USF men’s basketball was selected to play in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) after it was formally announced that it would not play in the NCAA tourney on Sunday.

In the NIT’s first round, the War on I-4 will be reignited when UCF hosts the Bulls (24-7, 16-2 AAC) on Tuesday in Addition Financial Arena.

This will mark the first matchup between the old rivals since the Knights (17-15, 7-11 Big 12) officially moved to the Big 12 conference at the beginning of this season.

Even after a historic, record-breaking season, the team was not included in the much larger NCAA tournament.

The Bulls learned their fate a few hours earlier during the tournament’s selection show that they would be in the NIT, an older competition than the NCAA tournament but less prestigious.

This is USF’s first time in the NIT since 2010, and it’s ninth time in the tournament overall.

The tournament accepts the two best teams according to the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking from every Power 6 conference that is not in the NCAA tournament as hosts and the next 20 best NET-ranked teams.

The NET, ranks teams by taking into account their winning percentage, game results, strength of schedule, game location, how efficient a team is on offense or defense and the quality of its wins and losses.

Related: How USF could make – or miss – the NCAA tournament

UCF received a bid to host an NIT game despite its record, in part due to its high NET ranking of 61.

Oklahoma owned a higher NET ranking at 46, but declined to take part in the NIT which opened the door for the Knights to host as the next highest ranked team in the Big 12.

USF’s March Madness chances took a hit following a tough 76-70 loss to Tulsa in the last regular season game.

The loss also broke a school record and Division One best 15-game winning streak.

The Bulls then entered the AAC tournament likely needing to win the title to have a chance at the dance, as conference tournament winners receive an automatic bid.

However, they couldn’t find an answer against eventual tourney champion UAB in the semifinal, losing 93-83 in a physical brawl.

The loss caused South Florida’s tournament chances to all but vanish.

USF head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim said the team still deserves a chance to play for a title.

“I think people need to do a deeper dive than just the metrics,” Abdur-Rahim said following the loss to UAB. “You are judging us getting into the tournament on two games in November… outside of that we’ve been as good as any team in the country.”

South Florida’s absence from the NCAA tournament came not only from the losses late in the season, but also from the team’s lack of quality wins.

The Bulls only played in a single Quad 1 matchup this season (their home win over FAU in mid February making their resume much weaker and coming in at 73 in the official net rankings.

The AAC lost powerhouses such as Houston and Cincinnati after the schools left for the Big 12, weakening the conference’s prestige.

Only two teams from the conference made the NCAA tournament as a result, UAB as a 12-seed and FAU as an 8-seed.

After the tough loss to UAB, Abdul-Rahim said his team needs to continue to move forward regardless of how the season ended.

“We’re not going to make any excuses, that’s not what South Florida basketball is about,” he said. “South Florida basketball is about controlling what we can control.”

Regardless of the tournament snub, USF reached new highs this season.

Related: No. 25 USF men’s basketball secures regular-season conference title in win over Charlotte

The Bulls broke several school records and recorded their best conference record, first regular season conference title, and with a win over UCF, the most wins in program history.

USF will take on UCF on Tuesday at 9 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.