Two teams who found themselves on the wrong side of the NCAA Division I men's
basketball tournament bubble will instead be meeting in the NIT finals. Indiana State and Seton Hall both took care of business in the NIT semifinals from Indianapolis' Hinkle Fieldhouse on Tuesday evening. The Sycamores grabbed the first bid by virtue of a 100-90 win over Utah. The Pirates then followed that up with a dominant 84-67 victory against Georgia. And now the two NIT No. 1 seeds have made it through the 32-team bracket in search of the title, which will be decided on Thursday at 7 p.m. back in Indianapolis. Here's how it all looked before play began Tuesday. Just 4️⃣ teams remain. This is going to be one heck of a finish next week. #NIT2024 pic.twitter.com/v9RCfEkKz7 And here's how Tuesday's events went down. Indiana State 100,
Utah 90 Ryan Conwell scored 27 points and Robbie Avila added a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double to co-pilot the Sycamores to a 100-90 win over Utah. First of two happy locker rooms tonight 😄#NIT2024 pic.twitter.com/FrkPCQluDo Julian Larry and Isaiah Swope each scored 15 points apiece for the Sycamores, who won their 32nd game of the season. A victory in the NIT final would tie the school record for wins, set by the Larry Bird-led 1978-79 national championship finalists. Indiana State shot a blistering 56.9 percent from the field, with Avila making 11-of-14 shots. Utah had an exceptional
shooting night itself, including 17-of-29 three-pointers (58.6 percent). Deivon Smith made all of his six threes en route to a game-high 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Branden Carlson added 17 more points for the Utes, who finished their season with a 22-15 record. The two teams were tied at 44 going into halftime, and the back-and-forth action continued for the first 10 minutes of the second half. However, Indiana State went on a 20-9 run over a four-minute period to turn a 63-60 edge into a 83-69 advantage. Larry scored seven of those points, including this bucket off Swope's sweet dish: Is it possible to have better than 20/20 vision? Might have seen it right there. #SCTop10 @IndStBasketball x #NIT2024 📺
ESPN / ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/2H2lLEqNJt Conwell added six points during that stretch. Indiana State's approaching NIT final appearance will mark its first in school history. Seton Hall 84, Georgia 67 Seton Hall jumped out to an 18-3 advantage and led by as many as 24 points en route to a comfortable wire-to-wire victory over the Bulldogs. The opening run, which included a pair of Al-Amir Dawes three-pointers, set the tone for the game. Kadary Richmond also scored six points during that stretch. 💣💣💣#HALLin 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/HhJwRqOChr Al-Amir Dawes is too slick.@SetonHallMBB x #NIT2024 📺ESPN2 / ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/Zswd0Iju2p Four Pirate starters scored in double figures, led by Dawes' 20. Dre Davis pitched in 19 points and nine rebounds, while Richmond posted 15 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals. Seton Hall dominated the boards, grabbing 45 to UGA's 32. The Pirates also held the Bulldogs to just 38.5 percent shooting, including 5-of-26 from three-point range. Silas Demary Jr. paced the Bulldogs with 19 points. Noah Thomasson was the only other Bulldog scoring in double digits (10). Seton Hall improved to 24-12 for the season. Another win would mark the seventh time in school history that the Pirates have won 25 or more games in a season. Georgia finished the season 20-17 with the defeat.