The quarterfinals of the 2011 NIT Championship got under way Tuesday night, with No. 1 seed holding court against Kent State, 81-74. The Buffaloes were led by Alec Burks, who scored a game-high 25 points and added 10 rebounds.
The win advances Colorado to the NIT semifinals next Tuesday night, where it will face the Alabama-Miami winner at Madison Square Garden. For The Golden Flashes, their season comes to an end after two upsets in the NIT, and nearly a third Tuesday night. But in the end, Colorado -- mainly Alec Burks -- were too much for Kent State, writes Ralphie Report:
In the second half the Golden Flashes evened up the score and even took a three point lead before strong play from Burks and the home crowd finally enabled the Buffs to pull away. Announcer Jimmy Dykes, who kept saying that Alec was "not an NBA caliber player" (even though most draft services have him as a top 10 pick), has clearly never seen the team play as Burks almost single handedly carried the team to victory even though he was battling illness and playing out of position due to Nate Tomlinson being unavailable due to a shoulder injury.
The NIT Quarterfinals continue Wednesday night, with three games to decide who will join Colorado in New York City for the semis.
2011 NIT Quarterfinals (March 22-23)
Colorado def. Kent State, 81-74
March 23, Wichita State vs. Charleston, 7 p.m ESPN
March 23, Alabama vs. Miami, 9 p.m. ESPN2
March 23, Northwestern vs. Washington St., 11 p.m., ESPN2
2011 NIT Semifinals
March 29, TBD, 7 p.m. ESPN2
March 29, TBD, 9 p.m. ESPN2
2011 NIT Championship Game
March 31, TBD, 7 p.m. ESPN2
Visit the NCAA's site for an official NIT bracket