SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
Wednesday night‘s two quarterfinals games will decide the semifinals field for the 69th annual National Invitational Men’s Basketball Tournament that will be played at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas,
It’s a switch in sites after the oldest of all hoops postseason tournaments had previously played at its Final Four at Madison Square Garden since it began in 1938, with the exception of the 2021 semis at North Texas.
Wisconsin (20-4) and North Texas (29-7) have already made it to Vegas with quarterfinal wins, the Badgers over Oregon in overtime, 61-58, at the Ducks’ court, and the Mean Green downing Oklahoma State, 65-59, at the Cowboys.
It ended the Oregon season at 21-15 while the Cowboys rode off at 20-16.
Which leaves Vanderbilt taking on UAB in the 7 o’clock opener at Vandy and Utah Valley (27-8) playing at Cincinnati (23-12) in the closer. The semis will be played on Thursday and the championship game on Saturday.
The semifinals for 2024 have been scheduled for Butler’s Hinkle Arena, the site of the Gene Hackman movie “Hoosiers.”
Now 93, Hackman currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
