/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49202073/usa-today-9175568.0.jpg)
Yesterday morning, we incorrectly said there were eleven games left in the season, or twelve if Nevada won last night. That's because someone, an idiot who shall remain unidentified, looked at the wrong column. Now there are twelve games left, because Nevada did win.
Morehead State couldn't hit the broad side of a mountain range from behind the arc, and that helped Nevada race to a nine-point win on their own court in game two of the CBI championship series. That ties the series at a game apiece, and puts Nevada in the driver's seat as they'll host game three on Friday.
On the other side of the state, before a vast array of empty seats at Mandalay Bay, Oakland's season came to an end in crushing fashion. Kay Felder, the fourth-most prolific scorer in Division I as well as the division's assists leader, had the ball and time on the clock with Oakland trailing by two. The play setup took the clock down to about seven seconds, and it honestly looked like Felder had a shot of his own, but he tried to dish underneath; Percy Gibson lost the handle, then fouled Trey Freeman when he came up with the ball with five ticks left. Freeman sank a pair to give Old Dominion a four-point lead, which Felder's three with two seconds left couldn't erase.
Felder's going to second-guess that decision to pass for a long time. The question is whether he'll spend next year questioning it in Michigan or in the NBA. If Felder returns for his senior season, he'll need 289 assists to tie the NCAA Division I record. He had 324 this year, so that's entirely doable. Old Dominion, meanwhile, captures their second national trophy in eight years; they won the CIT back in 2009.
Meanwhile, on the plains, South Dakota wasn't about to let the chance to snag hardware get away from them. The Coyotes just flat mauled and defeathered the Ducks, beating Oregon by 34 points. Everyone pitched in; six Yotes were in double figures, led by Abigail Fogg and Kelly Stewart with 14 each. (Stewart, by the way, has been contributing diary entries for our colleagues over at Swish Appeal.)
The Coyotes, who haven't even been in Division I for an entire decade yet, now await tomorrow's other semifinal. They're not worried about where they'll be going on April 2: their attendance figures have already guaranteed them the home game. They're just waiting to see who they play. Will it another Power 5 opponent suddenly discover where Vermillion is, or will we get a matchup between two teams which both joined Division I in 2007?
Which, coincidentally, was the year after K-State won this tournament.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES | ||
ROUND | RESULT | HIGH SCORER |
GAME 2 | Nevada 77, Morehead State 68 | D.J. Fenner (UNR), 26 |
VEGAS 16 | ||
ROUND | RESULT | HIGH SCORER |
CHAMPIONSHIP | Old Dominion 68, Oakland 67 |
Trey Freeman (ODU), 24 Kay Felder (OAK), 24 |
WOMEN'S NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT | ||
ROUND | RESULT | HIGH SCORER |
SF | South Dakota 88, Oregon 54 | Jacinta Vandenberg (ORE), 17 |
Today's Schedule
You only have two games to deal with tonight. Naturally, they overlap, because stupid people. Here you go:
NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT | ||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK |
CHAMPIONSHIP | 6:00pm | (MON 4) George Washington | (VAL 1) Valparaiso | New York City NY | ESPN | |
WOMEN'S NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT | ||||||
ROUND | TIME (CT) | TEAM | - | TEAM | LOCATION | NETWORK |
SF | 7:00pm | Michigan | Florida Gulf Coast | Fort Myers FL | ESPN3 |