The Minnesota Golden Gophers and Stanford Cardinal will play for the NIT championship Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
No. 6 seed Minnesota prevented an all-Pac-12 final by ousting the No. 1 seed Washington Huskies in overtime on Tuesday. Minnesota led by 12 at the break but blew the lead down the stretch, ultimately winning by one, 68-67, in overtime. Freshman guard Andre Hollins led the Gophers with 20. He is averaging more than 17 points per game in the NIT, nearly twice his regular season average.
The Cardinal, a No. 3 seed, beat No. 5 UMass 74-64 in the semifinal. Four different Stanford players scored at least a dozen, led by Anthony Brown's 18.
Both Minnesota and Stanford finished in the bottom half of the Big Ten and Pac-12, respectively. Minnesota's regular season ended on a horrid 1-6 stretch, dooming the Gophers to ninth in the conference. Stanford, meanwhile, finished seventh in the much maligned Pac-12. A win Thursday would certainly put a sheen on the season.
Thursday's game tips at 7 ET and will air on ESPN.
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