The Huskies will play host to Long Beach State in first round of the NIT

The Huskies may have missed out on the big dance, but they will be playing in the NIT. Lorenzo Romar's club  is a three seed and will play host to the sixth seed Long Beach State 49ers at 6 pm on Tuesday, on ESPN2.

The 49ers are  20-14 on the season and finished third in the Big West at 12-4,  losing a close game to Hawaii in the Big West final.  Some of their signature wins this season include a 66-65 victory of BYU, a 80-77 victory over Seton Hall and a 78-64 victory at Hawaii.

There was some speculation over whether or not the Huskies would open with a home game in the first round, so the fact that they were awarded with a three seed shows the NIT selection committee thought pretty highly of the Dawgs.

The Huskies will look to have a better showing  this year than they did in 2013, when they lost on 90-79 on the road to BYU in the first round. THe Huskies have enough talent to make a serious run at the NIT title in my estimation, and if they play with the same intensity that they did in the Pac-12 tournament, they will have a good chance at making it Madison Square Garden. However, if they overlook the  49ers, or are hung up on missing the NCAA tournament, they may be in for another early exit.