Milwaukee ? Marquette is hoping to have as much success in the NIT this season as it had in the NCAA Tournament last year.

Travis Diener scored 21 points and tied a career high with 12 assists to lead Marquette over Toledo, 87-72, in the first round of the NIT on Monday night.

The Golden Eagles (18-11) are the first team since Minnesota in 1998 to fall to the NIT after making the Final Four a year earlier.

“If you’re a competitor and you love to play the game, then this is the time of year no matter what you’re doing,” coach Tom Crean said. “We have to see where it can lead us.”

Marquette will play host to either Rice, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, UNLV or Boise State next week in the second round.

“There’s 65 teams playing in the NCAA field this year and we’re not one of them,” said Diener, who was 8-of-15 and had seven rebounds. “There are remarkable teams playing in the NIT this year, though.”

Toledo (20-11) made nine of its first 15 shots in the second half. The Rockets then went more than eight minutes without a field goal, missing 12 consecutive shots before Justin Ingram scored on a layup to make it 87-69 with 2:33 to go.

“We went a couple of stretches where we had some scoring droughts,” Toledo coach Stan Joplin said. “We missed some shots and gave them some easy baskets.”

While the Rockets couldn’t make a field goal, Marquette went on a 14-0 run to go up 79-63 on Steve Novak’s fast-break layup with 7:16 remaining.

Marquette's Dameon Mason, left, and Toledo's Florentino Valencia fight for a rebound. The Golden Eagles won their NIT opening-round game, 87-72, Monday in Milwaukee.

“If things are going well offensively, they are going well defensively,” Diener said.