An updated 2017 NIT bracket following the two semifinal contests to give us the final matchup that’ll be played on Thursday
Looking at the 2017 NCAA Tournament, the road to the Final Four wasn’t quite what everyone imagined. From the No. 1 overall seed in Villanova getting ousted early to a No. 7 seed in South Carolina emerging to make it—out of Nova’s region, no less. However, as wild as that tournament has been, it’s almost nothing in comparison to the calamity that unfolded in the 2017 NIT bracket.
By the quarterfinals of the 32-team NIT bracket, all four No. 1 seeds—the first four teams out of the NCAA Tournament—had been ousted by either a No. 4 or 8 seed. Thus, one of the lower-level teams in the tournament were going to have a chance to win their postseason invitational. Now it’s two teams that’ll have that chance.
On Tuesday night, the two semifinal matchups took place to narrow down the 2017 NIT bracket for the next-to-last time. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets first took on Cal State Bakersfield. Behind 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks from Ben Lammers in addition to 22 points and nine boards from Josh Okogie, Georgia Tech was able to move on.
RELATED: Updated 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket
In the encore for the NIT, it was the TCU Horned Frogs taking on famed Tacko Fall and the UCF Knights. Fall was largely a non-factor in the matchup, however. Instead, it was a monster 14 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists from TCU guard Kenrich Williams that stood out. His efforts helped lead the way to a decisive Horned Frogs win.
Now that the final is set, let’s take a look at the updated 2017 NIT bracket:
Next: 12 Biggest Cinderellas In March Madness History
So it’ll be Georgia Tech and TCU closing out the 2017 NIT bracket. Those two teams will square off in the final on Thursday, March 30. Though the National Champion will still have not been crowned at that point, someone will be cutting down nets on Thursday.