NIT 2015 Schedule: TV Coverage, Online Live Stream Guide for Championship

Secluded from the Big Dance, Miami and Stanford have made the most of their consolation prize. Although hardly the Final Four, the Hurricanes and Cardinal will clash for the 2015 NIT championship inside the World's Most Famous Arena.

Struggles against conference stalwarts relegated Miami and Stanford to the NIT bracket as No. 2 seeds. Each squad needed to conquer a top seed in the semifinals, with Stanford sliding past Old Dominion and Miami narrowly edging March Madness snub Temple.

Following a long road of close calls, two notable ACC and Pac-12 programs will joust for the NIT crown on Thursday night. Here's a look at the event's full viewing info:

NIT Championship: Miami vs. Stanford

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York

When: Thursday, April 2

Start Time: 9 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Preview

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Miami enters the bout without its starting center and leading rebounder. According to the Miami Herald's David Furones, junior Tonye Jekiri sustained a concussion against Temple, which rules him out for the final game.

The big man averaged 9.9 boards and 1.4 blocks per game on the year. With him on the court, the Hurricanes brandished a plus-19.3 net rating compared to a plus-8.1 overall margin, per Sports-Reference.com.

	OFF RTG	DEF RTG	NET RTG
Overall	107.8	99.7	+8.1
Jekiri on Court	114.1	94.8	+19.3

Manu Lecomte (knee) and Ja’Quan Newton (thumb) are both expected to play despite ailments of their own, leaving head coach Jim Larranaga to lament his club's woes.

“We’ve been like a M.A.S.H. unit,”  Larranaga told Furones. 

Jekiri's defensive presence will especially be missed. Stanford tallies 72.3 points per game with a 111.5 adjusted offensive rating, according to KenPom.com. Senior Chasson Randle, the team's leading scorer at 19.4 points per game, set a school record during a 24-point semifinal showing versus the Monarchs. Per Stanford basketball's Twitter page:

More importantly, he's producing points at a more efficient clip through the tournament. Shooting at an underwhelming 40.0 percent this season, Randle is averaging 23.3 points with a 46.4 field-goal percentage in four NIT bouts.

Randle talked to The Stanford Daily's Irving Rodriguez about ending his collegiate career on a high note.

“For me to win an NIT Championship, for our seniors, we went out on top and won our last game and that’s very special, or would be very special for us,” Randle said. “For the younger guys, they will have something to hang their hats on for next year going into next season.”

Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins relies heavily on his key rotation players, so he'll need big showings from Randle and fellow senior guard Anthony Brown.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

KenPom.com and ESPN.com's Basketball Power Index (BPI) each rank Stanford a few spots higher than Miami, and that's not taking Jekiri's absence into account. Also hurting Miami's case is the fact that it has scratched and clawed to the championship, winning four games by a combined 16 points.

Sheldon McClellan, who has submitted 16 points in each of the past two tilts, must carry the Hurricanes' load. Without a true active center at their disposal, they'll need stellar guard play to match Stanford's strength.