The NIT semifinals are set with North Texas, UAB, Utah Valley and Wisconsin heading to Las Vegas, which is this year’s new host of the venerable tournament’s last three games. Historically, the NIT semifinals and title game were played at Madison Square Garden in New York, but the event is no longer tied to the venue, which will give this year’s conclusion a fresh feel.
One of the nation’s most electric scorers will be part of the action as UAB and Jordan “Jelly” Walker head to Las Vegas following convincing home wins over Southern Miss and Morehead State, followed by an impressive 67-59 road victory over Vanderbilt in Wednesday’s quarterfinal action. Walker led the way with 21 points in the victory, which was just shy of his season average of 22.6.
UAB’s opponent will be Utah Valley, which beat Cincinnati in Thursday’s second quarterfinal. It marks the deepest postseason run for the Wolverines, who are in their 19th season as a Division I program and making their second NIT appearance. Utah Valley is now 28-8 with a chance to build on a program-record number of victories in Las Vegas.
Quarterfinal action began with a couple of close games Tuesday night as North Texas took down Oklahoma State in overtime on the road to end the Cowboys’ season with a record of 20-16. The Mean Green are now 29-7 and building off of last year’s NIT appearance in which they played a pair of overtime games. They will play Wisconsin, which continued its sudden surge by beating Oregon 61-58 behind 18 points from Max Klesmit on Tuesday. The Badgers dealt with their share of disappointment during the regular season but are now up to 20 wins for the year after picking up their third victory of the NIT.
2023 NIT scores schedule
Semifinals
Tuesday, March 28 (Orleans Arena in Las Vegas)
- No. 2 North Texas vs. No. 2 Wisconsin | 7 p.m., ESPN
- No. 4 UAB vs. Utah Valley | 9:30 p.m., ESPN2
Championship
Thursday, March 30 (Orleans Arena in Las Vegas)
NIT scores from previous rounds
First round
- No. 1 Oklahoma State 69, Youngstown State 64
- No. 3 Sam Houston 58, Santa Clara 56
- No. 2 North Texas 69, Alcorn State 53
- Eastern Washington 81, No. 4 Washington State 74
- No. 1 Oregon 84, UC Irvine 58
- No. 2 Liberty 62, Villanova 57
- No. 2 Wisconsin 81, Bradley 62
- UCF 69, Florida 49
- Hofstra 88, No. 1 Rutgers 86
- No. 3 Colorado 65, Seton Hall 64
- Utah Valley 83, No. 3 New Mexico 69
- No. 4 Cincinnati 81, Virginia Tech 72
- Morehead State 68, No. 1 Clemson 64
- No. 2 Vanderbilt 71, Yale 62
- No. 3 Michigan 90, Toledo 80
- No. 4 UAB 88, Southern Miss 60
Second round
- No. 4 Cincinnati 79, Hofstra 65
- No. 2 Vanderbilt 66, No. 3 Michigan 65
- No. 2 Wisconsin 75, No. 3 Liberty 71
- No. 1 Oklahoma State 71, Eastern Washington 60
- No. 4 UAB 77, Morehead State 69
- No. 2 North Texas 75, No. 3 Sam Houston State 55
- No. 1 Oregon 68, UCF 54
- Utah Valley 81, No. 3 Colorado 69
Quarterfinals
- No. 2 North Texas 65, No. 1 Oklahoma State 59 (OT)
- No. 2 Wisconsin 61, No. 1 Oregon 58
- No. 4 UAB 67, No. 2 Vanderbilt 59
- Utah Valley 74, No. 4 Cincinnati 68
