On the eve of the national semifinals, the other two tournaments that were still ongoing decided their champions. One went to a third and deciding game, while the other was a single game. Both were won by the home team, in stark contrast to the end of the campus portion of the NIT where road teams swept the quarterfinals.
We start with the College Basketball Invitational, where for the ninth time in 11 years the championship went to a third and deciding game. The home team won each of the first two, and as the first half went on, North Texas looked eager to keep that going as they came alive the latter part of the first half to open up a 38-27 lead at the break.
North Texas actually took the lead for good about 12 minutes into the game, although San Francisco would get within 52-51 a little over halfway through the second half. After the Mean Green ran off eight unanswered not long after that, the Dons never got within a possession again as North Texas took home the CBI title with an 88-77 win.
The Mean Green entered the CBI with a 15-17 record but finish above .500 at 20-18, while San Francisco was already there and finishes 22-17. It’s the first time in over 30 years that the Dons have had consecutive 20-win seasons, while the Mean Green won at least 20 games for the first time in six years.
The CBI has tended to be a leading indicator for future years, and that could happen here. North Texas has just two seniors, one of them a bit player and the other a regular starter for most of the season but who missed the final six games of the season. This was also their first season under new head coach Grant McCasland, so by now they are used to him. San Francisco, meanwhile, went the entire season without star guard Charles Minlend as he is redshirting after having labrum surgery and has just one senior of consequence in Chase Foster, so they should be primed to push the usual top three in the West Coast Conference next season.
Meanwhile, the CollegeInsider.com Tournament had its championship game, with UIC traveling to play Northern Colorado. Northern Colorado led by nine at halftime and ran the lead up to 16 in the second half before UIC went on a 21-6 run to get within one. UIC appeared to run out of gas, though, as they didn’t score the rest of the way as the Bears held them off 76-70 to win the CIT.
Northern Colorado was carried by Jordan Davis (29 points on 11-18 shooting, eight rebounds) and Andre Spight (23 points), while UIC was led by Marcus Ottey with 25 points on 10-18 shooting. The Flames have much of this team returning, while Northern Colorado will lose key pieces but still bring back a lot.
Now the NCAA Tournament is all that is left standing, and we’re ready to resume that one.
Side Dishes
Ahead of the national semifinals, Villanova guard Jalen Brunson won the Oscar Robertson Trophy as the National Player of the Year, voted on by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
In recent weeks, there has been much speculation about Temple head coach Fran Dunphy’s future. Reports on Friday said that Dunphy will coach the 2018-19 season, then give way to assistant and former star Aaron McKie. Dunphy has been at Temple for 12 seasons after he led Penn to 10 Ivy League titles, and McKie has been on the staff since 2014.
Other coaching news that developed on Friday: USC Upstate named Dave Dickerson as their head coach, while Bryant is set to name Iona assistant Jared Grasso as their next head coach. You can follow all of the coaching changes right here on Hoopville.
A couple of NBA Draft decisions came up as well, as Oregon State forward Drew Eubanks and SMU guard Shake Milton are both declaring and signing with agents.
Tonight’s Menu
The national semifinals are finally here after days of anticipation.
- In the first semifinal, Loyola-Chicago takes on Michigan (6:09 p.m.)
- The second semifinal has the two No. 1 seeds that made it squaring off as Kansas battles Villanova, which will tip approximately 40 minutes following the conclusion of the first game.
