DAYTON, Ohio — Johnny Kinziger scored 16 points in Illinois State’s 61-55 win against Dayton on Wednesday in the NIT quarterfinals.
The Redbirds (23-12) advance to the semifinals, in which they’ll take on Auburn on April 2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Tigers (20-16) defeated Nevada 75-69 on Wednesday.
It’s the first time in program history that ISU has reached the NIT semifinals.
Kinziger was 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Chase Walker added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Redbirds, and Ty Pence scored 12 points.
Bryce Heard led the Flyers (25-12) with 12 points, Jordan Derkack added 11 points and six rebounds and Amael L’Etang had 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
Kinziger put up 11 points in the first half for ISU, which led 33-23 at the break. The Redbirds used a 9-0 run in the second half to build a 19-point lead at 49-30 with 12:31 left.
WNIT: Loyola and Illinois State remain alive in the Women’s NIT. The Ramblers (16-17) take on George Washington (17-17) in a Round of 16 game at 5 p.m. Friday in Washington. The Redbirds (21-13) play host to Abilene Christian (24-10) at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Normal.
The Associated Press created parts of this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
