After a solid season in the Pac-12 and falling short in the conference championship the Stanford Cardinal were out for blood in the 2012 NIT tournament, with their latest victim coming in the form of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. And behind some lockdown defense and an up tempo offensive attack, the Cardinal won their second ever NIT Championship by the score of 75-51.
The Card (26-11, 10-8 Pac-12) were up only six at halftime, but came out of the half sharp and on the attack, never relenting down to the final buzzer. Chasson Randle and Anthony Brown each scored 15 points apiece while Anthony Brown added 11 and Jarett Mann nine. They shot an even 50 percent from the field and downtown, while locking down Minnesota the entire night on defense as well.
The Golden Gophers (23-15, 6-12 Big Ten) shot an abismal 36 percent as a team while committing 21 turnovers, lead by Rodney Williams' 12, all scored in the first half. Austin Hollins and Joe Coleman each added 10.
The Cardinal's last NIT Championship was in 1991 and is the first for head coach Johnny Dawkins.
Full box score can be found here.
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