NIT 2017: Box Score, Stats, Highlights from TCU vs. Georgia Tech Championship

The TCU Horned Frogs college basketball team never trailed in the 2017 men's National Invitation Tournament championship game on Thursday night en route to an emphatic 88-56 win over Georgia Tech.

TCU junior guard Kenrich Williams was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, as he averaged 15.6 points and 12.0 rebounds per game. In the final, Williams scored 25 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and made four steals.

Williams also posted a triple-double against Richmond in the quarterfinals and twice managed four steals in NIT games (the other time being against No. 1 seed Iowa in the second round).

Here is the box score, five notable stats and some postgame highlights following TCU's rout.

Box Score

	First Half	Second Half	Final Score
Georgia Tech	27	29	56
TCU	38	50	88

Player	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks	Steals
F Vladimir Brodziansky	18	6	0	1	0
F JD Miller	9	7	0	0	1
G Kenrich Williams	25	12	1	0	4
G Alex Robinson	10	2	11	0	4
G Desmond Bane	9	2	1	1	0
G Michael Williams (reserve)	3	1	1	0	2
G Brandon Parrish (reserve)	4	6	0	0	1

Player	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks	Steals
F Quinton Stephens	5	6	0	1	2
C Ben Lammers	8	7	2	3	0
G Corey Heyward	3	0	2	0	0
G Josh Heath	0	3	4	0	0
G Josh Okogie	12	6	1	0	1
G Tadric Jackson (reserve)	19	0	1	0	1

Five Notable Stats

Kenrich Williams' Entire Performance

The TCU junior guard nearly outscored the entire Yellow Jacket starting lineup by himself, as Georgia Tech's starters managed just 28 points combined.

Williams did manage to accrue as many field goals (eight) as the starting five, and he also had as many steals (four) as the entire Yellow Jacket team.

TCU's Thievery

Speaking of steals, Williams wasn't the only TCU thief, as the other Horned Frogs combined for nine steals. Coupled with Williams' four, that makes for a team total of 13. Sophomore guard Alex Robinson also had four steals.

A Dominant First-Half Run

TCU jumped out to a 20-3 run in the game's opening six minutes and 38 seconds. Georgia Tech responded with a 12-5 run to cut the Horned Frog lead to six, but TCU closed the half strong and went into the break up 11.

Going back to Williams for a moment: He didn't score any points in that 20-3 run. In fact, he didn't score until 6:03 remaining in the first half, when he sunk two free throws to give TCU a 28-18 lead. 

Williams ended up scoring 17 of his 25 points in the second half.

And an Even More Dominant Second-Half Run

Georgia Tech hung tough in the beginning of the second half, and it was conceivable that it could pull off a comeback, as the Yellow Jackets trailed 60-49 with 12:10 remaining in the game.

However, TCU then went on a 19-0 run over a nine-minute and 23-second span to take a 79-49 lead.

Georgia Tech Goes Ice Cold

The Yellow Jackets' starting lineup only made 8-of-35 field goals for a success rate of just 22.9 percent. Junior guard Tadric Jackson was the Yellow Jackets' bright spot, as he scored 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting off the bench.

Postgame Highlights

Needless to say, the TCU Horned Frogs were quite happy after the win:

This will also probably mark the first and last time in recorded history that a horned frog does a Radio City Music Hall-style kick line with a group of cheerleaders, unless TCU comes back here next year and wins the NIT again:

Afterward, TCU celebrated in a Madison Square Garden locker room by giving head coach Jamie Dixon a water-bottle shower:

TCU will be a prime candidate to make the NCAA tournament next season, as the entire starting lineup should be returning unless someone jumps to the NBA.

Furthermore, TCU will welcome back freshman guard Jaylen Fisher, who averaged 9.9 points per game this season before breaking his wrist in the Horned Frogs' first-round NIT game against Fresno State.

The Horned Frogs could certainly be a Big 12 title contender next year.