NIT

Miami 60, Temple 57

Already short-handed, Miami lost its starting center to a concussion just over six minutes into its NIT semifinal.

Leading scorer Sheldon McClellan was still on the court, though, and he and the rest of the Hurricanes made just enough big plays to rally from an 11-point first-half deficit and beat Temple on Tuesday.

"We've been like a M.A.S.H. unit," coach Jim Larranaga said.

"But somehow, some way," he added, "these guys find a way to stick together."

With point guard Angel Rodriguez out for the third straight game because of a nagging wrist injury, 7-footer Tonye Jekiri didn't return after he was inadvertently struck in the face.

But McClellan scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, when Miami held the Owls to 22.5 percent shooting. Temple's Quenton DeCosey missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Owls (26-11) went 0 for 15 from beyond the arc after halftime.

"Any other day, they are probably going in," Temple freshman Obi Enechionyia said. "We just didn't make them today."

After missing six of his first eight shots, McClellan hit two 3s in a row with about 8 minutes left to put Miami (25-12) in front for good. He added 11 rebounds and was the only Hurricanes player in double figures, but his teammates made contributions in plenty of other ways.

"The first half we played kind of passive," McClellan said. "Wasn't being as aggressive as we normally are, and second half we came out and played more aggressive."

Ja'Quan Newton was steady at the point despite playing with a torn ligament in his thumb, while fellow freshman Omar Sherman energized Miami off the bench with Jekiri out.

Redshirt freshman Deandre Burnett made a huge shot with 34.1 seconds left, snapping a scoring drought of more than three minutes, after Temple had pulled within a point. Davon Reed had seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks while playing shutdown defense against several different Owls.

"Once Tonye went down, Coach said, 'We need to do this for Tonye,'" Reed said. "Everybody dug deep, did what they could and rebounded the ball and defended extremely well."

The 6-foot-9 Enechionyia often had his way inside with Jekiri out, setting career highs with 17 points and five blocks. He also matched a career best with eight rebounds.

"He's got a great future ahead of him, and he played terrific tonight," coach Fran Dunphy said.

Burnett missed the front end of a one-and-one with 13.2 seconds left for the Hurricanes, and they decided not to foul, giving DeCosey the chance to send the game to overtime.

Miami faces Stanford on Thursday, seeking its first NIT title. The Owls were the top seed in the NIT as the first team left out of the NCAA Tournament.

Temple leading scorer Will Cummings, who had averaged 22 points in the NIT, shot just 3 for 15 in his final game.

Stanford 67, Old Dominion 60

Chasson Randle had 24 points to become Stanford's all-time leading scorer and carry the Cardinal to a victory over Old Dominion in the semifinals.

Stanford blew a 21-point first-half lead but rallied behind its senior star, who played through foul trouble to make a string of big second-half shots.

Randle came in needing 11 points to break Todd Lichti's record and has 2,350 for his career.

The Cardinal (23-13) led 15-0 when Old Dominion finally scored its first points nearly five minutes in and were up 25-4 midway through the first half. But the deficit was just six at halftime after Richard Ross' dunk with six seconds left as the Monarchs forced 10 turnovers to get back in it.

Old Dominion (27-8) took its first lead on Ross' layup with just over 11 minutes left. But a steal and a dunk in transition by Marcus Allen with less than eight minutes to go put Stanford up for good. Randle then hit two straight 3-pointers.

After Trey Freeman missed a potential tying 3, Randle's floater put Stanford up 63-59 with 59.5 seconds remaining. His two free throws stretched the lead to six.

Ross scored 15 points off the bench, going 7 of 7 from the floor. Another reserve, Ambrose Mosley, led Old Dominion with 16 points.

CollegeInsider.com Tournament

Northern Arizona 68, NJIT 61

Quinton Upshur scored 23 points, Aaseem Dixon added 19 and Northern Arizona earned a spot in the championship game with a victory over New Jersey Institute of Technology.

NAU (23-15) struggled offensively most of the night and trailed by 12 early in the second half.

The Lumberjacks fought their way back with a full-court press and a dominating performance on the glass, then celebrated the biggest victory in school history with their fans at center court.

Northern Arizona outrebounded NJIT by 14 and had 23 offensive boards, leading to 25 points.

The Lumberjacks will play at Evansville in the CIT championship game on Thursday.

Damon Lynn had 16 points to lead NJIT (22-12), which shot 34 percent and went 4 for 22 from 3-point range.

