It’s been one special season for a pair of Boulevard rivals in Nashville, and it’s still not done yet. There is still more to write in the story of banner years for Belmont and Lipscomb after another sure-to-be memorable chapter was added Wednesday night.
After archrival Belmont made history and gave a very good account in the NCAA Tournament last week, Lipscomb is now making some history of its own. The Bisons are headed to New York City for the National Invitation Tournament semifinals for the first time ever after three straight road wins in their tourney, the last after coming out on top of a 94-93 shootout at North Carolina State.
Kenny Cooper was the first star hero for the Bisons, first hitting a go-ahead three-pointer with 20 seconds left to put Lipscomb ahead, and then answering a Markell Johnson layup with 9.6 seconds left that put the Wolfpack back ahead. Cooper went the length of the court and-with seemingly all eyes on teammate Garrison Mathews-hit a tough pull-up in the lane with 1.7 seconds left for the winner.
Cooper was the closer for the Bisons, but Mathews was the second star of the game and the horse who got them within sight of the finish line. The high-scoring senior guard erupted for one of the great individual performances of the season with a career-high 44 points, hitting eight three-pointers and winning a duel with State’s Torin Dorn, who scored a career-high 34 points himself.
This one was a wild as it sounds. Offenses dominated and defenses were futile, with both teams shooting 50% or better. Mathews was in or very near The Zone in the second half, and spent considerable time engaging with the N.C. State fans at Reynolds Coliseum while dropping in one laser after another. On the other end, Dorn and Markell Johnson (19 points, all in the second half) were scoring with ease themselves, and State held a tenuous lead almost all of the final nine minutes, save for Cooper’s two daggers.
While Belmont last week achieved the distinction of receiving its first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, won a game in the tourney for the first time and narrowly missed advancing to the round of 32, Lipscomb also has made quite a run in its event. The Bisons have hopped from one spot in the state of North Carolina to another, winning at Davidson, UNC Greensboro and now N.C. State to get to Madison Square Garden for the first time.
It’s not an exaggeration to say this is the best year collectively for Lipscomb and Belmont since 1996, when both were semifinalists in the NAIA Tournament, the final year before the Bruins began their massive jump from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics all the way to NCAA Division I. Lipscomb began a similar move soon after, and it’s hard to imagine that either could have turned out better.
The Bisons have also reminded us that they were a very viable at-large candidate for the NCAA Tournament this year. As the ‘bubble’ talk in the final days before Selection Sunday started to narrow down, Lipscomb fell out of the conversation. It was probably a little too easily forgotten how good this team was (won at TCU and SMU, blew out a good Vermont team, and losses to Belmont-twice-and Louisville came by a combined 10 points). It certainly was forgotten by the NIT selection committee, which gave the Bisons a 5 seed that was way too low.
It’s also become clearer in hindsight just how good the top two teams in the Atlantic Sun were this year. Between Lipscomb’s NIT run and Liberty’s impressive showing in the NCAA Tournament with a win over Mississippi State and a good battle against Virginia Tech, we’ve seen that both of these teams were no fluke and certainly were national quality.
Now the Bisons get to take on Wichita State in an NIT semifinal that will surely please those who enjoy seeing non-football schools have postseason success. Also advancing to New York was Texas, which took care of Colorado 68-55, building a 25-point halftime lead and cruising home to advance to NYC for the first time since winning the whole tourney in 1978, back when it was a 16-team event.
The Longhorns held the Buffaloes to 32.7% shooting and have shook off a shaky start to the NIT to make the most of their first trip to this tourney in 33 years, winning three straight, all at home. We didn’t like Texas with its 16-16 regular season mark as a 2 seed in the tourney, but the Horns definitely were worthy of being in the NIT and have taken care of business.
Texas’s win now sets up an all-Big 12 (SWC?) semifinal with TCU. Three of the four teams in the semifinals have won NIT titles. In addition to Texas, TCU won just two years ago in 2017, and Wichita State claimed the title in 2011.
Side Dishes:
- From yesterday at Hoopville, we posted our NCAA Tournament first week review, noting historical comparisons showing just how far ‘down’ this year’s event is when it comes to close games.
- The CBI has one of its two finalists set as DePaul outlasted Coastal Carolina 92-87. Defense was again light in this one; the Blue Demons shot 58.9%, with Paul Reed and Max Strus scoring 24 points each.
- The coaching changes continued with ridiculous speed Wednesday. Among the hirings, the biggest was Nate Oats leaving Buffalo to go to Alabama, somewhat surprising for its swiftness considering the photo op picture Buffalo showed off after Oats signed a recent contract extension. We know contract extensions rarely mean much in this sport…maybe the photo op could’ve been bypassed. T.J. Otzelberer will be the latest to try to satisfy UNLV’s impossible expectations after being lured from South Dakota State, which went right ahead and promoted assistant Eric Henderson to head coach. Washington State also made official its hiring of San Francisco’s Kyle Smith, while USF also promoted an assistant as Todd Golden is the new head man there.
- NBA Draft early entries are also starting. Jalen McDaniels announced he’ll be leaving San Diego State and plans to hire an agent. McDaniels will bypass his final two years at SDSU after averaging 15.9 points and 8.3 rebounds this year. The same goes for Yoeli Childs, who forgoes his final year at Brigham Young to turn pro. The 6-foot-8 bull averaged 21.2 points and 9.7 rebounds this season at BYU.
Tonight’s Menu:
- The NCAA Tournament returns with the West and South regional semifinals. It begins with a tip just after 4 p.m. local time in Anaheim, Calif., where Florida State faces Gonzaga (7:09 p.m. Eastern, CBS) in a rematch of the two teams’ West semifinal a year ago. FSU won that one, and it would be little surprise if they did it again-the Seminoles have been on a roll since that brief three-game losing streak in January. They will have to slow down or else keep up with Gonzaga’s much more consistent offense. The second game in the West is Texas Tech against Michigan (9:39 p.m., CBS), which is widely expected to be a defensive struggle. The Wolverines-though hardly an offensive juggernaut-at first glance have a few more weapons and thus should rate as a slim favorite.
- The South Regional semis are contested in Louisville, almost a mid-point for the 2-vs.-3 game between Tennessee and Purdue (7:29 p.m., TBS). The Volunteers will try to win with muscle inside, but will have to find a way to slow down Carsen Edwards, who was red-hot in the second round against Villanova. The second game has top seed Virginia against Oregon (9:59 p.m., TBS), where the Ducks’ scrapping, clawing defense will try to hang with the Cavaliers. The Quack Attack is certainly stingy enough to pull this off, though they won’t be surprising anyone now.
- The night also includes a pair of CollegeInsider.com Tournament games, with spots in the semifinals awaiting. Hampton is at NJIT, with the Highlanders still on track for their third semifinal appearance in this tourney. The other has Texas Southern at Louisiana-Monroe, and it would indeed be a big deal if a SWAC team made the semis of even the CIT.
Have a great Thursday.
Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
