NIT 2017: Bracket, Schedule and Players to Watch in Semifinals from New York

The National Invitation Tournament semifinals feature two teams that stayed on the NCAA tournament bubble before it popped (TCU and Georgia Tech), a team with a very bright future after a great season with a first-year head coach (Central Florida) and the first-ever No. 8 seed to make it to Madison Square Garden (CSU Bakersfield).

Here's a look at the NIT bracket and semifinals as well as one player to watch for each team.

NIT Bracket (Quarterfinals Through Final)
Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
No. 6 Georgia Tech 74
vs.
No. 5 Ole Miss 66	No. 6 Georgia Tech
	vs.
No. 8 CSU Bakersfield 80	No. 8 CSU Bakersfield
vs.
No. 6 Texas-Arlington 76		GT/CSUB winner
		vs.
No. 4 UCF 68		UCF/TCU winner
vs.
No. 2 Illinois 58	No. 4 UCF
	vs.
No. 4 TCU 86	No. 4 TCU
vs.
No. 6 Richmond 68
NCAA.com

NIT Schedule
Matchup	Round	Date	Time	Television
No. 8 CSU Bakersfield vs. No. 6 Georgia Tech	Semifinals	Tuesday, March 28	7 p.m. ET	ESPN
No. 4 UCF vs. No. 4 TCU	Semifinals	Tuesday, March 28	9 p.m. ET	ESPN
CSUB/GT winner vs. UCF/TCU winner	Final	Thursday, March 30	8 p.m. ET	ESPN
NCAA.com

 

Players to Watch

Quinton Stephens, Georgia Tech

The senior forward has averaged 16.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in the NIT and led the Yellow Jackets to a victory over Belmont in the second round with 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Stephens, who did not shoot the ball well this year (37.9 percent), has been on the mark in his last three games, making 64.5 percent of his field goals.

If he continues his hot streak, it will be tough for CSUB to stop him as well as shot-blocking guru Ben Lammers (3.3 blocks per game) and freshman guard Josh Okogie (16.1 points per game).

 

Desmond Bane, TCU

Starting freshman guard Jaylen Fisher, who averaged 9.9 points per game in a successful first season in Fort Worth, broke his wrist in the first round of the NIT and is out for the rest of the tournament.

Fisher, who had a season-high 18 points in a near-upset of West Virginia (TCU lost 61-60) was a big loss for the Horned Frogs.

However, another freshman guard, Desmond Bane, has stepped into the vacant spot in the starting lineup and performed quite well.

Bane has averaged 13 points per game in two NIT starts. Against Iowa in Iowa City, he hit four crucial free throws down the stretch to help TCU pull off a big 94-92 overtime win over the Hawkeyes.

The 6'5" Bane has made 51.9 percent of his shots on the year.

 

Shon Briggs, CSUB

Like Bane, junior guard Shon Briggs is a reserve by trade this season who has been playing a big role in his team's NIT success.

Briggs is CSUB's leading scorer in this tournament, posting 17 points per game. His ability to get to the free-throw line has been exceptional, as he has attempted 29 shots from the charity stripe in three games.

Briggs was the fifth-leading scorer on the team this year (7.4 points per game), which is one example that shows how well-rounded an offensive attack CSUB has right now. Four players scored in double digits in CSUB's first two NIT games, and five hit that mark against Texas-Arlington in the quarterfinals.

 

A.J. Davis, UCF

Like Briggs, Davis is playing his best basketball of the season at the right time.

Davis averages 8.3 points on the season, but in the NIT, he's scored 14.7 points per night. He has only made 35.9 percent of his shots this season, but he's made exactly half his attempts (12-of-24) in the NIT.

Davis, who is second on the team in rebounding with 7.2 boards per game, is also part of a stout team defense that allows just 61.0 points per contest.