George Washington vs. Valparaiso 2016, NIT championship:

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The world's most famous arena hosts the last game of the world's second-most famous college basketball tournament on Thursday night, when George Washington faces Valparaiso in the NIT championship.

The championship game pits the Atlantic 10 against the Horizon League, as the Colonials and Crusaders vie for a pretty nice consolation prize after missing out on the NCAA Tournament. It'll be the last college game for George Washington seniors and multiyear starters Patricio Garino, Kevin Larsen and Joe McDonald. It'll be the same for Valpo guards Keith Carter and Darien Walker. It's not the Final Four, but it should be an emotional night at Madison Square Garden.

The teams have taken similar paths to get here. George Washington had a few nice moments this year, including wins against Virginia and VCU, but couldn't put together enough of them to emerge from the A-10 with an at-large Big Dance bid. Valpo didn't have marquee victories, but the Crusaders were a dominant 16-2 in Horizon League play during the regular season. Green Bay upset them in their first game of the conference tournament, relegating the Crusaders to the NIT.

Valpo is a No. 1 seed and has beaten Texas Southern, Florida State, Saint Mary's and BYU to reach the final. No. 4-seeded George Washington has wins against Hofstra, Monmouth, Florida and San Diego State.

The Crusaders are a 2-point favorite, likely owing to their elite defense. They rank sixth in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, a ridiculously high mark for a non-NCAA Tournament team. George Washington has a top-30 offense by the same metric, however, so a high-scoring game seems to favor the Colonials.

But Valpo also has a few players who can score, led by 18.4 points per game from dynamo Alec Peters, a power forward who can step out and shoot 44.5 percent from deep. This should be good.

 

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George Washington seeks title




A few weeks back, Mike Lonergan's buddy sent him a basketball net. The message was pure motivation: cut one down in March.

With a victory over Valparaiso in the National Invitation Tournament championship game tonight, the George Washington coach and his posse of international players can do just that. Smack in the middle of Madison Square Garden, no less.

"I haven't cut down nets in a while, since I was at Vermont I think," Lonergan said. "So it's great to be in this situation."

The gift has become something of a good-luck charm for the Colonials, who hung the net in their locker room and started taking it on the road as a reminder of the prize they pursue. One more win would do the trick.

"We just kind of touch it sometimes. I touch it before every game," Lonergan said Wednesday. "It was just something to kind of try to keep our focus."

The only team still standing in George Washington's way is top-seeded Valpo (30-6), which turned back BYU, 72-70, in the semifinals Tuesday, thanks to a tiebreaking three-pointer with 20 seconds left from reserve forward David Skara.

The fourth-seeded Colonials (27-10) cruised to a 65-46 rout of San Diego State.

"They have a lot of different pieces. They play very well together," Crusaders coach Bryce Drew said.

 

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Curtain call coming for Valparaiso


? When the final buzzer sounds in the National Invitational Tournament on Thursday, the 2015-16 Valparaiso men?s basketball team will walk off the floor for the last time regardless of the result against George Washington.

Four seniors will play their final game for the Crusaders and a group that has been largely intact for the last two years will begin to go their separate ways after delivering two Horizon League titles, a trip to the NCAA tournament and a memorable journey through the NIT.

With Bryce Drew?s name once again being linked to a variety of coaching openings and star junior Alec Peters having several options including the chance to enter his name in the NBA Draft or to look elsewhere as an immediate graduate transfer, the Crusaders could be seeing a true end of an era at what could be their finest hour Thursday night.

?This has been a special group,? Drew said of his roster Wednesday morning. ?We won 58 games in two years. We went to Canada this summer, and it was a great team experience. A lot of times you get worn down and tired being around each other so much, but we?re having as much fun as we?ve had in this group?s two years. None of us want it to end.?

The end will come one way or another as Valparaiso plays George Washington with both programs in search of its first NIT title. The Crusaders and Colonials were both bubble teams for the NCAA tournament, and both squads have used the disappointment of not being selected as fuel to extend their seasons as long as possible.


?We?re playing for an NIT championship, which in my mind is almost better than getting to the first round of the NCAA tournament and losing,? Peters said. ?We?re still playing deep into the basketball season. We have a chance of winning our last game, which not very many teams get to say.?

It?s been 21 years since the Crusaders have ended a season with a victory. Following mass defections by teams such as Green Bay, Milwaukee, Wright State and Cleveland State to what is now the Horizon League; the Mid-Continent Conference lost its automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the 1994-95 season. With freshman Bryce Drew leading the way, the Crusaders knocked off Western Illinois 88-85 in triple overtime at the Athletics-Recreation Center for the league tourney crown. While winning the final game of the year was a good way to end the season, the result was bittersweet as Valparaiso failed to get an NCAA or NIT berth.

The Crusaders (30-6) will face a stiff challenge in their final game in the way of George Washington. The Colonials (27-10) beat Virginia earlier this season as well as VCU and Seton Hall. George Washington is led by Wake Forest transfer Tyler Cavanaugh (16.9 points per game) and the junior forward could almost best be described as an ?Alec Peters clone.?

?(Cavanaugh) is very skilled for his size,? Drew said. ?He can really shoot it, and then can use his size down low. When both (Cavanaugh and Peters) play well, it will be an interesting matchup. They do similar things.?

 

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Valparaiso will win if: The Crusaders can continue to get strong secondary contributions to support Alec Peters. With the star junior failing to score at least 20 points for the first time in eight games, David Skara (15 points) and Shane Hammink (10 points) delivered in Tuesday's win over BYU. If the Crusaders once again get five players in double figures, chances are good Valparaiso will be cutting down the nets.

George Washington will win if: The Colonials can once again get off to a fast start like they did Tuesday night against San Diego State. George Washington scored the first six point of the game and never trailed against the Aztecs. Armed with a 15-point halftime lead, the Colonials never allowed San Diego State to mount a serious threat in the second half. Junior Tyler Cavanaugh can deliver the same kind of backbreaking shots that Peters has done so many times for the Crusaders.