Auburn, Illinois State, Tulsa and New Mexico Reach NIT Final Four in Indianapolis
Four teams survived three rounds of the National Invitational Tournament and will meet in Indianapolis this week, with the championship game set for April 5.
By Neha Iyer ·
Auburn, Illinois State, Tulsa and New Mexico have advanced to the semifinals of the National Invitational Tournament, which will be played Thursday, April 2, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Tulsa will face New Mexico at 7 p.m. Eastern, followed by Auburn against Illinois State at 9:30 p.m. The winners will meet in the championship game on Sunday, April 5, at 8 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, also in Indianapolis.
The quarterfinals were played March 24 and 25. Tulsa beat Wichita State 83-79 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and New Mexico topped Saint Joseph's 84-69 at The Pit in Albuquerque. A night later, Illinois State defeated Dayton 61-55 at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio, while Auburn beat Nevada 75-69 at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama.
The path to the semifinals began with the first round on March 17 and 18. Auburn opened with a 78-67 win over South Alabama, and Tulsa edged Stephen F. Austin 89-84 in overtime. Among the other first-round results, UNC-Wilmington beat Yale 68-67, Liberty topped George Mason 77-71 at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia, and George Washington escaped Utah Valley State 79-78 in Orem, Utah. New Mexico routed Sam Houston State 107-83, and Illinois State beat Kent State 79-58.
Other first-round winners were Seattle over St. Thomas, UNLV over UC Irvine, Wichita State over Wyoming, Oklahoma State over Davidson, Wake Forest over Navy, Saint Joseph's over Colorado State, Dayton over Bradley, Nevada over Murray State and California over UIC.
The second round took place March 21 and 22. Nevada beat Liberty 73-63, and Dayton defeated UNC-Wilmington 80-61. Auburn outlasted Seattle 91-85, Tulsa beat UNLV 77-66, and New Mexico overpowered George Washington 86-61.
Illinois State edged Wake Forest 78-75 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Wichita State beat Oklahoma State 96-70 in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Saint Joseph's won 76-75 at California in Berkeley.
Each of the four semifinalists played its quarterfinal at home, and Auburn, Tulsa and New Mexico also hosted in the second round. Illinois State's second-round win came on the road at Wake Forest.
Source: WTOP News
