NIT Tournament 2022: Bracket and Schedule for Semifinals in New York

St. Bonaventure fell short of reaching the NCAA men's basketball tournament in 2022, after experiencing March Madness in 2021. However, the Bonnies are still making sure that the end of this season will be memorable for the program.

After missing out on the Big Dance, St. Bonaventure was invited to the National Invitation Tournament. And although the Bonnies were one of the 16 unseeded programs in the 32-team field, that hasn't stopped them from putting together an impressive showing.

With consecutive wins over Colorado, Oklahoma and Virginia, St. Bonaventure is one of four teams in the semifinals of this year's NIT. The Bonnies are now set to take on Xavier, with the winner advancing to face either Texas A&M or Washington State in the final.

During the first three rounds, NIT games took place at the campuses of the higher seeded school. Now that the field is down to four teams, the final three games will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Here's everything else you need to know about the semifinals of the 2022 NIT.

Semifinals Schedule

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Tuesday, March 29

No. 2 Xavier vs. St. Bonaventure, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

No. 1 Texas A&M vs. No. 4 Washington State, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

No. 2 Xavier vs. St. Bonaventure

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Can St. Bonaventure possibly pull off another upset and keep its run through the NIT going? There probably weren't many people who thought the Bonnies were going to make it this far, so it's plausible that they take down the Musketeers and advance to the championship game.

To reach this point, St. Bonaventure had to win three road games against Power Five programs. It defeated No. 4 seed Colorado 76-68 in the first round and notched a 70-68 win over No. 1 Oklahoma in the second round. In the quarterfinals, the Bonnies pulled out a 52-51 overtime victory against unseeded Virginia.

Entering this year, St. Bonaventure had lost seven of its previous eight NIT games. Now, it is one win away from its first championship game at the event since they won the title in 1977.

"If you told me we were gonna be here going to Madison Square Garden, I would have thought you were a fool," St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt said, per the Buffalo News. "But our guys played exceptionally well. ... We just beat three Power 5 teams on the road, and that says a lot about our guys."

It's not going to get easier from here. Next, the Bonnies are set to take on No. 2 seed Xavier, which has notched victories against unseeded Cleveland State, No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Vanderbilt to reach this point.

The Musketeers have had five players score double-digit points in each of their first three NIT victories, and that balance could be difficult for the Bonnies to defend. However, St. Bonaventure keeps finding ways to win close games, and it could do that again in this semifinal matchup.

No. 1 Texas A&M vs. No. 4 Washington State

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Texas A&M seemed to be heading for the NCAA tournament when it went on a roll at the SEC tourney. The Aggies took down Florida, Auburn and Arkansas to reach the championship game of their conference tournament, as they were one win away from March Madness.

Instead, Texas A&M lost to Tennessee, and the NCAA tournament selection committee determined that the Aggies' resume wasn't strong enough to get an at-large bid for the Big Dance. After that, Texas A&M received a No. 1 seed in the NIT as one of the strongest teams in the field.

It can be difficult for bubble teams that just miss out on the NCAA tourney to find the motivation for an NIT run, but the Aggies have done that. They've defeated Alcorn State, Oregon and No. 2 seed Wake Forest to reach the semifinals.

Texas A&M will now face its third straight Power Five opponent, as it's set to take on No. 4 seed Washington State, which has earned victories against Santa Clara, No. 1 SMU and No. 2 BYU. The Cougars have stayed hot in the NIT and have now won seven of their past eight games.

So far in the NIT, Texas A&M hasn't been tested, winning each of its first three matchups by 12 or more points. But Washington State could pose a bigger challenge, especially because senior guard Michael Flowers has had a hot hand, scoring 22 and 27 points in the Cougars' past two wins.

Both of these teams have been impressive in the NIT, and this semifinal matchup could go either way. The winner will likely have a good chance of going on to win the tournament championship.