NIT 2015: Sunday's Round Scores, Updated Bracket and Monday's Round 2 Schedule

The 2015 NIT is inching closer toward Madison Square Garden with three of the Sweet 16 games taking place on Sunday across the country, including two No. 1 seeds vying to keep their seasons alive.  

There haven't been as many upsets along the way thus far. Only Colorado State's 10-point loss against South Dakota State in the opening round counts as a shocker. As teams grow closer in talent levels, there should be more diverse finishes. 

Then again, perhaps this year's NIT is destined to be a tournament of chalk. Whatever happens, all of the action will be recapped and analyzed as soon as the results are available.

Scores

Matchup	Final Score/Start Time (ET)
No. 5 George Washington vs. No. 1 Temple	Temple, 90-77
No. 5 Arizona State vs. No. 1 Richmond	Richmond, 76-70
No. 3 Rhode Island vs. No. 2 Stanford	Stanford, 74-65

Bracket (via Illinois State Cheerleading)

Monday Schedule

Matchup	Start Time (ET)	Network
No. 3 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 2 Texas A&M	7 p.m.	ESPN
No. 4 Illinois State vs. No. 1 Old Dominion	8 p.m.	ESPNU
No. 3 Murray State vs. No. 2 Tulsa	9 p.m.	ESPN

No. 1 Richmond def. No. 5 Arizona State, 76-70

Skip Rowland/Associated Press

Easily the most exciting game of the NIT thus far, Richmond was able to hold off Arizona State in overtime to advance to the Elite Eight. 

This will be a game in which the Sun Devils look back at missed opportunities. Neither team scored in the last 65 seconds of regulation, including three missed shots by Arizona State, that sent the game into overtime. The two teams basically traded field goals in the extra time, the lone difference being extra three-pointers by Terry Allen and Kendall Anthony. 

Shaquielle McKissic was a stud for the Sun Devils, posting a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds to keep his team in it all the way through. 

Yet this is nothing new for McKissic, as Doug Haller of AZ Central Sports noted the senior star has upped his game down the stretch:

"

Over the last five games, this has changed. With his college career winding down, senior Shaquielle McKissic has taken on the role, taking big shots in crucial moments. Entering Sunday's NIT second-round contest at top-seed Richmond, the athletic forward is averaging 20 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3 steals, helping the Sun Devils to three wins over the stretch.

"

Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough firepower for Arizona State once overtime started. McKissic will leave the program knowing he left everything on the court. 

For Richmond, as good as Anthony, Allen and T.J. Cline were, ShawnDre' Jones was huge in the victory. The sophomore guard dropped 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting off the bench. For the record, the Spiders had 17 total points from their bench. 

Thanks to this win, Richmond will get to play No. 2 Miami in the quarterfinals later in the week. The Hurricanes have played close games against North Carolina Central and Alabama, but have done what it takes to survive and advance. 

Richmond did that in dramatic fashion against Arizona State, so it won't be afraid to play close basketball down the stretch if that's how the game goes. 

No. 1 Temple def. No. 5 George Washington, 90-77

Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press

Being an NCAA tournament snub hasn't caused Temple to get down on itself. The Owls continued their quest for an NIT championship with an impressive 90-77 victory over George Washington in Philadelphia. 

After sweating things out against Bucknell in the opening round, Temple took care of business thanks to another stellar effort from Will Cummings. The senior guard had 30 points against the Bison and added another 21 points against the Colonials. 

This time, however, Cummings got help to make for a more complete team win by Temple. Jesse Morgan had a season-high 20 points. 

Morgan was vastly superior against George Washington on Saturday compared to the first time he went against the program, via Kyle Gauss of Owl Scoop:

Off the bench, Devin Coleman was a key difference for the Owls with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting. To say this was an unexpected performance would be an understatement, as he averaged 3.5 points in 11.4 minutes per game off the bench in his first year after transferring from Clemson. 

Per Rocco DiSangro of Temple Update, this was Coleman's best-scoring game in nearly two months:

"

Devin Coleman hasn't scored in double digits since 1/28 against UCF where he scored a season high 14.

— Rocco DiSangro (@rdisangro) March 22, 2015"

Harry Mayes of 97.5 in Philadelphia was hopeful Temple's coaching staff would take note of Coleman's efforts in this game to build for next year:

Kethan Savage did everything in his power to keep George Washington afloat, scoring 25 points with four rebounds and three steals, but there's only so much to do when the opposition shoots 50 percent from the floor and hits 21 of 24 free throws. 

Cummings is a player who seems to have the right mindset, and it's rubbing off on the rest of his teammates. Here's what he said about the team's approach after the win over Bucknell, via Marc Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer:

"We didn't want to go out on a sour note," Cummings said. "It would have been bad if we didn't make the NCAA tournament and came here and lost."

How many times in the past have you seen a team get snubbed from the selection committee only to lose in the first round of the NIT? That doesn't necessarily make the exclusion from the NCAA tournament valid, but it does hurt the argument that a team belonged in it. 

Temple's early efforts in the NIT make it clear this team has a chip on its shoulder, prepared to make sure the world knows this team deserves a lot of respect for a very strong season. 

No. 2 Stanford def. No. 3 Rhode Island, 74-65

John Locher/Associated Press

Chasson Randle did his best James Harden impression Sunday, scoring 35 points and going 15-of-19 from the foul line in a 74-65 victory for the Stanford Cardinal over the Rhode Island Rams in the second round of the NIT.

The 35 points were a career high for the senior guard, per the Pac-12 Conference:

The great scoring performance also means Randle is well within reach of the school's all-time record for points, per Stanford's men's basketball:

"I just want to keep winning, to be real," he said after the game, per The Associated Press. "It would be a great achievement to be the all-time leading scorer, but I just want to go out on a right note with this team."

Randle's impressive night was all the more important considering the Cardinal as a team shot 18-of-53 from the field, including 2-of-13 from behind the arc. The Stanford bench also combined to score two points through the entire game.

That kind of reliance on one player isn't exactly sustainable over a long period of time, but if Randle keeps playing this well, it might not matter.