NIT 2019: Final Quarterfinals Scores, Updated Bracket and Semifinals Schedule
March 28, 2019
The 2019 National Invitational Tournament continued on Wednesday, with the remaining spots in the semifinals being filled.
Wichita State and TCU previously booked their spots to the penultimate round with victories on Tuesday. That left two spots for Texas, Colorado, Lipscomb and NC State to compete for.
Below is the latest action from the NIT.
2019 NIT Quarterfinals Results—March 27
Texas def. Colorado, 68-55
Lipscomb def. NC State, 94-93
2019 NIT Semifinals Schedule—April 2
Wichita State vs. Lipscomb
TCU vs. Texas
*First game will be played at 7 p.m. ET; second game is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. Order of play TBD.
Bracket
Full 2019 NIT bracket can be viewed on the tournament's official website.
Texas 68, Colorado 55
A dominant first half powered the Longhorns to victory over the Buffaloes and set up an all-Texas showdown in the NIT semifinals.
Colorado managed to hang around early on, trailing by just a single point as the opening half neared its midway point. However, Texas scored the next 15 points to spark a 30-6 run over the final 10:13 before halftime.
While the Longhorns managed just two points in the first seven minutes after the break, the Buffaloes had dug themselves too big of a hole to make things even interesting.
Dylan Osetkowski led Texas with 15 points and five rebounds, while Matt Coleman III added 11 points.
Tyler Bey scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed 13 boards in a losing effort for Colorado.
Texas will face TCU in the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden on April 2. The Horned Frogs swept the regular-season series.
Lipscomb 94, NC State 93
A record-setting night out of senior Garrison Mathews and late heroics out of Kenny Cooper helped keep Lipscomb's season alive.
Mathews got off to a hot start by draining four triples en route to 20 first-half points.
With that outburst, the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year matched his season average...and there was still another half to play.
The break didn't do anything to slow him down, as he helped his team rally from a nine-point halftime deficit.
Even when the Wolfpack had two defenders on him, there was no slowing down the Bisons star:
He finished the night with 44 points on 14-of-24 shooting, including 8-of-13 from beyond the arc. His 44 points broke his own program record of 43, which he set back on Jan. 6, 2018, against the Kennesaw State Owls.
Although the likes of North Carolina and Duke have had some great players through the years, no visiting player had ever had a performance like this at Reynolds Coliseum:
While Mathews was the star of the game, it was Cooper who played the role of hero for Lipscomb. Cooper hit a pair of go-ahead baskets in the final 24 seconds, including the game-winner with 1.7 seconds to play:
The opening weekend of the 2019 NCAA tournament may have lacked much drama, but this matchup gave fans a much-needed dose of March Madness.
NC State had four players reach double figures, with guard Torin Dorn leading the way with 34.
Lipscomb advances to face Wichita State in the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden on April 2.