BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Fans opting out on Black Friday and putting their hard-earned cash on basketball tickets were not disappointed. The NIT Season Tip-Off at Barclays Center had what one coach called, “four NCAA Tournament teams.” No one could disagree. Quality merged with quantity as both games on the final evening went into overtime.
In the third-place game Marquette defeated Louisville in overtime. In the nightcap, Kansas clearly needed the extra session to finish off an outstanding Tennessee club to capture the championship.
Scores
Semifinals:
Kansas 77 ,Marquette 68
Tennessee 92, Louisville 81
Consolation:
Marquette 77, Louisville 74 (OT)
Kansas 87, Tennessee 81(OT)
All-Tournament:
Jordan Nwora, Louisville
Sam Hauser, Marquette
Jordan Bone, Tennessee
Lagerwald Vick, Kansas
MVP – Dedric Lawson, Kansas
Louisville left Brooklyn with two losses. Coach Chris Mack saw a number of positives, specifically, how his team responded to overtime in the consolation against Marquette. “I thought our guys didn’t quit in overtime,” Mack said. “To watch how the last three or four minutes (of regulation) transpired and have a couple of point blank offensive rebounds (miss) to win, then come back to the huddle. Our guys never let it defeat them. We are resilient and learning hard lessons.. We’ll continue to get better.”
Kansas coach Bill Self feels his Jayhawks outlasted a Tennessee team “capable of getting to the Final Four.” No argument here. Nor is there any dispute of the idea his club could be there, playing that last weekend of the season, as well.
Impressed with the play of Markus Howard. The Marquette’s prolific scorer put up just three points in the first half against Louisville. Rather than force the issue Howard patiently let the game come to him. Over the course of the second half and overtime Howard hit for 18 points, finishing with 21, proving to be instrumental in the Marquette win in that consolation game.
I thought this was one of the four best games Markus (Howard) has had since he has been at Marquette,” said coach Steve Wojciechowski. “Markus has a lot of pressure on him to deliver and he delivered in a huge way tonight.”
Reigning SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams of Tennessee fouled out of the championship game after logging 34 minutes. Williams exited after scoring 18 points. In his absence Admiral Schofield stepped up with a team-high 21 points. The 6’6” senior came up with a succession of big plays in that overtime loss to Kansas. “He led us,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said of Schofield, “especially near the end of the game.”
On the Jayhawks side, top threat Lagerald Vick scored 15 points. The key factor for Bill Self and company was the play of Dedric Lawson. The 6’9” forward scored 24 points adding 13 rebounds. Both were game highs. Again, in crunch time Lawson was as responsible as any for leading the Jayhawks to the NIT Season Tip-Off title. His MVP honor was richly deserved.
“They are very talented,” Rick Barnes said of Kansas. “These are the games you want to play. We want to execute at a high level, You want to take that next step, (obviously) we are not there yet.”
In Barnes’ estimation, the Vols’ defense of Vick was a positive. On the down side, poor shot selection and not getting that big play. “We were one rebound from winning in regulation,” he said. “Those little things come back to haunt you at the end of the game.”
Self called it a “grind-it-out, toughness win. You learn how to win that way.” The Kansas mentor cited work on execution as the key to “getting a lot better.” Overall, the trip was satisfying on and off the floor. “”We beat a (Tennessee) team that could compete for a national championship,” Self said. “It was great to come to New York. It was fun playing at Barclays Center. Barclays and Madison Square Garden, where we played many times, are both great venues. Our fans came out and really enjoyed the (Thanksgiving) holiday in New York. To leave with two wins against this competition is even better.”
Defend or foul? It’s the oft-asked coaching question when you are ahead by three and the opponent has the ball in the waning seconds. Marquette’s Steve Wojciechowski was faced with that situation. His team led by three with 18 seconds left in overtime. Louisville brought the ball up looking to tie. Wojciechowski defended. “There was too much time on the clock to foul,” he said. “We would not foul in that situation. There was just way too much time to foul in that situation.” Louisville did attempt a three with seconds left. They missed and got another try beyond the arc after a long rebound. That shot hit the front rim and Marquette emerged victorious.
The finish epitomized the competitiveness and play of what proved to be two excellent nights of basketball. Little doubt calling this group NCAA tournament teams.
