NIT 2012 Schedule: 1 Key to Victory for Each Final Four Team

The NIT Tournament is nearing its end, as the championship matchup will be set in stone by the time Tuesday night is over with.

It goes too fast, doesn't it? Either that or not fast enough. It depends on what you think of the NIT (provided you bother to think about it at all, of course).

There are two matchups on hand this evening, both of which will be shown on ESPN2 and stream live via ESPN3.com. First, UMass will take on Stanford at 7:00 p.m. ET, and then Minnesota will take on Washington at 9:00 p.m. ET.

The matchups are complicated, but let's keep this simple and single out one thing each team needs to do to achieve victory.

No. 5 UMass vs. No. 3 Stanford (7:00 p.m. ET)

UMass: Stay on Chaz Williams' shoulders

The Minutemen are a sneaky-good offensive team, and that's thanks in large part to how well they move the ball around. They finished 13th in the country in assists this season.

But none of it works if Chaz Williams isn't at his best. He's UMass' most dangerous player, so it's no surprise that the Minutemen tend to suffer losses when Williams is held in check.

Nobody has been able to hold Williams in check so far in the NIT tournament. He's scored at least 20 points in all three games, and he's also pitched in plenty of rebounds and plenty of assists. He's been money, plain and simple.

The Minutemen have no choice but to hope Williams can keep it going. If he does, they'll have a good shot at advancing.

Stanford: Stay hot from the three-point line

The Cardinal are not an elite three-point shooting team. At least, they're not supposed to be, anyway.

Things have been a little unusual in Stanford's last two games. The Cardinal was 12-of-20 from long range against Illinois State, and 8-of-14 against Nevada. 

The Minutemen do a good job of defending the trey, but even they won't be able to do much if Aaron Bright gets hot again and Chasson Randle pitches in a few threes of his own.

Stanford has to find offense somewhere. Since it's been from beyond the arc recently, they may as well keep going back to the well.

No. 6 Minnesota vs. No. 1 Washington (9:00 p.m. ET)

Minnesota: Stay busy on the offensive glass

The Golden Gophers can't hope to outscore Washington if all things are equal. But if Minnesota collects a few extra second-chance points, it will have a pretty good shot at an upset.

Minnesota will be going up against one of the top rebounding teams in the country in Washington, but the Golden Gophers are coming into this game on a pretty good stretch that has seen them do good work on the offensive glass. Minnesota has collected a total of 30 offensive rebounds to this point in the tournament, and has topped double digits in each of its last two games.

The Golden Gophers are going to need that kind of production against Washington, a team that features several guards that love to sneak in and grab rebounds. Minnesota will do itself a huge favor by cleaning up its own misses.

Washington: Swarm Rodney Williams

Rodney Williams had a hard time getting noticed playing against tough Big Ten competition, but he hasn't had any trouble establishing himself in the NIT tournament. He's been on fire, scoring over 20 points in each of Minnesota's three games.

The Huskies need to make sure Williams doesn't go off like that again against them. It would be wise for them to put an extra body or two on Williams, especially when he's around the basket.

Defense is not Washington's specialty, as the Huskies typically make their living outscoring their opponents. But Minnesota is a team that will challenge them on defense. The only way to even the score is to take away Minnesota's top offensive threat.

If the Huskies can do that, this is a game they should win easily.