As if Butler fans hadn’t been through enough…
Last NITe’s finale sent the first round into the past in style, and we’re going to talk about all of it. The games, again ranked by their soul-stirring:
7. Bradley 74, Loyola Chicago 62
Loyola did make a run. They brought this within two late in the second half. But generally, a team who trails by 20 ends up losing the game, and this was one of those situations. For most of the night, we could watch this from a distance, with nothing working for Loyola offensively and Bradley’s forwards piling up free throws. The Braden Norris era at Loyola did not end with a bang.
MVC fans have asked if it was a good idea for Loyola to make the conference switch. The counterpoint to that, now, is that the A-10 doesn’t make them play Bradley.
6. UNLV 84, Princeton 77
Without Kalib Boone. Without Luis Rodriguez. Playing all the way across the country on less than three days’ notice.
UNLV got it done.
Rob Whaley Jr. led the way for the Runnin’ Rebels, but there were a lot of guys getting clear looks on one end while UNLV shut down the Tigers for a stretch on the other, and when the dust settled, it was Princeton’s comeback attempt falling firmly short. Not the best night from our guy Xaivian Lee. The Ivy League has been eliminated from the NIT.
Kind of a sad tweet from UNLV after the game. 16 years without a postseason win. I like that they just acknowledged it and didn’t add any punctuation whatsoever. Don’t make yourself look too excited. Just a matter of fact, informative tweet. Hey guys. Just want to clear the air here. Us winning a postseason game was unusual.
5. Wake Forest 87, Appalachian State 76
App State fans were fired up for this one, and by the looks of it, a decent number made the drive to Winston-Salem. But Boopie Miller had himself a night and the tournament favorites led wire to wire, only picking up speed down the stretch. The Sun Belt’s time has not yet come. Winston-Salem will be slightly busier this weekend. We have a new single-game attendance leader on the tournament, but a lot of games remain on the course.
4. VCU 70, Villanova 61
It looked like Eric Dixon was going to put the kids to bed, especially after TJ Bamba’s dunk lit a fire in the room. But Joe Bamisile did Joe Bamisile stuff off the bench, VCU pulled away and then pulled away again, and Ryan Odom finally got his first NIT win. Just twenty more to catch the old man, if I counted correctly.
Devastating turn of events for the Wildcats, who did manage to get back up for the NIT. It is worse when it goes like that, I think. Because, yes, they should be proud. But that is a sadder way to lose.
Unhappy offseason ahead.
3. Indiana State 101, SMU 92
This one was not smooth.
SMU came out scoring, and they continued scoring, and after all that scoring they went and scored some more. Generally, that would imply smoothness. But we were not lying! This game was not smooth.
The thing about SMU is that even when they’re scoring a lot of points, they’re doing it in a rough way. It’s like they’ll lay the ball in and then smack someone in the head, just to remind you who they are. (Who they were, rather. Inexplicable firing of Rob Lanier today from SMU, reportedly. We’ll get into that in the notes later this afternoon.) SMU went at the basket again and again and again, and then they were heating up, and then they were on fire, and then they were banking in shots that shouldn’t be banked and the good people of Terre Haute were becoming upset at the spectacle. SMU went at Robbie Avila specifically, and it wasn’t until Josh Schertz switched to a zone that Indiana State finally held SMU at bay for long enough to pull off the comeback. Jayson Kent was everywhere on offense for the Sycamores, who did plenty of scoring themselves. The question, heading into the Minnesota game, is that defense.
Indiana State steered more into the chippiness and nastiness than we really thought they would. They’re not not physical.
2. Cincinnati 73, San Francisco 72 (OT)
Simas Lukosius shot the stars out of the sky, Malik Thomas brought the Dons back from the dead, and Lukosius won the game on an off-balance three with seconds left in overtime.
It wasn’t even the most amazing game of the slate.
The game wasn’t all that pretty. Aside from Lukosius’s threes, Cincinnati shot only 18–56 from the floor and 3–20 from deep. Thomas had 31, but San Francisco looked exactly like what they were in WCC play right up until the USC transfer took things over across the final two minutes.
Those two minutes, though…they were something, with Thomas completing two three-point plays and knocking down a professional game-tying triple from the corner which bought the fans an extra five minutes. The overtime was also great. Cincinnati held for 38 seconds on the defensive end to get the ball back, and the first option was available on the inbounds play from the other end, or at least available in the eyes of Lukosius. Trailing by two, the Lithuanian came off the screen and canned the three over two defenders to give the Bearcats a lead with three on the clock. There would be no miracle for San Francisco.
Was Lukosius running out of bounds before the game-winning shot illegal? I honestly don’t know. It’s one of those rules where I can’t keep high school and college and the NBA and international ball straight. It might have been illegal, because he wasn’t forced and he was the next guy to touch the ball (and there wasn’t a dribble before the pass, if I remember correctly). San Francisco fans, if you must attach an asterisk to this NIT, we will understand. We will not attach one, but you can. We need more NIT pettiness. I want to hear from a San Francisco fan in 2028 about how Bradley’s 2024 NIT title was bullshit because they didn’t have to go through the Dons.
1. Seton Hall 75, Saint Joseph’s 72 (OT)
The Game of the NITe, in which Walsh Gymnasium did not disappoint. Great environment, Saint Joe’s came to play, the shotmaking was poor but I think we can still call it a shooter’s gym. It just looks like one, you know? After all the focus on Kadary Richmond, it was Al-Amir Dawes who drilled the two monster threes that got Seton Hall through. One to tie, within the final minute of regulation before Dre Davis blocked Cameron Brown’s attempted game-winner. One within the final minute of overtime, to get the Pirates the win. The top overall seed survives its first round scare, and they’ll stay right at home for the second round.
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Speaking of that second round, here’s what we’ve got for tip times and TV:
- Saturday, 11:30 AM EDT: North Texas at Seton Hall (ESPN2)
- Saturday, 2:00 PM EDT: Bradley at Cincinnati (ESPN+)
- Saturday, 7:00 PM EDT: Virginia Tech at Ohio State (ESPN+)
- Sunday, 2:00 PM EDT: Minnesota at Indiana State (ESPN2)
- Sunday, 4:00 PM EDT: Georgia at Wake Forest (ESPN2)
- Sunday, 7:30 PM EDT: VCU at South Florida (ESPNU)
- Sunday, 9:00 PM EDT: Iowa at Utah (ESPN2)
- Sunday, 9:30 PM EDT: Boston College at UNLV (ESPNU)
Three thoughts on these:
First, if one of your so-called “friends” gets sad about there being “no more basketball” for the weekend and BC/UNLV’s still going on? Correct them.
Second, the ESPN app was originally showing only four games on Sunday, implying there would be three ESPN+ games for the weekend. Only two of those! We made cable for six games! Leveling up.
Third, I bet there are a reasonably large number of people signing up for ESPN+ this weekend for the sake of watching the NIT.
Great work, America.
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The best score in the Bracket Challenge was a 13/16 across the first round, achieved by twelve different entries. 70% of us have our champion alive. The first round’s leading rebounder was Dixon, but with Villanova eliminated, he will almost assuredly be passed, making the effective leaders Efton Reid and Payton Sandfort, each of whom has twelve so far in the NIT. (What if every shot goes in for the rest of the NIT and Eric Dixon finishes as the tournament’s leading rebounder?)
No special post for NIT Day 4. We’ll have NIT Day 5 up to preview the games on Saturday.
