NIT Championship: Dayton Runs Past UNC, Proves It’s Nation’s 66th Best Team

In one short year, North Carolina went from NCAA champion to losing to Dayton in the NIT Championship game. So what exactly happened Thursday night, in Madison Square Garden? Simply put, they played the Flyers, a great rebounding team, says our Tar Heels blog, Carolina March.

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Marcus Johnson scored 20 points and Dayton captured the title at the National Invitation Tournament for the first time since 1968 with a 79-68 triumph over North Carolina.

Paul Williams scored 16, while Chris Wright and Chris Johnson each had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Flyers (25-12), who won the event for a third time, also lifting the trophy in 1962.

For the second straight season, North Carolina is playing in a title game. Though probably not the one it wanted to be in when the title defense began.

Last year, UNC won the national championship; this year, they didn’t even qualify for the NCAA Tournament. But hey, at least they made it to the championship game of the NIT! The No. 4 seed Heels will square off against No. 3 Dayton Thursday night at the Madison Square Garden. The winner gets crowned NIT champion, and, um, 66th best team in the country?

Only problem: Ulmer fell down because of an obvious (although probably inadvertent) trip by UNC’s Will Graves. According to the rules, a foul should have been called in that situation, whether the trip was intentional or not.

Here’s the video (and for a closer look at it, head to Yahoo!’s The Dagger):

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Deon Thompson logged 16 points and 13 rebounds, and North Carolina withstood Rhode Island and a no-call in the closing seconds of overtime, 68-67, to advance to the championship game of the National Invitation Tournament.

North Carolina held the ball and a one-point lead in the final seconds of the extra session, but Larry Drew II missed a jumper from the left wing, with the rebound bouncing back to URI’s Lamonte Ulmer near the foul line with roughly five seconds left.

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Chris Johnson posted 22 points and 10 rebounds and hit the clinching free throws with 11.2 seconds remaining, as Dayton pulled out a 68-63 triumph over Ole Miss in the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament.

Marcus Johnson added 12 points and Chris Wright tallied nine points, 11 boards and five assists for the Flyers (24-12), who advanced to take on either Rhode Island or North Carolina in the championship game on Thursday.

Marcus Johnson posted 11 points and eight rebounds for Dayton (23-12), while Chris Wright logged 10 points and seven boards. The Flyers now move on to New York City and Madison Square Garden for the semifinals against Ole Miss, which defeated Texas Tech on Tuesday.

Demetri McCamey paced Illinois (21-15) in defeat with a double-double of 13 points and 10 assists. Tyler Griffey tallied 11 points, while Mike Davis and D.J. Richardson chipped in with 10 points apiece.

For more reaction to this game, and all things Hokies, visit Gobbler Country.

Blacksburg, VA (Sports Network) - Delroy James tallied 18 points and the Rhode Island Rams topped the Virginia Tech Hokies, 79-72, in a quarterfinal-round matchup of the 2010 NIT at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg.

Oxford, MS (Sports Network) - Murphy Holloway completed a three-point play with three seconds remaining to lift the second-seeded Ole Miss Rebels to a thrilling 90-87 victory over the fifth-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders in the quarterfinal round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Chris Warren netted 22 points for Ole Miss (24-10), which moves on to Madison Square Garden to face either top-seeded Illinois or third-seeded Dayton in the semifinal round. Holloway and Terrico White both added 17 points, and Holloway ripped down 11 rebounds to go along with five steals.

Since it seems nearly inevitable at this point that the NCAA Tournament will expand to 96 teams, might was well take a look at the 32 teams that will be joining in the fun of March Madness: those currently fighting it out in the NIT.

Two of the four No. 1 seeds still remain after the opening rounds -- Arizona State lost to Jacksonville in the First Round, and UNC “upset” Mississippi State over the weekend in the Second Round. The tournament is down to its own version of the Elite Eight, with two games both Tuesday and Wednesday night to determine the final four teams that will advance to play in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Mar. 30. The NIT Championship is schedule for Thursday, April 1, at 7 p.m. ET. All the games are on either ESPN or ESPN2. Here’s how the Quarterfinals are shaping up: