Coliseum Invitational: National Semifinals

It has come down to this. The final four teams standings. They have convened in Kansas City to see who will come out as the winner of the Coliseum Invitational. Here are the four regional winners: 

Region 1: #1 Ohio State Buckeyes

Region 2: #2 Iowa State Cyclones

Region 3: #5 Princeton Tigers

Region 4: #2 Missouri Tigers

The matchups were determined by the grouping the remaining teams by RPI. So in this case, the matchups are Ohio State (8) vs. Princeton (120) and Missouri (34) vs. Iowa State (44). Here is a summary of both games: 

#2 Iowa State 72, #2 Missouri 70

After a slow start by both teams that saw a 29-28 Tiger lead at halftime, things started to pick up with both teams scoring a combined 85 points in the second half. Iowa State began pulling away when they were up by six with 3 minutes left. However, Mizzou began fighting back and were able to tie the game at 70 on a Laurence Bowers lay-in with 14 seconds remaining. The game was decided when Melvin Ejim connected on a jumper with one second left. Ejim had 12 points and 15 rebounds, but Chris Babb led the Cyclones in scoring with 19. Behind him was Will Clyburn with 18 and Tyrus McGee with 15. For Missouri, Earnest Ross led the way with 15 points, Keion Bell had 12, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals. Phil Pressey and Tony Criswell finished with 10 each.

#5 Princeton 70, #1 Ohio State 59

It was efficient offense and strong perimeter defense that allowed Princeton to run away with this game against Ohio State. After shooting out to a 41-25 lead at half, Princeton was able to hold on to the lead for the rest of the game. Ian Hummer led the way with 21 points while Denton Koon added 14. For Ohio State, Deshaun Thomas had 18 points and 7 rebounds. He was the only Buckeye to score double-figures. As a team, they shot 15% from three and 53% from the line.

So the final of the first ever Coliseum Invitational will be Iowa State and Princeton. Will there be more Hilton Magic in Kansas City, or will the Ivy Leaguers' efficiency be too much for Iowa State. On Friday, it will be all figured out.