NIT 2015: Final 2nd-Round Scores, Updated Bracket, Quarterfinals Schedule

The quarterfinals are nearly set for the 2015 National Invitation Tournament, with the round's action concluding Monday night.

Three games are on the schedule, with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs taking on the Texas A&M Aggies to kick things off. Old Dominion vs. Illinois State and Murray State vs. Tulsa are to follow.

It's almost impossible to envision the NIT ever being the NCAA tournament's equal again. The event is often a bitter pill to swallow for those teams who narrowly missed out on the Big Dance. With that said, winning a postseason tournament—even a secondary one—is better than winning no postseason tournament at all.

Three teams will have taken one step closer to an NIT title by the time Monday's games are all said and done.

Monday's NIT Results

Matchup	Result
No. 3 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 2 Texas A&M	84-72, Louisiana Tech
No. 4 Illinois State vs. No. 1 Old Dominion	50-49, Old Dominion
No. 3 Murray State vs. No. 2 Tulsa	83-62, Murray State

Tuesday's NIT Schedule

Time (ET)	Matchup	TV Info
7 p.m.	No. 2 Miami (FL) vs. No. 1 Richmond	ESPN
9 p.m.	No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 2 Stanford	ESPN

Updated Bracket

Bracket courtesy of CBSSports.com.

Monday NIT Recap

No. 3 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 2 Texas A&M

After a thoroughly competitive first half between Louisiana Tech and Texas A&M, the Bulldogs opened up a 10-point lead six minutes into the second half and didn't look back until the final buzzer. They cruised to an 84-72 victory.

It was an impressive showing from Louisiana Tech considering the team's leading scorer, Raheem Appleby, went 1-of-10 from the field and scored two points. Having your star player lay an egg like that is usually the kiss of death, but the Bulldogs overcame Appleby's sluggish night.

Sean Isabella of The News-Star in Monroe, Louisiana, praised the work of Alex Hamilton, who finished with 25 points and five assists:

The junior guard certainly picked up the slack for Appleby, making nine of his 15 field-goal attempts and going 3-of-6 from deep. Without Hamilton's offensive output, the Bulldogs would've been in serious trouble.

The performances of Michale Kyser and Kenneth Smith can't be overlooked, either. The two combined to score 30 points and miss two shots the entire game.

After the game, Louisiana Tech head coach Mike White spoke about getting a win on the Aggies' home court, per Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle:

Speaking of White, Good Bull Hunting's Doug Keegan was particularly critical of A&M head coach Billy Kennedy, making note of how White's Bulldogs were thoroughly outplaying the Aggies:

Given the fact that Texas A&M hasn't been to the NCAA tournament under Kennedy, coupled with the team's early exit from the College Basketball Invitational last year, the head coach will almost certainly be on the hot seat this coming offseason.

The Aggies were NCAA tourney mainstays under Mark Turgeon, but Kennedy has so far been unable to recreate that kind of success.

Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech will play the top-seeded Temple Owls in the quarterfinal.

No. 4 Illinois State vs. No. 1 Old Dominion

With 18.9 seconds remaining, Old Dominion forward Jonathan Arledge spun his way under the basket and got a wide-open layup to put the Monarchs ahead by a point, 50-49.

Daishon Knight had a chance to give Illinois State the lead, but his jumper went begging. MiKyle McIntosh also had two chances at the foul line to at the very least tie the game for the Redbirds with 4.3 seconds left. Both of his shots missed the mark, and ODU escaped with a one-point victory.

As The Catch and Shoot noted, McIntosh isn't exactly a great free-throw shooter to begin with. Add in the pressure of the situation, and it became too much for him.

Arledge finished as one of Old Dominion's leading scorers. He had 10 points to go along with six rebounds, an assist and two steals. Keenan Palmore also stepped up huge, coming off the bench to score 11 points and grab nine boards.

Although McIntosh's two missed free throws ultimately lost Illinois State the game, the Redbirds were often at a bit of a disadvantage with Reggie Lynch in foul trouble. The sophomore center eventually fouled out with 5:07 left in the game.

Jeremy Werner of ESPN Radio 93.5 in Champaign, Illinois, felt that Lynch's absence didn't preclude the team from coming out on top in the end:

Arledge's heroics mean the Monarchs head to the quarterfinals, where they'll host the winner of the Tulsa-Murray State game that will finish later in the night.

No. 3 Murray State vs. No. 2 Tulsa

After the field for the NCAA tournament was announced, a large number of fans bemoaned the absence of the Murray State Racers, who missed out on the Big Dance by a single point after losing to Belmont 88-87 in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament final.

Since then, the Racers have been on a seek-and-destroy mission, beating UTEP by 15 points in the first round of the NIT and following that up with a dominant 83-62 victory over Tulsa Monday night.

Four different Murray State starters scored in double figures, with Cameron Payne's 20 points leading the way. His numbers were all the more impressive considering he fouled out with eight minutes to go in the game.

Kelly Hines of the Tulsa World felt that his strong performance likely wouldn't get overlooked nonetheless:

The Racers owned a plus-seven advantage in rebounding in large part because of Wayne Langston and Jonathan Fairell, who grabbed 12 and 10 boards respectively.

As Murray State continued to dominate, there was an undercurrent of disdain for the NCAA selection committee:

While it's obviously too late for the Racers to get into the NCAA tournament, a strong performance in the NIT might pay big dividends down the line, as the school's proponents could point to a postseason title as evidence for the program's strength.

Murray State will have its hands full with Old Dominion in the next round, but with the way the team is playing, the Racers are arguably the favorites from here on out to win it all.