The Wichita State Shockers won the NIT Tournament Thursday night after defeating Alabama, 66-57. J.T. Durley and Graham Hatch scored 12 points apiece for a Wichita State team that had six players score at least six points. (Hatch made all four shots he took, all of them from behind the three-point line, and two of his threes came in quick succession late in the second half to help seal the game for Wichita State.) Tony Mitchell scored 13 points and had 12 rebounds for Alabama.
Wichita State had been a No. 4 seed in the tournament, and hadn't been a serious contender for a spot in the NCAA Tournament after losing in the Missouri Valley Conference tourney against Indiana State (which promptly lost to Syracuse in the first round of March Madness). But the Shockers destroyed Nebraska in the first round of the NIT, then knocked off Virginia Tech, the College of Charleston, and Washington State before beating Alabama. They finish their season at 29-8 overall.