NIT 2012 Final: Stanford Will Be Overmatched Against Minnesota

The final matchup in the NIT tournament between No. 6 Minnesota and No. 3 Stanford feels rather appropriate in an odd way.

It makes sense that the Golden Gophers have made it this far. They came into the tournament as a low-seeded team, but the NIT competition proved to be too easy after having to face tough competition in the Big Ten. Minnesota went from being a small fish in a big pond to being a big fish in a small pond.

The Cardinal are coming from the worst of the power six conferences (Pac-12), but here they are in the final game of the NIT while Washington and Oregon, two of the better teams in the Pac-12 this season, are both out. 

Washington is out thanks to Minnesota, as the Golden Gophers upset the Huskies in a thrilling overtime game on Tuesday night. Washington came into the game as a big favorite because of its ability to put points on the board, but Minnesota had little trouble bottling up the Huskies' offensive attack.

Minnesota was able to limit Washington in large part because it kept the Huskies' guards in check. Terrence Ross, Tony Wroten and Abdul Gaddy were a combined 14-of-45 from the field, and that's a big reason why Washington shot just 37.1 percent as a team. It's also a big reason Washington lost, period.

This doesn't bode well for Stanford, which also thrives on good play from its guards, particularly Chasson Randle and Aaron Bright. If Minnesota can bottle up Washington's guards, they should be able to bottle up Stanford's guards with ease.

If so, a lot of pressure is going to be put on senior forward Josh Owens, Stanford's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder. He's been pretty reliable thus far in the NIT tournament, scoring 15 points in three of Stanford's four games and recording a double-double against UMass. 

Owens will have a tough time canceling out Rodney Williams however. Williams has been on fire since the start of the NIT, scoring at least 18 points in each game and pulling down plenty of rebounds. He'll be able to offset whatever productions Owens provides, putting the Cardinal at a disadvantage.

This is a game Minnesota should win, and nobody should be surprised if the Golden Gophers win easily. The Cardinal are not the toughest team they've faced all season. In fact, the Cardinal aren't the toughest team Minnesota has faced in this tournament.

If Minnesota doesn't win the NIT, it will be a big surprise.

Prediction: Minnesota by seven