NIT Roundup (March 14): Michigan, Wisconsin Advance, Rutgers Upset at Home in OT

The NIT Tournament tipped off on Tuesday, and Big Ten teams Michigan and Wisconsin made big statements. Rutgers, a No. 1 seed, was knocked out on opening night, losing at home to Hofstra in overtime. Here's our summary of Tuesday's games, plus the rest of the schedule.

Michigan staggered into the NIT Tournament after losing its last three games that cost them a trip to the Big Dance. They wanted to make sure their season didn't end Tuesday night, and played well in a 90-80 victory over Toledo in the first-round game at Ann Arbor, Mich. 

Michigan made 13 three-pointers, flipping the script on a very good Toledo team that won the Mid-American Conference regular season title and led the nation with a 40.4 percent shooting percentage from three. 

"We didn't want to lose four in a row, that's not us," said Joey Baker, who set a personal high at Michigan with 21 points. "We decided we're going to go out there, we're going to fight and we're going to play to win and that's what we did — especially in the second half."

Michigan was 13-for-23 (56.5 percent) on three-pointers, led by Baker with five makes. He started for freshman guard Jett Howard, who missed the game with an ankle injury. 

Kobe Bufkin had a team-high 23 points for the Wolverines, along with eight rebounds and five assists. Hunter Dickinson had 19 points and nine rebounds and Dug McDaniel contributed 16 points and eight assists and made four three-pointers of his own.

Wisconsin 81, Bradley 62

For Wisconsin, the Badgers advanced thanks to a career night from Stephen Crowl. The veteran center scored 36 points in an 81-62 blowout win over Bradley in the first round of the NIT Tournament in Madison, Wis.

Crowl made 12-of-16 shots, including 5-of-7 from three-point range and all seven free throws, as the Badgers bounced back from a dismal performance last Wednesday in a loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament. They needed a fresh start to the finish of the season, and got it.

"I tell him all the time," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said, "I’ve seen all the bigs come through here in the last 20 years. I think he could be right there with those guys. Getting him to believe that has been the biggest thing. Tonight is a big step. He played how I envisioned he could play." 

Crowl tied the Wisconsin record for most points in any postseason game. Michael Finley set the mark in the second round of the 1994 NCAA Tournament in a loss to Missouri.

Guards Max Klesmit and Connor Essegian also had big nights for the Badgers, with 16 and 14 points each. Wisconsin will host Liberty next.

Hofstra 88, Rutgers 86 OT

It's been a tough couple of days for the Rutgers basketball program. First they were left out of the NCAA Tournament despite what they thought was a worthy resume, and then they were quickly knocked out of the NIT Tournament on Tuesday night, losing at home 88-86 to Hofstra in overtime.

The Scarlet Knights, who were supposed to be unbeatable at home, are now 4-5 in their last nine games in Jersey Mike's Arena, and their season is over.

Rutgers blew a five-point lead in the final 25 seconds of regulation and then lost in overtime, allowing Hofstra to shot 56.9 percent from the field. Cam Spencer led Rutgers with 22 points. Freshman Derek Simpson added 19, Clifford Omoruyi had 15 and Caleb McConnell added 13 in his final game at Rutgers.

The complete results from Tuesday night are below, along with the eight games on the schedule for Wednesday night. 

The 2023 NIT schedule

FIRST ROUND

Tuesday's games (March 14)

• Hofstra 88, at No. 1 Rutgers 86
• No. 3 Michigan 90, Toledo 80
• No. 4 UAB 88, Southern Miss 60
• No. 3 Liberty 62, Villanova 57
• No. 2 Vanderbilt 71, Yale 62 
• No. 2 Wisconsin 81, Bradley 62
• Eastern Washington 81, No. 4 Washington State 74
• No. 3 Colorado 65, Seton Hall 64

Wednesday's games (March 15)

• No. 1 Oklahoma State at Youngstown State, 7 p.m. ET. Streaming: ESPN-Plus
• Central Florida vs. No. 4 Florida, 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2
• Morehead State at No. 1 Clemson, 7 p.m. ET Streaming: ESPN-Plus
• Alcorn vs. No. 2 North Texas, 8 p.m. ET. Streaming: ESPN-Plus
• No. 3 Sam Houston at Santa Clara, 9 p.m. ET. Streaming: ESPN-Plus
• Virginia Tech vs. No. 4 Cincinnati, 9 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2
• Utah Valley at No. 2 New Mexico, 10 p.m. ET Streaming: ESPN-Plus
• UC Irvine vs. No. 1 Oregon, 11 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN 2

Saturday-Sunday matchups (Times, locations TBA)

• No. 3 Michigan at No. 2 Vanderbilt, Saturday at Noon ET. TV: ESPN. 
• Hofstra vs. Cincinnati-Virginia Tech winner
• Colorado vs. New Mexico-Utah Valley winner
• UAB vs. Clemson-Morehead State winner
• Liberty vs. Wisconsin
• Eastern Washington vs. Oklahoma State-Youngstown State winner
• Alcorn-North Texas winner vs. Sam Houston-Santa Clara winner 
• Central Florida-Florida winner vs. UC Irvine-Oregon winner