NIT Bracket 2015: Final Review Before Miami vs. Stanford Championship

Madison Square Garden is about to play host to one of the most notable postseason tournaments in college basketball. While both Stanford and Miami would prefer to be playing for a national title, the NIT championship will have to suffice.

For the Cardinal and Hurricanes, the reward for a great finish to the season is another contest at the Garden. Both teams have been surging heading into the final in completely different ways. Stanford is at full force with Chasson Randle and Stefan Nastic, but Miami won the semifinal without two stars.

Before the final tips off, here's a look at the game information and a final review.

NIT Championship Information

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York

When: Thursday, April 2

Start Time: 9 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

A printable NIT bracket is also available on NCAA.com.

Final Review

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

How depleted are the Hurricanes heading into the NIT final? Only one of their top three scoring threats finished the most recent game.

Angel Rodriguez has been out since suffering a wrist injury in Miami's NIT opener against NC Central. Tonye Jekiri then suffered a concussion in the semifinal and will miss the championship game, per David Furones of The Miami Herald.

Zach Gelb of WHIP Radio passed along a quote from Miami coach Jim Larranaga on Rodriguez before the semifinal:

Likely being without those two key players leaves just Sheldon McClellan to light up Stanford. Miami's leading scorer is averaging 16 points in his last two games and had a double-double with 11 rebounds in his most recent performance.

Even with two starters out for the Hurricanes, Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins knows he's still facing a team loaded with talent. The former Duke assistant spoke about what he expects from Miami with Andrew Mather of The Stanford Daily.

“They have some really, really good players," Dawkins said. "Looking at their roster, they are a younger team but a team that has played really, really good in a lot of different moments…they have guys that can play multiple positions. They play well together and are well coached.”

In order to lead the Hurricanes to an NIT title, McClellan will have to outdo Chasson Randle. The Cardinal guard recently set the scoring record in the 100th season for the program. Averaging 23.3 points during the NIT, Miami can expect to get a heavy dose of Randle.

Will the Hurricanes be able to hold up again under the pressure of playing in MSG? Can Randle finish his career with an exclamation point? All of that and more will be answered when the two teams finally face off on Thursday night.

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