On Tuesday night, the No. 1 seed Colorado Buffaloes defeated the Kent St. Golden Flashes, 81-74, for a trip to Madison Square Garden and a spot in the semifinals. It will be their first trip there since 1991 when they eventually took third place. But this time, they'll look for a better finish.
But in their way will stand either the No. 1 seed Alabama Crimson Tide or the No. 2 Miami Hurricanes. Those teams play the second of three NIT games on Tuesday night. The Crimson Tide is known for it's defense, as it averages just 66.7 offensive points--235th in the nation. They easily handled Coastal Carolina, 68-44, in their opening round game and then came away with a 74-67 victory over New Mexico in the second round. JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell lead the team with 15.5 points this season, but Green has a 7.9 -6.9 edge in rebounds.
Miami's offense stands 108th with 71.2 points and has averaged 83 points in their wins over Florida Atlantic and Missouri State. Junior guard Malcolm Grant is the team's leading scorer with 15.0 points this season, while Reggie Johnson averages just under a double-double with 11.9 points and 9.7 rebounds.
The tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MT and the game can be seen on ESPN2.
Here is the schedule for the right side of the bracket:
No. 6 Charleston Cougars at No. 4 Wichita St. Shockers, March 23, 5:00 p.m. MT, ESPN2
No. 4 Northwestern Wildcats at No. 2 Washington St. Cougars, March 23, 9:00 p.m. MT