NIT 2016: Updated Bracket, Schedule After Valparaiso vs. FSU

The Madness of March was not limited to the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday.

The Valparaiso Crusaders looked like the No. 1 seed they are in the second round of the NIT and dispatched the No. 4-seeded Florida State Seminoles, 81-69. In an effort not to be completely overshadowed by the Big Dance, the contest pitting Valparaiso against Florida State was the only contest on the Thursday slate for the NIT.

With that in mind, here is a look at the second-round schedule, a link to the updated NIT bracket and a breakdown of the action between the Crusaders and Seminoles.

Second-Round Schedule and Bracket

Date	Time (ET)	TV	Matchup
March 18	9:30 p.m.	ESPN U	Virginia Tech at BYU
March 19	Noon	ESPN	Wagner at Creighton
March 20	Noon	ESPN	Florida at Ohio State
March 20	7:30 p.m.	ESPN U	Georgia at Saint Mary's
March 21	7 p.m.	ESPN	George Washington at Monmouth
March 21	9 p.m.	ESPN	Georgia Tech at South Carolina
March 21	11:30 p.m.	ESPN 2	Washington at San Diego State

An updated bracket can be found here, courtesy of NCAA.com. The second-round schedule and broadcast information are courtesy of NESN.com.

Valparaiso Crusaders 81, Florida State Seminoles 69

Florida State was the ACC team. Valparaiso was the Horizon League team. It just didn't look like that on Thursday. 

The Crusaders handled the Seminoles with relative ease and advanced to the quarterfinals in the NIT. One more victory would send them to Madison Square Garden for the semifinals. 

Alec Peters was fantastic for Valparaiso with 26 points and nine rebounds, while Shane Hammink chipped in 18 points and hit both of his three-pointers. The Crusaders also converted 22 of their 27 free-throw attempts, which proved critical as they pulled away in the second half. 

Xavier Rathan-Mayes spearheaded the Florida State effort with 19 points, but the team as a whole only shot a dismal 3-of-15 from downtown. 

Valparaiso wasted little time establishing momentum in front of its fans Thursday and took a 39-29 halftime lead into the locker rooms behind impressive plays like this, via Valpo Athletics:

Peters led the offensive effort in the first half with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. He also moved up the Crusaders' all-time scoring list in the process, as Valpo Basketball highlighted:

Outside of Peters, the Valparaiso defense did not back down against an ACC opponent and held the Seminoles to 1-of-7 shooting from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes. Sports reporter Paul Oren weighed in on the Crusaders' efforts as they maintained a lead in the opening minutes of the second half:

Florida State closed to within 51-48 with less than 13 minutes remaining off a Malik Beasley three-pointer, and Oren pointed to the offensive issues on Valparaiso's side:

To the Crusaders' credit, they pushed the advantage right back to double digits with less than 10 minutes left and appeared to be well in control after the brief Florida State push. The student section even had some fun with Florida State's football history during the process, as Jim Peters of the Times of Northwest Indiana shared:

Corey Clark of the Tallahassee Democrat looked at things from Florida State's perspective as the game began to slip out of its grasp:

Valparaiso held that lead well into the second half, and Peters hearkened back to Purdue's upset loss to Arkansas-Little Rock (via ESPN.com) earlier Thursday in the NCAA tournament:

The Seminoles never really challenged down the stretch, and Oren raised an interesting question:

Valparaiso finished off the 81-69 victory without much drama, and Brandon Vickrey of the Post-Tribune passed along the schedule for the victors:

What's Next?

Valparaiso will play the winner of the Georgia and Saint Mary's clash for the right to go to Madison Square Garden.

The Gaels are the No. 2 seed in Valparaiso's bracket and were one of the teams that many thought deserved to be in the NCAA tournament on Selection Sunday. Alas, they were left on the outside looking in but could get an opportunity to make a statement against a quality Valparaiso squad if they get past the SEC's Georgia.

However, Valparaiso only lost to Oregon by six and beat Oregon State during the regular season, so a matchup with Georgia or Saint Mary's likely won't intimidate the team. That is especially the case after Thursday's win over an ACC foe.

Postgame Reaction

While Valparaiso looked like a team that could have played in the NCAA tournament Thursday, Peters wasn’t thinking about that after the win, per Michael Osipoff of the Chicago Tribune: “We're past it now. We didn't get what our main goal was, but this is the next best thing. We have a great opportunity ahead of us.”

Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton didn’t hold back on his praise of the Crusaders, per Osipoff: “This is a very special team and a very special opportunity to go to New York and compete for an NIT championship. This is a team that probably should've been in the NCAA Tournament.”

Peters was a primary reason Valparaiso was so effective against the Seminoles, and Jubril Adekoya said it was business as usual, per Osipoff: “I've seen Alec play great. I know he's a good player all the time. He's helping us on both ends of the floor. It's just Alec being Alec.”

If Alec continues to be Alec, Valparaiso could capture the NIT crown.

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Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.

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