Having played in the Maui Invitational and Guardians Classic the last two seasons, the Ohio State men’s basketball team is not eligible for an "exempted-games" tournament early next season. The NCAA limits teams to two appearances in a four-year period. The Buckeyes will be back in one in the 2006-07 season, however, and coach Thad Matta said the team will play in the Preseason NIT. Ohio State hopes it goes better than last time. Coming off their Final Four appearance in 1999, the fourth-ranked Buckeyes played host to unranked Notre Dame in their 1999-2000 opener and were upset 59-57 on a last-second jumper by David Graves. They then enjoyed two weeks of practice until their next game.
