NIT 2015: Wednesday Round 1 Scores, Updated Bracket and 2nd-Round Schedule

While it may not be the marquee college basketball tournament anymore, the 2015 NIT features its share of quality teams that wouldn't be out of place in the Big Dance.

The first round concluded on Wednesday with seven games, led by No. 1 seed Temple and defending national champion Connecticut. 

Of all the NCAA tournament snubs, none seemed to rub people the wrong way more than Temple. It's easy to see why, as the Owls boast a resume that includes 23 wins, including one over Kansas, but they can prove the selection committee wrong with a deep run in this event. 

Here's a recap of the final first-round games, a look at the bracket and a schedule for the second round. This will be updated as games go final. 

Scoreboard

Matchup	Score/Start Time (ET)
Bucknell vs. Temple	Temple, 73-67
Old Dominion vs. Charleston Southern	Old Dominion, 65-56
St. Francis BRK vs. Richmond	Richmond, 84-74
Arizona State vs. Connecticut	Arizona State, 68-61
Green Bay vs. Illinois State	Illinois State, 69-56
Vanderbilt vs. Saint Mary's	Vanderbilt, 75-64
South Dakota State vs. Colorado State	South Dakota State, 86-76

NIT Bracket (via ODU Men's Basketball)

Second Round Schedule

Date	Matchup	Start Time (ET)	Network
Saturday, March 21	Alabama vs. Miami	11 a.m.	ESPN
Sunday, March 22	Rhode Island vs. Stanford	TBD	ESPNU
Sunday, March 22	Arizona State vs. Richmond	7:30 p.m.	ESPN
Monday, March 23	Murray State vs. Tulsa	TBD	ESPN3
Monday, March 23	Illinois State vs. Old Dominion	7 p.m.	ESPN3
Monday, March 23	Louisiana Tech vs. Texas A&M	TBD	ESPN3
TBD	George Washington vs. Temple	TBD	ESPN3
TBD	South Dakota State vs. Vanderbilt	TBD	-

Recap

South Dakota State 86, Colorado State 76

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

The biggest upset of the NIT's first round is here. Buoyed by a 47-point first half, South Dakota State knocked off top-seeded Colorado State 86-76 in their first-round matchup.

George Marshall scored a game-high 24 points and was one of fourth Jackrabbits to score in double figures. Deondre Parks (17 points), Jake Bittle (15 points) and Reed Tellinghuisen (10 points) each pitched in as Colorado State was unable to stop the four-headed guard monster.

"I must have said four times that this is the biggest stop of the year," Colorado State coach Larry Eustachy told reporters. "We had to get a stop and they hit a three or we couldn't stop their penetration."

In a tournament often defined by upsets, South Dakota State is the only No. 8 seed to advance to the second round. The team knocked down 12 threes and never once looked like the underdog, holding the lead for the final 36 minutes without letting go.

The Jackrabbits move on to face a Vanderbilt team that is perhaps as good (if not better) than some of the at larges in the NCAA field. They'll have to hope their good fortune from distance continues. 

Vanderbilt 75, Saint Mary's 64

George Nikitin/Associated Press

Damian Jones scored 21 points and Riley LaChance added 17, as Vanderbilt earned a 75-64 win over Saint Mary's to advance to the second round.

The Commodores overcame an early scoring drought that allowed Saint Mary's to pull ahead by as many as nine points before kicking it into high gear, taking the lead with 8:21 remaining in the first half and never relinquishing it. The Gaels never got closer than five points in the second half, as Vanderbilt found a way to knock down clutch shots whenever they were needed.

"He was dominant the whole game," LaChance told reporters of Jones. "He's the best player on our team and he definitely played like that tonight. That's what we need from him."

Vanderbilt shot 49.2 percent from the field overall and was able to thwart the Saint Mary's offensive effort with 11 blocks.

The win is Kevin Stallings' first postseason triumph since 2011. Vanderbilt will move on to play eighth-seeded South Dakota State which upset Colorado State.

Temple 73, Bucknell 67

Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press

Temple held serve on its home court with a 73-67 victory over Bucknell. Will Cummings had the hot hand for the Owls, dropping 30 points and grabbing seven rebounds. 

