The Stanford Cardinal look to wrap up their 2011-12 NCAA basketball season with a championship as meet the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the NIT Championship Game at Madison Square Garden. Stanford advanced to the championship game with a 74-64 victory over the UMass Minuteman in the semifinals. Minnesota advanced with a 68-67 win over the Washington Huskies.
Stanford spent the first three rounds as a three seed hosting Cleveland State, Illinois State and Nevada. They had little trouble along the way as they rolled to Madison Square Garden. Minnesota entered the tournament as a six seed and had to defeat higher seeds on the road throughout the tournament. The Gophers enter this contest as a slim one point favorite over the Cardinal.
This game marks the first meeting of the schools since 1975. Minnesota has claimed all four meetings in the series, with the Gophers winning the last contest 89-84. The Gophers are 6-1 over their last seven games after finishing Big Ten play at 6-12. The Gophers are led by Trevor Mbakwe who is averaging 14 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Rodney Williams contributes 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds.
STANFORD - MINNESOTA LIVE COVERAGE
Date: March, 29 2012
Time: 4:00 PM PT (7:00 ET)
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
TV: ESPN, Mike Patrick (Play by Play), Fran Fraschilla (Analyst), Bill Raftery (Analyst)
Online Stream: ESPN3.com
Radio: KNBR 1050 AM (PBP: John Platz, Analyst: Drew Shiller), Westwood One Radio (PBP: Bob Papa, Analyst: Steve Lappas), KZSU 90.1 FM (PBP: JD Haddon, Analyst: Kevin Zhang)
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