Wow.
That was quite an evening.
Before we begin, I’d like to take a moment to thank the kind folks at the Austin American-Statesman and The Daily Texan for their attention to the NIT last night. I’m glad to call you all my new best friends.
I would also like to thank Texas basketball fans, because those of you who came to three straight NIT games went through a lot, and your celebration was well-earned. The NIT needs you. The NIT is lucky to have you.
Lastly, I must thank the security team at the Frank Erwin Center for not batting an eye at my behavior this last week and a half, and for warning me every game that all I had to do to avoid an issue was keep the signs out of the way of everyone’s view of the court. I’d heard before that the state of Texas values freedom, but it was sure nice to experience it first-hand.
While Texas was running away with things here in Austin, Lipscomb and NC State were having a game, as I learned when I logged onto the Twitter after crossing I-35 towards that old-school Denny’s towards which fans exiting the arena were eager to direct me.
Wow!
From the looks of it, the Lipscomb game was one of the best of the entire college basketball season, and certainly the best of the postseason so far (fight me, Duke/UCF fans—but I still love you, Tacko Fall). Torin Dorn got buckets. The lead changed a handful of times in the final minute. Garrison Mathews made his presence known.
Now, the thing about a guy named Garrison Mathews is that when you find out he’s a shooter from just outside Nashville, you feel like you should’ve known that based on his name alone. Parents don’t name their baby boy Garrison unless that child is going to become an artist in whatever he does, and when the baby boy grows into a 6’5” athletic sensation, basketball becomes his canvas.
But in a game where both teams score in the 90’s, it takes a team, and in the final minute, it was Kenny Cooper hitting the big shots for the Bisons. And who is Kenny Cooper (besides a guy who shares the name of, I’d imagine, approximately seven dozen musicians who make their living playing in the backing bands at Nashville recording studios)? He’s only the NIT’s latest hero: a hometown kid who runs the point for Nashville’s other other private university (or other other other, depending how you rank Belmont, Fisk, Lipscomb, and Vanderbilt). While he doesn’t always score that much, he makes the offense hum, and he causes problems on the defensive end (yes we noticed those four steals, Mr. Cooper). Most importantly in last night’s context, he evidently has the mental fortitude to score five points in 25 seconds under the brightest of lights.
With those points, NC State is gone. Lipscomb charges on. And the Final Four brings anything but a coastal identity to New York, with the participants making quite the triangle in the southern half of America’s greatest time zone.
We’ll have the NIT Final Four preview you crave come Monday, but for now, bask in the greatness of all that has been, and enjoy your weekend free from the stress of high-stakes basketball. Maybe catch up on what happened in baseball’s offseason, or get your grocery shopping done, or talk to your family—you know, one of those things you’ve been meaning to do when you aren’t too engrossed in the NIT to find the time.
See you in New York, NIT fans.
