NIT First Round Recap - Tulsa vs Kent State

(4) Kent State 75, (5) Tulsa 74

For whatever reason, college hoops fans have yet to embrace postseason tournaments that aren't nicknamed the Big Dance for any of a host of reasons.  Unlike the college football postseason, where fans treat invites from even the most obscure and trivial of bowls with an absurd reverence, invites to participate in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) are mostly greeted with a collective yawn from fans.  And that's really a shame, because those who aren't paying attention are missing some great basketball.  Like Wednesday's nail-biter between Kent State and Tulsa. 

The Golden Flashes and Golden Hurricane went bucket-for-bucket for almost the entire 40 minutes Wednesday night.  Neither team ever took so much as double-digit lead in a game that came down to the waning seconds.  Kent State's athletic junior guard Rodriguez Sherman nailed the go-ahead runner in the lane with 19 seconds left.  Tulsa responded by getting the rock to senior guard Ben Uzoh, normally as clutch a go-to player as there is in college hoops, but Uzoh misfired on a jumper at the buzzer. 

The Big Picture:   Being a frequently lower-seeded participant in the Big Dance, Kent State is not a team that has won many March games other than in the MAC Tournament in recent years.  Too often for the Golden Flashes, March has meant a MAC tourney title and quick exit from the Big Dance.  Turns out maybe all Geno Ford's team needed was some home cooking to change that trend.  Kent State overcame a 35-28 deficit by blistering the nets in the second half, making 53.3 % of its shots on the way to outscoring Tulsa 47-39 in the decisive second stanza.  Sherman and backcourt mate Tyree Evans were the difference-makers in the second half, combining for 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting.

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The Good:   After a desultory first half that found them trailing 35-28, the Golden Flashes amped it up on both ends of the floor in the second half.  Not only did Kent State shoot over 50 %, it also held the Golden Hurricane to 41 % shooting.  Make more than half your shots and hold your opponent to around 40 % shooting and you're going to win games.  Just as Kent State did on Wednesday.

The Bad:   We hate to single out a specific player, but, boy, did Tulsa's Ben Uzoh ever have a rough outing Wednesday night.  Not only did Uzoh clank the potential game-winner; he was 4-of-16 from the field, which included 1-of-4 shooting beyond the arc.  That’s not quite the performance one would have expected from the senior who has emerged as Tulsa's go-to player. 

The Ugly:   Whether it was due to St. Patrick's Day or unnecessary ambivalence, only 1,100 fans (give or take a few) were on hand for Kent State's win tonight.  That's about 17 % of capacity at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.  Not good.

What's Next?

Like the Jeffersons Kent State is “movin’ on up,” although perhaps not to the big-time.  The Golden Flashes are moving on to a very winnable NIT second round game versus a very pedestrian and beatable Illinois team, even if the circus has left town and said game will actually take place in Champaign, Ill.  Doug Wojcik has no such immediate worries as Tulsa’s coach, but the task of replacing both Uzoh and NBA-bound center Jerome Jordan looms large. 

By: Tim Coyne
BigEast-fans.com Guest Writer