The nation’s two slowest teams, North Texas and Virginia, faced off in a second-round NIT game on Sunday.
True to expectations, the game, which went to overtime, had 121 combined possessions, 60.5 per team, slower than even the 59-point-something that each team had averaged per 40 minutes coming in.
Instead of it being a first-to-50 game, though, the final ended up being 71-69.
So much for that 110.5 over/under.
To be fair, it was 55-55 at the end of regulation, but only because Virginia didn’t score in the final 5:42, after leading by as many as 10.
Neither team scored in the final 2:30 of regulation.
Then we saw 30 points in five minutes of OT.
You had Armaan Franklin, a 26.7 percent shooter from three coming in, hitting on 5-of-6 from long-range in the second half and OT.
Mardrez McBride was 6-of-11 from three. You at least expected it from him – he was a 38.0 percent shooter from behind the arc coming in.
The teams combined (somehow) for 22 fast-break points.
I had a weird thought before this one tipped off, actually early in the day on Sunday.
The last time Virginia was supposed to play an ugly postseason game against a team from Texas was back in 2019, the national title game with Texas Tech.
Two slow teams, supposed to set college basketball back a couple of decades.
That one went to OT, final was 85-77.
This one was an NIT game, but it was your daily reminder, college basketball rarely goes the way you expect it to.
Stattmann comes up big
Kody Stattmann got a career-high 35 minutes of floor time in the win, because, first, Franklin was ineffective in the first half, then second, centers Francisco Caffaro and Kadin Shedrick were whatever they’ve been of late.
The bigs played a total of 31 minutes, had one make from the field, three rebounds between them, and were nothing of a hindrance to North Texas big man Abou Ousmane, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds on the night.
Did I mention that both Caffaro and Shedrick fouled out?
Enter Stattmann, who logged more minutes than should make you comfortable in the post, and finished with nine points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
Beeks for NIT man of the year
Reece Beekman is your early favorite for NIT Most Valuable Player.
The sophomore had 13 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals in the win Sunday night.
Through two NIT games, he’s averaging 13.5 points, 7.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, and shooting 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the floor.
Clark doing Clark things
Kihei Clark, meanwhile, just keeps chugging along.
He had 11 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals in the win at North Texas on Sunday, and is averaging 9.5 points and 6.5 assists per game through two in the 2022 NIT.
And because Virginia survived and advanced, he gets what might be one last game in JPJ in Tuesday’s quarterfinal matchup with St. Bonaventure.
Clark could come back for a COVID redshirt year in 2022-2023, but his status for next year is up in the air right now.
Inside the numbers
Virginia shooting: 26-of-54 overall (48.1 percent). At the rim: 10-of-16 (62.5 percent). Two-point jumpers: 7-of-21 (33.3 percent). Threes: 9-of-17 (52.9 percent), free throws: 10-of-19 (52.6 percent).
North Texas shooting: 25-of-56 overall (44.6 percent). At the rim: 11-of-17 (64.7 percent). Two-point jumpers: 6-of-17 (35.3 percent). Threes: 8-of-22 (36.4 percent). Free throws: 11-of-14 (78.6 percent).
Key stat: turnovers. Virginia had six, North Texas 11, and Virginia had a 17-8 edge in points off turnovers.
Story by Chris Graham
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