Clearly, Washington State was not all that enthused by the idea of playing for a relatively meaningless also-ran championship at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, because Wazzu laid down and died in that game.
Wichita State out-rebounded the moribund Cougars 55-25 and outscored them 75-44 — and the game wasn't even as close as those stats indicate.
Once Klay Thompson left with his third foul and 10 minutes remaining in the first half, it was all but over. One WSU pretty much quit and the other WSU was happy to take advantage of that fact.
The NIT nightcap proved a more interesting contest, as Alabama and Colorado battled back and forth for 40 minutes.
In the end, stud freshman Trevor Releford outperformed his Kansas City-area counterpart, Colorado star Alec Burks (in what likely was his final college game), with a breathtaking, game-winning layup with seconds to spare.
For those of us who are ready to be rid of the Big 12 Conference's castaways, it was a welcome result. For those of us who root for Anthony Grant, a bosom friend of Frank Martin, it was all the sweeter.
Associated Press Ranking = 21
ESPN/USA Today Ranking = 24
Overall Record = 23-11
Big 12 Record = 10-6
Top 50 Record = 4-7
Big 12 Seed = 4
NCAA Seed = 5
RPI = 23
SOS = 11
Region (Site) = Southeast (Tucson)
Signature Wins (RPI 1-30) = Kansas, Texas, Utah State
Quality Wins (RPI 31-100) = James Madison, Virginia Tech, Gonzaga, Washington State, Baylor, Nebraska (2), Missouri
Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none
- James Madison (21-12, 10-8 CAA) | RPI = 88
- Virginia Tech (22-12, 9-7 ACC) | RPI = 62
- Presbyterian (13-18, 7-11 Big South) | RPI = 204
- Gonzaga (24-10, 11-3 WCC) | RPI = 56
- No. 3 Duke (32-5, 13-3 ACC) | RPI = 4
- Texas Southern (19-13, 16-2 SWAC) | RPI = 192
- Emporia State (16-14, 12-10 MIAA**)
- No. 2* seed Washington State (22-13, 9-9 Pac-10) | RPI = 82: Loss to No. 4* seed Wichita State (44-75 in the NIT semifinals)
- Alcorn State (4-24, 4-14 SWAC) | RPI = 337
- Loyola-Chicago (16-15, 7-11 Horizon League) | RPI = 197
- No. 15 Florida (29-8, 13-3 SEC) | RPI = 8
- UNLV (24-9, 11-5 Mountain West) | RPI = 25
- UMKC (16-14, 9-9 Summit League) | RPI = 212
- North Florida (15-19, 10-10 Atlantic Sun) | RPI = 149
- Savannah State (12-18) | RPI = 252
- Oklahoma State (20-14, 6-10 Big 12) | RPI = 61
- No. 1* seed Colorado (24-14, 8-8 Big 12) | RPI = 65: Loss to No. 1* seed Alabama (61-62 in the NIT semifinals)
- Texas Tech (13-19, 5-11 Big 12) | RPI = 165
- Missouri (23-11, 8-8 Big 12) | RPI = 37
- No. 24 Texas A&M (24-9, 10-6 Big 12) | RPI = 30
- Baylor (18-13, 7-9 Big 12) | RPI = 94
- No. 1 seed Kansas (35-3, 14-2 Big 12) | RPI = 1
- Nebraska (19-13, 7-9 Big 12) | RPI = 89
- Iowa State (16-16, 3-13 Big 12) | RPI = 138
- Oklahoma (14-18, 5-11 Big 12) | RPI = 126
- No. 8 Texas (28-8, 13-3 Big 12) | RPI = 11
- No. 19 Utah State (30-4, 15-1 WAC) | RPI = 15
- No. 16 Wisconsin (25-9, 13-5 Big Ten) | RPI = 16
*NIT
**Division II