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NIT 2019: Wednesday Round 1 Scores, Updated Bracket and 2nd-Round Schedule
March 21, 2019
A host of teams that have made waves in the NCAA tournament this decade took part in first-round men's NIT contests on Wednesday.
Butler, which made the 2010 and 2011 national championship games, traveled to Nebraska.
Wichita State, which ran to the 2013 Final Four as a No. 9 seed, visited Furman.
Xavier, a four-time Sweet 16 participant since 2010, hosted Toledo. Finally, a mid-2010s Cinderella story in Harvard visited the Georgetown Hoyas.
We'll take a look at those teams' games below in addition to two others. You can find scores and recaps for the six Wednesday contests as well as the latest bracket and second-round schedule.
Wednesday's Round 1 Scores
No. 3 Xavier 78, No. 6 Toledo 64
No. 6 Wichita State 76, No. 3 Furman 70
No. 8 Norfolk State 80, No. 1 Alabama 79 (OT)
No. 6 Harvard 71, No. 3 Georgetown 68
No. 1 TCU 82, No. 8 Sam Houston State 69
No. 4 Nebraska 80, No. 5 Butler 76
Updated Bracket
The updated NIT bracket is available on NCAA.com.
Round 2 Schedule
Friday, March 22 (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU): No. 3 Memphis at No. 2 Creighton
Saturday, March 23 (noon ET, ESPN): No. 5 Arkansas at No. 1 Indiana
Saturday, March 23 (2 p.m. ET, ESPN): No. 5 Lipscomb at No. 1 UNC Greensboro
Sunday, March 24 (2 p.m. ET, ESPN): No. 6 Wichita State at No. 2 Clemson
Sunday, March 24 (4 p.m. ET, ESPN): No. 3 Xavier at No. 2 Texas
Sunday, March 24 (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU): No. 6 Harvard at No. 2 NC State
Sunday, March 24 (9:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU): No. 4 Nebraska at No. 1 TCU
Monday, March 25 (9 p.m. ET on ESPN2): No. 8 Norfolk State at No. 4 Colorado
Wednesday Round 1 Recaps
No. 8 Norfolk State 80, No. 1 Alabama 79 (OT)
Norfolk State opened as an 18.5-point underdog against Alabama, but that spread became irrelevant on Wednesday as the Spartans beat the Crimson Tide 80-79 in overtime.
To put the upset in perspective, only six NCAA tournament teams (all four No. 1 seeds, No. 2 Kentucky and No. 2 Michigan State) are larger favorites this week.
Norfolk State guard Derrik Jamerson Jr., who leads Division I in three-point percentage, scored 25 points off the bench and knocked down seven shots from beyond the arc.
Steven Whitley posted 13 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and four steals. Jordan Butler managed an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double.
The Spartans held a 67-64 lead with less than a minute remaining, but a John Petty three-pointer with 20 seconds left forced the game into overtime.
Once there, Jamerson took over with eight of his team's 13 points, including the last five.
The Spartans had the ball up 80-79 with six seconds left, but a turnover off an inbounds pass gave the ball back to the Crimson Tide. Riley Norris got a decent look at the basket on a baseline jumper, but the effort fell short.
Herbert Jones scored 18 for the Tide.
No. 3 Xavier 78, No. 6 Toledo 64
Naji Marshall posted an eye-popping stat line of 20 points, 21 rebounds, six assists and four steals as Xavier defeated Toledo 78-64.
Marshall only had eight fewer boards than the entire Toledo roster. As a team, the Musketeers out-rebounded the Rockets 49-29.
Still, Toledo took a 36-35 lead early in the second half after a Chris Darrington layup. However, Xavier responded with a 23-2 run to effectively put the game away. Marshall scored 10 of his 20 points during that stretch.
Jaelan Sanford led Toledo with 23 points.
No. 6 Wichita State 76, No. 3 Furman 70
Markis McDuffie scored 20 points and Jaime Echenique added a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double as Wichita State beat Furman 76-70.
Furman forward Matt Rafferty scored a game-high 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Jordan Lyons scored 19 points and hit four three-pointers.
Rafferty tied the game at 66 with 1:59 left thanks to a two-pointer, but Echenique immediately responded with a game-sealing layup. The Shockers led for the remainder of the game, thanks in part to a clutch McDuffie layup with 14 seconds left that gave Wichita State a 72-68 advantage.
No. 6 Harvard 71, No. 3 Georgetown 68
Bryce Aiken scored six of his team-leading 18 points down the stretch as he led Harvard to a 71-68 win over Georgetown.
The junior guard broke a 65-all tie thanks to a jumper with 1:34 left. He also knocked down four three throws in the closing minute.
A three-pointer from Jessie Govan proved to be the Hoyas' only points in the final three minutes. Govan, who led Georgetown with 25 points, had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds. However, his three was off the mark.
The Crimson out-rebounded the Hoyas 39-30.
No. 1 TCU 82, No. 8 Sam Houston State 69
TCU never trailed in the second half en route to a fairly comfortable 82-69 win over Sam Houston State.
Six Horned Frogs scored in double digits, led by JD Miller's 15. Alex Robinson contributed a 13-point, 11-assist double-double.
Kai Mitchell had a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead Sam Houston State.
Both teams had bizarre nights from the free-throw line. The Bearkats went there just four times, hitting one. The Horned Frogs were frequent free-throw-line visitors but made just 12 of 28 shots.
No. 4 Nebraska 80, No. 5 Butler 76
Nebraska trailed 14-2 after five minutes, took a 12-point second-half lead and held on for an 80-76 win against Butler.
Isaiah Roby led the Cornhuskers with 28 points, and teammate James Palmer Jr. chipped in 23.
Sean McDermott led Butler with 14 points.
The Cornhuskers were money from the line, making 23 of 27 shots from the charity stripe. They also out-rebounded the Bulldogs 36-26.