.

The Friars, coached by Ed Cooley, finished 8th in the Big East after making five straight NCAA Tournaments. With an 18-15 record, Providence is No. 70 in the NCAA's NET rankings. Arkansas is No. 65.

The NIT, founded in 1938, is considered the consolation to playing in the NCAA Tournament. 32 teams that failed to qualify for "March Madness" are seeded in the NIT.

Arkansas has only made three appearances in the NIT (1987, 1997 and 2014). The program's combined record in the tournament is 5-4, including a loss to Michigan in the 1997 semifinals. Arkansas beat Arkansas State in the first round of the 1987 NIT.