NIT Redux: The NIT continued play Wednesday with seven first-round games. Here’s a roundup of the results.
No. 5 Old Dominion surprised No. 4 Colorado with a crushing 79-61 victory on the road. Isaiah Hunter hit five three-pointers en route to a career-high 28 points. The Monarchs will play the winner of No. 1 Maryland vs. No. 9 Manhattan.
No. 5 Notre Dame beat No. 4 Vanderbilt 79-69 in South Bend for an upset according to seeds. But no one would seriously consider a toss-up game on the home court of the lower seed an upset. The Fighting Irish advance to play the winner of No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 9 UTEP.
No. 3 Miami survived a late rally by No. 6 Oklahoma State to win 62-59. The Cowboys had a shot at the lead with less than 30 seconds remaining, but David Monds missed the go-ahead layup. The Hurricanes will play the winner of No. 2 Creighton vs. No. 8 Akron.
No. 4 Clemson ended the stellar college career of No. 5 Louisiana Tech forward Paul Millsap with a 69-53 win. Millsap, who averages a double-double with 19.7 points and 13.4 rebounds per game, was less effective against the Tigers because he had three fouls well before halftime. The Tigers advance to play the winner of No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 10 Delaware State.
No. 3 Houston bounced No. 6 BYU out of the NIT with a 77-67 victory in the first round. The Cougars’ star, Oliver Lafayette, led the team with 23 points, including eight in only 40 seconds to stretch the lead to 15 points in the second half. The Cougars get No. 2 Missouri State or No. 7 Stanford in the second round.
No. 4 Minnesota gets to continue play after beating No. 5 Wake Forest 73-58. Senior star Vincent Grier led the Gophers with 18 points. Minnesota will play No. 1 Cincinnati or No. 9 Charlotte in the second round.
No. 3 South Carolina continued to play solid basketball after its Southeastern Conference Tournament run last week by beating No. 6 Western Kentucky 74-55. The defending NIT champs advance to play No. 2 Florida State or No. 8 Butler.
[3/16/06]
