We knew exactly who the Rams would face in the first round of the NIT when the NCAA announced the 32-team field on March 12th. It would be a home game against the fifth-seeded Cougars from the College of Charleston. What nobody knew, however, was which team would show up.
The last time the Rams played in the NIT was in 2015 after one of the biggest snubs in recent NCAA Tournament history. They were a heavily favored 1 seed playing the bottom seeded South Dakota State Jackrabbits at home in Fort Collins. Four years before that, the Rams also had a home game in the first round, which they lost to a lower seed.