The first round of the NIT basketball tournament came to a close on Wednesday night in an upset-free day. Each of the higher seeds -- even the No. 4 seeds facing teams that were, more or less, equal -- brought home wins to advance to the second round of the bracket, set to be played next week. Colorado, still stinging from an NCAA Tournament snub, highlighted the action, taking its frustration out on Texas Southern in a 14-point win.
NIT Tournament 2011 Bracket Update: Cal, Washington State, Colorado Advance
Washington State survived an up-and-down game, jumping out to an early lead, nearly coughing it up and6 recovering to pull away in an 85-74 win over Long Beach State. Pac-10 mate California made it a future Pac-12 trifecta in the evening games with a 77-74 win over Mississippi.
With the first round in the books, the NIT hits the back-burner, though the window for games is listed as March 17-21. Check back with our 2011 NIT StoryStream for the latest news and updates from the tournament.
Here’s the remaining schedule after the first round.
Left bracket:
- No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide def. No. 8 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, 68-44
- No. 4 New Mexico Lobos def. No. 5 UTEP Miners, 69-57
- No. 3 Missouri State Bears def. No. 6 Murray State Racers, 89-76
- No. 2 Miami Hurricanes def. No. 7 Florida Atlantic Owls, 85-62
- No. 1 Colorado Buffaloes def. No. 8 Texas Southern, 88-74
- No. 4 California Golden Bears def. No. 5 Mississippi Rebels, 77-74
- No. 6 Fairfield Stags def. No. 3 Colorado St. Rams, 62-60
- No. 2 St. Mary’s Gaels def. No. 7 Kent St. Golden Flashes, 71-70
Right bracket:
- No. 1 Boston College Eagles def. No. 8 McNeese St. Cowboys, 82-64
- No. 4 Northwestern Wildcats def. No. 5 Milwaukee Panthers, 70-61
- No. 3 Oklahoma St. Cowboys def. No. 6 Harvard Crimson, 71-54
- No. 2 Washington St. Cougars def. No. 7 Long Beach St. 49ers, 85-74
- No. 1 Virginia Tech Hokies def. No. 8 Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, 79-54
- No. 4 Wichita St. Shockers def. No. 5 Nebraska Cornhuskers, 76-49
- No. 6 Charleston Cougars def. No. 3 Dayton Flyers, 94-84
- No. 2 Cleveland St. Vikings def. No. 7 Vermont Catamounts, 63-60
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