No, Cincinnati will not be headed to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. But late on Sunday night, it received a consolation prize.

The Bearcats were selected to participate in the National Invitation Tournament and will host Virginia Tech at 9 pm ET on Wednesday. It will be televised by ESPN2. The 32-team tournament is seeded one through eight in four regions. Cincinnati was announced as a No. 4 seed and will play the No. 5 seed Hokies.

For the Bearcats, this marks their 45th post-season appearance. They last played in the NIT in 2010, when as a No. 2 seed, they defeated Weber State in the first round, then lost to Dayton in the second round.

The NIT, which began in 1938, features three rounds of campus sites before its inaugural Las Vegas Final Four (March 28-30). The winner of the Cincinnati/Virginia Tech game will play the winner of the Rutgers/Hofstra game.

Per UC release: There will be no pre-sale component for season ticket holders, per tournament rules. All tickets will be available to purchase here or by calling the ticket office at 513-556-2287 on Monday at 9 a.m.

Tickets are $18 for lower-level reserved, upper-level GA and student sections. Premium reserved spots (Champions Club) are $23, followed by courtside for $38. For additional questions, fans may call the above number or email uc.tickets@uc.edu.