There was also some talk after the game about how Temple would respond to its perceived snub by the selection committee. Cummings actually addressed it with this comment, via Ibrahim Jacobs of OwlSports Update:

There are still two games to go before Temple can get to Madison Square Garden, so anything can happen, but at least Cummings will have left the committee with a lot to think about if one of those teams that got in ahead of the Owls, like UCLA, struggles in the NCAA tournament. 

Bucknell had a dreadful shooting day, hitting 33.8 percent of its shots, which ultimately left the Bison in a hole they couldn't come out of. Chris Hass and Nana Foulland combined to score 29 points and grab 13 rebounds, but the rest of the starting five combined for just three field goals. 

Old Dominion 65, Charleston Southern 56

Jason Hirschfeld/Associated Press

After a slow start against Charleston Southern, Old Dominion found its groove in the final 20 minutes to advance with a 65-56 victory. The Monarchs got 38 points in the second half, as well as a triple-double by Trey Freeman to secure the victory. 

Freeman had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, which was the school's first performance of that kind this season, per ODU Men's Basketball:

Oh, Jonathan Arledge had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Old Dominion, too. Not a bad day at the office, even though it will be overshadowed by a triple-double. He doesn't seem likely to complain with the team winning, though. 

For Charleston Southern, Saah Nimley was a one-man wrecking crew with 27 points and eight rebounds. That was the story all year for the senior. He averaged 21.2 points per game in his final season and went out in style, even though it was a hard-luck loss. 

Arizona State 68, Connecticut 61

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

There won't be any run for Connecticut this March, as the defending national champions were eliminated by Arizona State in the first round of the NIT. The Sun Devils shot the lights out, hitting 51.9 percent of their field-goal attempts, and four players scored in double figures. 

Shaquielle McKissic had a game-high 22 points to go along with five rebounds and three steals. Savon Goodman, Eric Jacobsen and Gerry Blakes combined for 36 points to make up a large portion of Arizona State's offense. 

One key difference in the game was Connecticut's inability to get to the free-thrown line. The Huskies attempted just three free throws, with Daniel Hamilton, Terrence Samuel and Rodney Purvis being the only players to break double-digits in points. 

The six other UConn players to get in the game combined to score 16 points. A lack of depth destroyed this team all year and doomed it in the NIT. 

Even though the loss is a disappointing way to end the year, Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie didn't sound too concerned about being in the NIT based on these comments to Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant:

"

...We've got another opportunity to play in front of our fans and put that jersey on, basically that's it. You got another opportunity to get these guys in postseason play. If you win you go on, if you lose you go back to your dorm. So that's the beauty of postseason, it gets those guys to understand the pressure, understanding the possessions, understanding what they have to do...

"

Ollie did go on to say that this was "great preparation" for his team's future, but just trying to read into what those comments sound like, it comes off as a coach who understands that his team didn't live up to expectations this year and wanted to move ahead to 2015-16. 

Whether that was the case or not, Ollie and UConn have their work cut out trying to get back to the NCAA tournament next season. 

Richmond 84, St. Francis 74

Zach Gibson/Associated Press

Richmond was the third No. 1 seed to win on Wednesday, joining Temple and Old Dominion. The Spiders jumped out to an early lead, taking a 41-30 edge into halftime, and went through the motions in the second half for an 84-74 win. 

This win might have been the most impressive of the day for any team, simply because Richmond got contributions from virtually everyone. Six players had at least 11 points, and the team shot 53.8 percent from the floor. 

Trey Davis was the only player who didn't show up offensively, not attempting a shot in 34 minutes, but the Spiders didn't need him to secure this win. 

The real difference was Richmond's aggressive, attacking style that got the team to the free-throw line 33 times with 24 makes. St. Francis only had 18 attempts, by comparison. 

Per Richmond's official Twitter, the Spiders will now get Arizona State in the second round:

That game became more intriguing because each team won its opening game in similar fashion to the other, with a lot of players getting in the scoring mix and forcing the issue against an opponent that played with a laissez-faire approach.