Evansville 79, UT Martin 66

D.J. Balentine scored 28 points to lead Evansville past UT Martin.

Adam Wing had 16 points and Blake Simmons added 13 for the Purple Aces (23-12). The Aces will be seeking their first national postseason championship since winning the last of its five NCAA Division II titles in 1971.

Deille Smith scored 18 points to lead UT Martin (21-13), which finished one win short of tying the school record.

Notes

Tennessee hires Barnes

When he gave his farewell press conference after an unwanted exit from Texas, Rick Barnes predicted he'd be coaching again "quicker than you probably think." 

It turns out Barnes already had a pretty good idea where he'd end up.

Barnes had begun talking to Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart about the Volunteers' coaching vacancy Saturday, the day before his departure from Texas was announced. His move from one shade of orange to another became official Tuesday when Barnes was introduced as Tennessee's new men's basketball coach.

"At that point in time, yes, it was something that had been discussed and it was something I truly wanted to see happen," Barnes said.

Barnes succeeds Donnie Tyndall, who was fired Friday after going 16-16 in his lone season at Tennessee amid an NCAA investigation into his two-year tenure at Southern Mississippi. Barnes agreed to terms on a six-year contract that will pay him $2.25 million annually.

The 60-year-old Barnes will be Tennessee's fourth coach in six seasons, and the Volunteers are counting on him to provide stability. Barnes went 402-180 in 17 seasons at Texas, including a Final Four appearance in 2003.

He is 604-314 in 28 seasons overall with stops at George Mason, Providence and Clemson. Barnes has 22 NCAA Tournament appearances — two more than Tennessee has made in its entire history. He has earned NCAA bids 19 of the last 20 seasons.

"We are very, very fortunate today to have hired an elite basketball coach," Hart said. "That's what Rick Barnes is. He is definitely an elite coach."

Hart's admiration of Barnes was evident in Tennessee's pursuit of him. Hart said he flew to Austin, Texas, on Sunday and accompanied Barnes on his trip to Knoxville shortly after that farewell press conference.

"From that moment on, we literally have been together around the clock," Hart said.

And in the end, Tennessee landed a veteran coach who is savoring a new opportunity.

Texas announced Barnes' departure in a university release that described it as a mutual decision. Barnes made it clear at his farewell news conference that he was fired and that he told Texas athletic director Steve Patterson he wanted to stay. Barnes said he was given the choice of firing his staff or being fired himself.

"I am driven," Barnes said. "I've had one goal in my life and that would be the chance to play for a national championship. This is a university that provides you with everything you need to do that. I realize how hard that is to do... but that's the standard we'll set."

Although Barnes' only Southeastern Conference experience is a brief stint as an Alabama assistant from 1986-86, he has plenty of familiarity with his new campus and new boss.

Barnes said he was an assistant coach at George Mason in 1987 when he interviewed for a head coaching opportunity at East Carolina, where Hart was working at the time.

"For some reason, he didn't hire me," Barnes quipped. "I'm thankful this time that he did."

Barnes' ties to Tennessee began much earlier.

He grew up in Hickory, North Carolina, about 200 miles east of Knoxville. He frequently visited Tennessee's campus in 1974 while dating his wife, Candy, a 1975 Tennessee alum. He recalled watching Condredge Holloway lead Tennessee's football team to a victory over Tulsa and regularly stopping at an area deli for roast beef sandwiches before heading back to Hickory.

"In some ways, I feel like I'm coming home," Barnes said.

The Vols are hoping he stays "home" for several years to come, ending the recent revolving-door nature of their coaching position.

Bruce Pearl was fired in 2011 amid an NCAA investigation. Pearl was replaced by Cuonzo Martin, who left for California after three seasons. Tyndall took over for Martin last year.

"We needed badly to have stability, and he will bring us some," Hart said. "He will bring a level of maturity, a level of success that will serve us very well."

Barnes has a tough job ahead of him.

Tennessee loses all-SEC guard Josh Richardson to graduation and doesn't return any proven point guards or post scorers. That could make it tough for him to match the success he produced at Texas, where Barnes fell out of favor despite earning NCAA bids in 16 of his 17 seasons.

Barnes led Texas to the Sweet 16 five times, one Final Four and three trips to the regional finals — but hadn't advanced the Longhorns beyond the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2008.

"If you told me we were going to 16 of 17 NCAA Tournaments, I would be dancing in the streets," Hart said. "It's in the eye of the beholder."