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NIT 2019: Semifinals Scores, Updated Bracket and Championship Schedule
April 3, 2019
Four teams entered Tuesday hoping to take advantage of the national stage and the chance to end their years strongly with the National Invitation Tournament semifinals.
Wichita State, Lipscomb, TCU and Texas all had very different seasons, but each won its first three games in this tournament to reach the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Adding two more wins will be enough to bring home a trophy and a banner for an NIT title.
Although this might not be exactly what the schools were hoping for at the start of the year, this would still be a great way to end the season.
Here is a breakdown of Tuesday's action from New York.
Semifinal Matchups
No. 5 Lipscomb def. No. 6 Wichita State 71-64
No. 2 Texas def. No. 1 TCU 58-44
Championship
Thursday, April 4, at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
No. 5 Lipscomb vs. No. 2 Texas
Full bracket available at NCAA.com.
Lipscomb 71, Wichita State 64
Although Wichita State appeared in control down the stretch, Lipscomb scored the final 11 points of the game to steal a win in MSG.
It was the Garrison Mathews show for much of the day, getting off to a hot start to give Lipscomb the advantage:
He scored 18 points in the first half before finishing with 34 points in the win.
Despite his success, the Bisons struggled offensively at times thanks to Wichita State's defense:
Lipscomb finished 9-of-33 from three-point range and 36.5 percent shooting overall.
The Shockers trailed 35-30 at halftime but turned things around with a 21-10 run in the second half.
Wichita State led by 11 points late and went up 64-57 with under four minutes remaining, but an incredible run from Lipscomb led to a surprising win.
Dexter Dennis led the Shockers with 13 points, though the team struggled with its shooting and couldn't find a bucket in the final few minutes.
The Bisons took advantage and are now one win away from an NIT title.
Texas 58, TCU 44
Kerwin Roach II scored 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting to lead Texas to the NIT final.
The Longhorns showcased suffocating defense in this one, holding the Horned Frogs to 28.3 shooting from the field and 4-of-21 from three-point range.
The game began about as poorly as possible for TCU, which had its worst half of the season on its way to a 31-17 deficit:
The previous low on the season was 23 points, but the Horned Frogs were embarrassing early in this one. They entered halftime with zero made three-pointers as well as six turnovers to only seven field goals.
While TCU crawled back in the second half to cut the deficit down to five points, it was more about Texas struggling offensively than anything positive either team did.
The level of play wasn't impressive, as the teams combined to shoot 25 percent from three-point range:
The Longhorns finally got back on track offensively and pulled away for the double-digit win.
TCU won this event two years ago and reached the NCAA tournament last season, but the squad will not be able to win another title after its disappointing semifinal loss.
Texas will take on Lipscomb Thursday with the NIT trophy on the line.