Georgia basketball will play in the postseason for the first time since 2017.

The Bulldogs landed in the 32-team NIT field Sunday night after eight SEC teams were selected for the NCAA tournament.

Georgia (17-16) is one of two SEC teams along with LSU getting an automatic spot in the NIT based on its NET rankings. The Bulldogs moved up in the pecking order to secure the bid after Ole Miss chose not to take part in the event.

The Bulldogs are a No. 4 seed and will host Xavier (16-17) Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum on ESPN. The winner plays either No. 1 seed Wake Forest (20-13) or Appalachian State (27-6) in a second round game.

"I love it, I'm excited about it," second-year coach Mike White said. "I'm excited to dive into the Xavier scout and learn as much about them as possible in a really quick turn. They've got the same thing. It's part of the excitement of this time of year in particular with the NIT opportunities. Some of these like this one come really quick."

Xavier, coached by Sean Miller, lost in the Big East quarterfinals 87-60 to UConn. The Musketeers are No. 56 in KenPom while Georgia is No. 90. Georgia is 1-3 all-time in the series with the last meeting a 70-56 road loss on Nov. 25, 2011.

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Guard Noah Thomasson on Thursday night after an SEC Tournament second-round loss to Florida in Nashville was holding out hope his college career wasn’t over.

"It's a chance to keep playing with Georgia on the front of my jersey," Thomasson said Sunday night. "I don't think anyone on our team is going to opt out. I think everybody's going to play. Matter of fact, I'm 99.9 percent sure everybody's going to play."

White didn't go that far. He said nobody has told him they are opting out yet and said his players "got after it" Sunday in a practice before the NIT selection was announced. The transfer portal opens on Monday and Georgia's roster is expected to see its share of changes once again.

"I think we'll be at full strength or at least near full strength," White said for the NIT opener. "We'll learn more about that tomorrow."

Guard Jabri Abdur-Rahim who has been sidelined by an ankle injury still hasn't returned to practice, White said, and remains day to day.

Georgia last played in the NIT on March 15, 2017, losing to Belmont 78-69 in Athens in a first-round game.

The Bulldogs were in position to play in the NIT again in 2018, but the team bypassed an opportunity after coach Mark Fox was fired.

"It's not the NCAA Tournament of course, but the NIT is a prestigious event that we're proud to be a part of," White said.

This will be the 15th NIT appearance by Georgia, which also played in the event in 2014 and 2016 and is 13-14 all-time in the tournament.

Its best finishes were in 1998 when it lost in the semifinals to Penn State and beat Fresno State in the third-place game and in 1982 when it lost to Purdue in the semifinals.

The semifinals and championship will be hosted at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on April 2 and 4.

Tickets for Tuesday's game will be $20 for adults and $10 for youth. UGA students will be admitted to the game for free.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia basketball heads to NIT after 8 SEC teams make NCAA tournament