The field for the NIT semifinals set. North Texas, UAB, Utah Valley and Wisconsin, will head to Las Vegas, which is this year’s home of the tournament’s final three games. Historically, the NIT semifinals and title game were played at Madison Square Garden in New York, but the event is no longer tied to the venue, which will give this year’s conclusion a fresh feel.
One of the nation’s most electric scorers will be part of the action as UAB and Jordan “Jelly” Walker head to Las Vegas following convincing home wins over Southern Miss and Morehead State, followed by an impressive 67-59 road victory over Vanderbilt in Wednesday’s quarterfinal action. Walker led the way with 21 points in the victory, which was just shy of his season average of 22.6.
UAB’s opponent will be Utah Valley, which beat Cincinnati in Thursday’s second quarterfinal. It marks the deepest postseason run for the Wolverines, who are in their 19th season as a Division I program and making their second NIT appearance. Utah Valley is now 28-8 with a chance to build on a program-record number of victories in Las Vegas.
Quarterfinal action began with a couple of close games Tuesday night as North Texas took down Oklahoma State in overtime on the road to end the Cowboys’ season with a record of 20-16. The Mean Green are now 29-7 and building off of last year’s NIT appearance in which they played a pair of overtime games. They will play Wisconsin, which continued its sudden surge by beating Oregon 61-58 behind 18 points from Max Klesmit on Tuesday. The Badgers dealt with their share of disappointment during the regular season but are now up to 20 wins for the year after picking up their third victory of the NIT.
2023 NIT scores schedule
Semifinals
Tuesday, March 28 (Orleans Arena in Las Vegas)
No. 2 North Texas vs. No. 2 Wisconsin
No. 4 UAB vs. Utah Valley
Championship
Thursday, March 30 (Orleans Arena in Las Vegas)
Semifinal winners
NIT scores from previous rounds
First round
No. 1 Oklahoma State 69, Youngstown State 64
No. 2 Sam Houston 58, Santa Clara 56
No. 3 North Texas 69, Alcorn State 53
Eastern Washington 81, No. 4 Washington State 74
No. 1 Oregon 84, UC Irvine 58
No. 2 Liberty 62, Villanova 57
No. 3 Wisconsin 81, Bradley 62
UCF 69, Florida 49
Hofstra 88, No. 1 Rutgers 86
No. 2 Colorado 65, Seton Hall 64
Utah Valley 83, No. 3 New Mexico 69
No. 4 Cincinnati 81, Virginia Tech 72
Morehead State 68, No. 1 Clemson 64
No. 2 Vanderbilt 71, Yale 62
No. 3 Michigan 90, Toledo 80
No. 4 UAB 88, Southern Miss 60
Second round
No. 4 Cincinnati 79, Hofstra 65
No. 2 Vanderbilt 66, No. 3 Michigan 65
No. 2 Wisconsin 75, No. 3 Liberty 71
No. 1 Oklahoma State 71, Eastern Washington 60
No. 4 UAB 77, Morehead State 69
No. 2 North Texas 75, No. 3 Sam Houston State 55
No. 1 Oregon 68, UCF 54
Utah Valley 81, No. 3 Colorado 69
Quarterfinals
NIT bracket 2023: Tournament schedule, college basketball scores, dates, times for semifinals
- Advertisment - 