NIT 2016: Tuesday's Quarterfinals Scores, Updated Bracket and Wednesday Schedule

The NIT quarterfinals kicked off on Tuesday with two matchups that will decide half of the Final Four field in New York City.

The No. 1 seed Valparaiso Crusaders took care of business in the first game against the No. 2 St. Mary's Gaels, becoming the first team to punch its ticket to Madison Square Garden.

The second matchup featured the No. 2 BYU Cougars against the No. 4 Creighton Bluejays. Eight three-pointers and nearly 51 percent shooting gave the Cougars an eventual six-point victory that helped complete the first half of the Final Four.

Here's a look at the results from the competition Tuesday night:   

Matchup	Result
No. 1 Valparaiso vs. No. 2 St. Mary's	Valparaiso, 60-44
No. 2 BYU vs. No. 4 Creighton	BYU, 88-82

Valparaiso def. St. Mary's, 60-44

Valparaiso (29-6) was the only No. 1 seed remaining in the tournament, and it lived up to its billing with a strong second half in front of its largest home crowd ever, per Valpo Athletics:

Despite trailing by as many as seven points in the first half, the Crusaders used an Alec Peters three-pointer with six seconds remaining to cut the lead to 31-29. They then stormed ahead early in the second half with a 14-4 run to take a 43-35 lead.

The Gaels never got closer than five, dropping to 29-6 on the season.

Valparaiso's fans celebrated the Crusaders' school-record 29th victory on the court, via Valpo Athletics:

Peters led the way with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Keith Carter chipped in 11 points for the Crusaders. Dane Pineau had 11 points for St. Mary's, and Stefan Gonzalez added nine.

Adam Amin of ESPN described how the Crusaders adjusted in the second half for the victory:

St. Mary's came into the game on a roll with its only loss in the past 11 games coming in the West Coast Conference tournament to the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

However, the Crusaders were almost as equally hot with seven wins in their past eight games, and now they have a chance to win 30 games for the first time in school history. They'll play BYU on March 29 in their first trip to the NIT semifinals.

BYU def. Creighton, 88-82

BYU broke open a close game midway through the second half en route to a quarterfinal victory over Creighton.

The Cougars celebrated the victory via Twitter:

After the Cougars led by just one point at the break, a three-pointer from Zac Seljaas pushed the BYU lead to 61-51 with 11 minutes and 29 seconds left in the second half. The 6-0 run forced the Bluejays to call a timeout, but it was to no avail.

BYU pushed the lead to as much as 15, and while Creighton made a late run, the Cougars still claimed the victory.

Seljaas, one of the country's best three-point shooters, led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Kyle Davis chipped in 18 points. Geoff Groselle had a game-high 22 points for the Bluejays.

The crowd at the Marriott Center was rocking, and one fan in particular—BYU football coach Kalani Sitake—even busted out his best dance moves, via Jason Shepherd of BYU TV Sports:

The Bluejays looked to be in control early, jumping ahead 34-25 with 3:45 remaining in the first half after a Ronnie Harrell Jr. layup. However, BYU ended the half on a 13-3 run behind Seljaas' two three-pointers and eight points.

Creighton actually gained a 45-44 lead a little more than three minutes into the second half, but a Kyle Collinsworth layup at the 16:13 mark gave BYU the lead for good.

Cole Huff had the game's only double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

The two quarterfinal games on Wednesday will determine the second half of the Final Four:

Date	Time (ET)	TV	Matchup
March 23	7 p.m.	ESPN2	No. 2 Florida vs. No. 4 George Washington
March 23	9 p.m.	ESPN2	No. 2 San Diego State vs. No. 4 Georgia Tech

An updated bracket and schedule for the entire tournament can be found here, courtesy of NCAA.com.