If only the NCAA Tournament had this much excitement. The NIT Championship game in Indianapolis between UC Irvine and Chattanooga came down to the final play of overtime. Trailing 85-84 with 2.4

National Invitation Tournament title game matchup is officially set, as No. 1 seed UC Irvine will face Chattanooga on Thursday at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for the championship. No. 1 seed UC Irvine advanced to the title game with a 69-67 win over North Texas on Tuesday behind 16 points from forward Devin Tillis.

A jumper from former Green High School and Walsh University player Garrison Keeslar lifted Chattanooga to the NIT championship on Thursday.

Chattanooga has won the National Invitation Tournament after defeating UC Irvine 85-84 in overtime in Indianapolis on Thursday evening. Garrison Keeslar's jumper put the Mocs up 85-84 with 11 seconds remaining.

Of the four teams left, the Mocs are the only team to rank in the top 50 in offensive efficiency, per KenPom, boasting a trio of guards: Honor Huff, Trey Bonham, and Bash Wieland, all averaging at least 14 points per game. Chattanooga averages just below 80 points per game while shooting 48.1 from the field.

The large steel-framed ladder was emblematic of this scintillating, death-defying run over the past three weeks that culminated with with the Mocs completing a clean sweep over five games. It was an uphill climb, one rung at a time, never glancing up at the peak until they reached the summit.

The Chattanooga Mocs won 2025 NIT, capping off its Cinderella story with an upset over No. 1 UC Irvine 85-84 in overtime. It's the program's first-ever NIT title.

Chattanooga has relished the underdog role this year, and they once again look appealing while catching points vs. UC Irvine in the NIT title game, per our college basketball betting picks.

It started with a triple-overtime win at MTSU where Wieland scored a career-high 31 points, Bonham tallied 27 and Mulholland posted his personal best of 21 while Huff played all 55 minutes and drained the game-deciding 3-pointer in the third extra period.