It all comes down to this: Stanford and Minnesota will square off at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night in the NIT Championship.

The road has been a little different for each squad, as Minnesota - who stumbled through Big Ten conference play - pulled off a string of upsets as a six seed in their quarter of the bracket. Stanford, who narrowly missed an invite to the NCAA Tournament, was a third seed.

Each team looks forward to the opportunity to carry a win and momentum into next year, and the Golden Gophers are striving for victories over Pac-12 opponents in consecutive games, having defeated Washington in the tournament's semifinals.

And while a win wouldn't quite measure up to the school's 1942 NCAA Championship, the Cardinal has a chance to win its second NIT crown, having also won the event in 1990.

Game Time: 7:00 p.m. EST

TV Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3

For more on the NIT Tournament, be sure to check out our NIT stream and SB Nation Boston for all your needs.