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Tick-tock. We're down to 18 (or 19) games left before the only people bouncing a big orange ball will be getting paid an obscene amount of money to do it. The semifinals of both the NIT and CIT take place tonight, and the other half of the women's Final Four is determined. For the first time this post-season, every single game on the schedule is televised -- three games tipping at 6pm and three at 8pm. This is your open thread; use it wisely.
| NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT | |||||||
| ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK | ANNOUNCERS |
| SF | 6:00pm | (SJU3) Clemson | vs | (SMU1) Southern Methodist |
New York City NY | TV: ESPN2 Radio: Westwood One |
TV PBP: John Saunders TV Color: Fran Fraschilla Bob Knight Radio PBP: Brad Sham Radio Color: Steve Lappas |
| SF | 8:00pm* | (FSU1) Florida State | vs | (MIN1) Minnesota | |||
| * - time approximate; 30 min. after previous game ends | |||||||
The sentimental favorite here in EMAW country is of course SMU, the last team standing that people generally felt deserved a crack at the big dance. Drawing the only team which wasn't a top seed for the semifinals makes that road even easier. In the late game, the other surviving top seeds collide, and we know for whom at least one staff member is rooting.
| COLLEGEINSIDER.COM TOURNAMENT | |||||||
| ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK | ANNOUNCERS |
| SF | 6:00pm | Yale | vs | Virginia Military | Lexington VA | CBSSN | PBP: Dave Popkin Color: Dave Calloway |
| SF | 8:00pm | Pacific | vs | Murray State | Murray KY | CBSSN | PBP: Dave Baker Color: Rob Kennedy |
It's a shame these games weren't in the opposite order, because Clemson-SMU is the NIT semifinal we're most interested in, while Yale-VMI is the CIT semifinal everyone should try to see. The Keydets are one of those teams with a wacky scoreboard-rattling offense. In the late game, two mid-major programs with histories of NCAA success meet up for the right to reach the final.
| NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT | |||||||
| ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK | ANNOUNCERS |
| LOUISVILLE REGION | |||||||
| RSF | 6:00pm | (4) Maryland | vs | (3) Louisville | Louisville KY | TV: ESPN Radio: Westwood One |
TV PBP: Dave O'Brien TV Color: Doris Burke TV SLR: Holly Rowe Radio PBP: Dave Ryan Radio Color: Ann Schatz |
| STANFORD REGION | |||||||
| RSF | 8:00pm | (4) North Carolina | vs | (2) Stanford | Palo Alto CA | TV: ESPN Radio: Westwood One |
TV PBP: Dave Pasch TV Color: Debbie Antonelli TV SLR: Brooke Weisbrod Radio PBP: Brandon Gaudin Radio Color: Ann Meyers Drysdale |
Saturday, we actually got upsets as both Tennessee and South Carolina fell by the wayside. Two women's Elite Eight games without a single one-seed remaining? That's just ridiculous. But here we are. That said, the better seeds in these games do still seem to be clearly superior to their opponents, but the same was true of Maryland and North Carolina's opponents two days ago. Hold on to your water, this could be an interesting pair of games.