INDIANAPOLIS — Perhaps essentially the most notable Cinderella taking part in in Indianapolis this week went down on Thursday evening.
Certainly not one of the 4 groups taking part in at Lucas Oil Stadium in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament Final Four qualifies as a Cinderella by March Madness requirements. But throughout city at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse, Illinois State noticed its season finish with an 88-66 loss to Auburn within the NIT semifinals.
As a No. 4 seed within the 32-team event, the Redbirds had been the underdog in a semifinal spherical that featured three No. 1 seeds. After its win, Auburn will meet Tulsa within the NIT title sport Sunday evening at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Tulsa took down New Mexico 74-69 within the first semifinal Thursday.
For Illinois State, the NIT semifinal supplied a big-time platform in a historic venue and on ESPN. Coach Ryan Pedon hopes it’s the following step for a program that has improved its win complete in every of his 4 years on the helm.
“It’s great for our guys to be able to see what it looks like when you do get to that stage,” Pedon mentioned. “Auburn’s a really good team, really well coached. I think this experience can do a lot of good for our program as a whole but also individually for the guys coming back.”
Auburn went to the NCAA Final Four a 12 months in the past and is now led by former coach Bruce Pearl’s son Steven Pearl after his father’s retirement in September. The Tigers had been one of many first bubble groups overlooked of the NCAA Tournament’s area of 68 on Selection Sunday.
The Tigers had been the one energy convention crew remaining within the NIT area, they usually performed like the higher crew Thursday. Auburn (21-16) compelled Illinois State (23-13) into 11 first-half turnovers and constructed a 13-point lead on the break.
When it was all mentioned and carried out, Illinois State had turned the ball over 18 instances, and Auburn had scored 26 factors off turnovers.
“That right there itself separated ourselves from them,” Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford mentioned. “It just made offense for us easier.”
Auburn guard Keyshawn Hall led all scorers with 24 factors. Illinois State guard Ty’Reek Coleman, a freshman out of Aurora and Waubonsie Valley High, led the Redbirds with 17 factors.
Auburn advances to its first NIT title sport. The Tigers’ blitz Thursday evening left an impression on their opponent.
“That was an NCAA Tournament-caliber team, no question,” Pedon mentioned. “Not bubble. They were that good. So I give them credit.”
With the emergence of Fox Sports’ College Basketball Crown postseason event, fewer and fewer energy convention groups are taking part in within the NIT anymore, lengthy the popular event for groups that don’t make March Madness.
But Auburn is exhibiting that big-time packages nonetheless can profit from taking part in within the historic event.
“We took a really difficult situation, not getting in on Selection Sunday, and I think we turned it into a positive,” Steven Pearl mentioned. “They’re playing with a level of joy that is really good for me as a coach to see.”
For Illinois State, the loss marked a tricky finish to a season that didn’t always go according to plan. With three of their high 4 scorers returning, the Redbirds entered the season because the Missouri Valley preseason favorites. They wound up ending third within the convention and exiting the MVC Tournament within the quarterfinals.
Pedon and his crew weren’t even positive in the event that they had been going to be included within the NIT. But as soon as they had been, a 21-point opening-round win over Kent State set in movement a postseason run that may lead them to Indianapolis.
Illinois State then had to go on the highway to beat Wake Forest and Dayton on its manner to the semifinals. The program was taking part in in its first NIT semifinal after quarterfinal runs in 1977, 1987 and 1996. Thursday evening additionally marked the primary time this system had performed a males’s basketball sport within the month of April since 1899.
“Any time you get to play postseason basketball and extra basketball after the regular season, it’s a blessing,” mentioned junior guard Ty Pence, who scored 13 factors. “It’s been really fun to play more with our seniors.”
Pedon coached the Redbirds to their first back-to-back 20-win seasons since 2008-09 and 2009-10. The program went 22-14 a 12 months in the past and gained the CBI postseason event.
Thursday’s end result wasn’t what that they had hoped for once they made the journey to Indianapolis, however Pedon believes back-to-back postseason runs has his program trending in the best route.
“I think what we’re building is special,” Pedon mentioned. “I just, I do. I’m still holding onto the old model. Maybe in two years I’ll be completely jaded, I don’t know, but I’m going to fight like hell to continue to build a program — not a team, a program — that, we’re not going to retain everybody, but that is able to regenerate itself in a consistent fashion year after year after year to put ourselves in position to compete for the championship in our conference.”
WNIT championship sport
Illinois State (24-13) will play Marshall (27-9) within the WNIT closing at 2 p.m. Saturday in Huntington, W.Va. The Redbirds defeated South Dakota 67-60 in a semifinal Wednesday in Vermillion, S.D. Both groups are chasing their first WNIT title.
