The other three regions include the East Region in Charlotte, N.C., South Region in Nashville, Tenn., and Midwest Region in Indianapolis. The format change will enable more fans to enjoy the event and guarantees participating institutions of at least two games. The announcement was made earlier today by NIT Committee Chair C.M. Newton and Greg Shaheen, president of the NIT, L.L.C.

"We've been examining this event for the past eight months and the importance of giving our teams an opportunity to play at least two games in regional sites show itself as a priority early in the process," Newton commented. "Going to regional sites and guaranteeing teams two games levels the playing field and just makes good basketball sense," he continued.

Gonzaga will be joined in the West Region by Baylor University, Colorado State University and Rice University. Games will be played on November 14 and 15 at the Spokane Arena. Gonzaga will face Rice in the first round with Colorado State and Baylor squaring off in the other game. The two winners will play for the right to advance to the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinal and championship doubleheaders slated for New York's Madison Square Garden on November 22 and 24.

"This is a great opportunity for our program and the city of Spokane," stated Mike Roth, Gonzaga Director of Athletics. "This is something our program has been working on for some time and we are excited about hosting the NIT first rounds in its new format."

Game times and ticket information will be released in the coming weeks, so fans are encouraged not to call the Gonzaga ticket office or the Spokane Arena until more information is released. ESPN's family of networks will telecast the tournament with coverage scheduled for at least 12 games.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 29-4 campaign advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga finished the season ranked fifth by the Associated Press. This will be Gonzaga's second NIT Season Tip-Off appearance. The Bulldogs have a 1-1 record from the 1998 NIT when they beat Memphis in the opening round and lost at Purdue in the second round.

Baylor posted a 4-13 record last season playing only a Big 12 Conference schedule as mandated by NCAA sanctions. This will be the first NIT appearance for the Bears who are coached by Scott Drew.

Colorado State will be making its second NIT appearance after going 16-15 last season with an 8th place finish in the Mountain West Conference. CSU lost to Washington in the 1991 NIT.

Rice is also making its second NIT appearance coming off a 6th place finish in Conference USA last season. Rice posted a 12-16 mark last year. The Owls lost to Minnesota in 1993 in their only other NIT appearance.

Match-ups in the other three regions include Indiana playing Lafayette and Butler playing Notre Dame in Indianapolis on Nov. 13 and 14. Tennessee will play Fordham and Belmont will face North Carolina Wilmington in Nashville on Nov. 13 and 14. North Carolina will play Sacred Heart and Winthrop will battle Iona in Charlotte on Nov. 14 and 15 to round out the tournament field.

Gonzaga University junior Adam Morrison has been named the Chevrolet Player of the Year as voted by the sports staff of CBS Sports.

The award presentation was aired on CBS on Saturday between games of the semifinals of the NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis.

Jay Wright of Villanova University was named the Coach of the Year, the Wildcats earning a No. 1 seed into this year's NCAA Tournament.

Ed Peper, general manager of Chevrolet, presented the awards while Leslie Visser of CBS Sports emceed the presentations.

Morrison helped lead the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth straight season and paced the nation in scoring with his 28.1 ppg. He was also named the co-Player of the Year for the Oscar Robertson Trophy with Duke University's J.J. Redick and finished second behind Redick in the voting for the Associated Press Player of the Year, both players named to the All-America first team.

For 36 years, the Chevrolet scholarship program has donated close to $9 million dollars to the general scholarship funds of America's colleges and universities. Along with 4,200 dealers nationwide, it's Chevrolet's way of giving back to the communities across this country. As part of the award, Chevrolet will make a $5,000 contribution to the general scholarship fund at Gonzaga in Morrison's name.

Morrison is the first Bulldog to win the Chevrolet Player of the Year honor.

Thus, it's probably fair to say that when the NCAA Tournament pairings were announced Sunday evening, the Musketeers knew more about the Bulldogs than vice versa.

Consider this quote from Gonzaga center J.P. Batista when asked Sunday night what he knew about XU.

"I don't have much information on Xavier," Batista said. "But I know that they're a tough, hard-nosed team. They're obviously coming off a big game. From now on, there are no easy games."

Can the Musketeers, then, use that lack of familiarity to their advantage when the two teams meet at 7:20 p.m. Thursday in the NCAA Tournament's first round?

"Maybe, that can be an advantage for them," Batista said. "I believe that it is an advantage for them. But it doesn't matter."

Gonzaga  team coach Mark Few also thinks the Bulldogs' unfamiliarity of the Musketeers won't be a big deal. By the time the game is played, Few said, his team will be quite knowledgeable about XU.

"What you see is what you get," Few said Sunday night. "You can't really hide much about anybody. (Monday) at noon, we'll have six or seven tapes here of them. Everyone is showing their hands this type of year. I don't think anybody's holding anything back."

XU junior forward Brandon Cole has seen enough of the Bulldogs to know that they've turned their program into something special.

"I think they've done a fantastic job," Cole said. "Coach Mark Few has really turned that program into a powerhouse. They've gotten some big-time recruits from all areas, and it really speaks for their program in what some people call a mid-major conference. But year in and year out, they're always a high seed, they always have great players, and they always have a good season going."

CHANGING ROLES - Two seasons ago, forwards Justin Cage and Justin Doellman found themselves as freshmen in the starting lineup for a Musketeers squad that was embarking on a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Fast forward a couple years, and Cage and Doellman are in the same place. Well, not exactly. They're still starters for a NCAA-bound XU team, but their roles are much different.

Before, they were role players and weren't counted upon to score for a team that included Lionel Chalmers, Romain Sato and Anthony Myles. Now, they're the leaders who must produce for the Musketeers to win.

"My freshman year, we could really depend on three players that kind of carried us," Cage said. "We could screen or do whatever we were asked. Now, we have to try to lead and put some points on the board. It's changed a lot since our freshman year."

HOME AWAY FROM HOME - Gonzaga should receive some nice support when the tournament begins here Thursday.

John Stockton, the Bulldogs' most famous alumnus, played 19 years for the Utah Jazz, setting the career NBA record for steals and assists while making 10 All-Star teams. In 1996, he was selected as one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time.

"That's the closest region to our fans," Few said. "We have some real fans in Salt Lake because of the great job John did down there. What a tremendous ambassador he's been for our university."

Spokane, Wash., is about 548 miles northwest of Salt Lake City.

That might seem unfair to the other seven WCC teams, as No. 5 Gonzaga went 14-0 in a conference that has only two other members with winning records. The Bulldogs lead the nation with a 38-game home winning streak, and have won 23 straight conference games.

The WCC for years had decided before the season to hold its tournament at one of the California schools, rankling the Gonzaga faithful in remote Spokane.

"It should have been here a long time ago," coach Mark Few said after the Bulldogs capped a second unbeaten conference season in three years by beating San Francisco 75-72 Monday night on a last-second 3-pointer by Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes.

The WCC finally relented to the move after the Bulldogs opened the 6,000-seat McCarthey Athletic Center last season. Gonzaga has yet to lose in the building, although this was its second scare this month. The Bulldogs beat Saint Mary's 62-61 on Feb. 6.