NEW YORK (AP) — Stanford’s young guards Chasson Randle and Aaron Bright each scored 15 points, and the Cardinal routed Minnesota 75-51 to win the NIT title Thursday night.
Stanford forced two turnovers to open the second half to take a 10-point lead and stayed up by double figures the rest of the way. The Golden Gophers turned it over 22 times on the night.
The third-seeded Cardinal (26-11) won their second NIT title, the first coming in 1991.
The final minutes turned into a celebration of 3-pointers and fast-break layups for Stanford, players on the bench jumping up to cheer on nearly every possession.
Both teams got off to a hot start, but then the Cardinal turned up the defensive pressure, and when the Golden Gophers (23-15) got good looks, they couldn’t make them. Sixth-seeded Minnesota missed 16 of its last 19 shots in the first half.
