NIT 2015: Bracket, Schedule and Players to Watch in Semifinals from New York

Think the Big Dance is the only tournament with top college basketball stars?

Wrong—the NIT continues to chug along toward the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York, featuring some of the top performances by any players all season.

So it goes when teams not only hit a "secondary" tournament but don't want their seasons to end on a sour note.

Some of the names may not be as familiar as the big guns in the Big Dance, but be sure to set aside time to catch the NIT semifinals—more star performances are a sure thing.

NIT Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup
March 31	7 p.m.	No. 1 Temple vs. No. 2 Miami (Fla.)
March 31	9 p.m.	No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 1 Old Dominion

Printable NIT bracket is also available on NCAA.com.

Will Cummings, Temple

Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press

Temple senior Will Cummings refuses to let the Owls exit the tournament.

It started with an individual showcase for the ages against eighth-seeded Bucknell. Cummings scored a game-high 30 points on 9-of-14 shooting, hitting three conversions from deep and knocking down all his attempts from the charity stripe.

Afterward, he told the media it was just a case of getting over a burst bubble.

"I had to refocus," Cummings said, per Marc Narducci of Philly.com. "I can't be thinking of the NCAA tournament [while my teammates] think of Bucknell. We didn't want to go out on a sour note. "It would have been bad if we didn't make the NCAA tournament and came here and lost."

Let's just say Cummings didn't show any signs of suffering from the blues. Next was No. 5 George Washington, a simple win thanks to his team-high 21 points. Then he led Temple on a cruise-control victory over No. 3 Louisiana Tech behind his 15 points.

Miami isn't a bad team by any means. The Hurricanes rank 62nd in RPI and among the top 30 teams in the land in rebounding, in large part thanks to center Tonye Jekiri.

Call it an interesting chess match as Cummings won't be able to drive and facilitate as easily as usual. Even without a tough matchup, though, he's reason enough to catch the NIT.

Chasson Randle, Stanford

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

In more than one way, Stanford's Chasson Randle has a chance to make history again at Madison Square Garden.

He helped lead the 2012 Cardinal team to an NIT title and is back again to attempt the same feat. He'll also need 10 points against Old Dominion after passing Lew Alcindor to become the program's all-time leading scorer.

"Wow, I didn't know that until after the game. I wish I was as tall as he was," Randle said, per QCOnline.com. "It's a great honor to say I accomplished that."

The path so far? He scored 18 points in a win against UC Davis and then put the Cardinal on his back to fend off third-seeded Rhode Island, scoring a career-high 35 points. He followed up with 16 more against Vanderbilt.

Now Old Dominion stands in the way, a team ranked 35th in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom.com.

If Randle is to keep his individual pursuits alive and carry the program to another title, he'll need to do so against a stout defensive team. 

Trey Freeman, Old Dominion

Jason Hirschfeld/Associated Press

Like Randle, Old Dominion junior Trey Freeman is something of a hero.

He has a buzzer-beating deep conversion to thank, one hailed as the only reason the Monarchs are still alive in the tournament.

NBC Sports Network captured the moment:

Before the heroic act, Freeman had an up-and-down tournament thanks to an ankle injury.

He scored 14 points in the first round and then none at all on just 12 minutes of play in the second in a near-upset at the hands of fourth-seeded Illinois State, 50-49. Of course, Freeman bounced back with 25 to outgun Murray State, capped off by the big shot above.

A head-to-head duel with Randle sounds great—a matchup made even better by Freeman's heroics to this point.

Stats and info are courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.