Yes, the day has come when winning a Pac-12 regular season title is not enough to get a team into the NCAA Tournament. Good times! The Washington Huskies have been relegated to the NIT, but they looked good in their first-round game on Tuesday, defeating the Texas-Arlington Mavericks, 82-72.

Terrence Ross was fantastic with 23 points, while Darnell Gant kicked in a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. C.J. Wilcox was impressive as well, scoring 15 points off the bench. UT-Arlington tried to push the pace and attempted 15 more shots than the Huskies, but they shot just 40 percent while Washington shot 57 percent from the floor.

Washington advances to the second round, where they will play the Northwestern Wildcats. Northwestern defeated the Akron Zips earlier on Tuesday.

For more on the Huskies, check out Washington Huskies blog UW Dawg Pound. For more on the NIT, be sure to check out our NCAA basketball hub. Also be sure to check our 2012 NCAA Tournament hub for more on the Big Dance.