UT-Martin plays Evansville, then NJIT plays Northern Arizona in a pair of nationally televised contests.
The 2015 CIT is down to its final four, and for the first time all tournament, the round will be broadcast on national TV.
First up on Tuesday night, Tennessee-Martin will visit Evansville. The Skyhawks advanced to the semifinals with a thrilling road win over Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday. With his team trailing by two in the final seconds on the road, Marshun Newell drained a three to give UT-Martin the victory. He finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Twymond Howard had 23 points to lead the team. UT-Martin also held a command advantage on the glass, out-rebounding the Colonels, 43-19.
Evansville also reached the semifinals with a road win, though the Purple Aces didn't provide nearly as much drama. They maintained a solid lead through much of the second half and advanced with an 89-82 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. D.J. Balentine was the unquestioned star of the game, pouring on 35 points on 11-18 shooting. Over three games in the CIT, he has scored 92 total points.
When UT-Martin and Evansville are done, NJIT and Northern Arizona will tip off from Flagstaff. The Highlanders, making their first ever postseason appearance, have won 11 of their last 12 games, and overcame a late deficit to beat Canisius at home in the quarterfinals. Tim Coleman had 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four steals in the most complete personal statline of the night. His teammate, Damon Lynn, played all 40 minutes and scored 22 points for NJIT despite shooting just 4-18 from the field.
In order to advance to the final, NJIT will have to beat a Northern Arizona team that hasn't lost at home since January and is coming off a one-point overtime win over Kent State in the quarterfinals. The Lumberjacks won it on a layup from Quinton Upshur with 12 seconds left, helping them overcome a five-point deficit in the final 41 seconds.
Since this is not a bracketed tournament, there is no formal bracket to share, but we do know the two winners on Tuesday will play Thursday night for the CIT championship. Here's the semifinal schedule (all times Eastern):
UT-Martin at Evansville, 7 p.m., CBS Sports Network
NJIT at Northern Arizona, 9 p.m., CBS Sports Network
Source SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1bMuTCj
No comments:
Post a Comment