Tuesday, March 25th, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Madison Square Garden (19,763) -- New York, New York. Television: ESPN2. NIT Record: UMass 9-11, Florida 9-9. Series Record: Series is tied, 1-1.

GAME NOTES: The Florida Gators are appearing in their third NIT semifinals (1986, 1992), as they take on the Massachusetts Minutemen this evening in the first of two games at historic Madison Square Garden. The two-time defending national champions are trying to become the first team ever to capture NCAA and NIT tournament crowns in back-to-back seasons and have navigated the tournament field with relative ease thus far, taking out San Diego State (73-49), Creighton (82-54) and most recently, Arizona State (70-57). With the win over the Sun Devils last week in the quarterfinals, Billy Donovan's squad moved to 24-11 on the season. However, an 8-8 record in the SEC this year prevented the Gators for defending their two national titles in the NCAA Tournament. The Minutemen would certainly like to end Florida's postseason success, as they are making their longest postseason run since reaching the 1996 NCAA Final Four. Travis Ford's team blew out Stephen F. Austin in the first round of this event (80-60) and followed that up with hard-earned victories over both Akron (68-63) and Syracuse (81-77). The winner of this game will take on either Ole Miss or Ohio State for the NIT title on Thursday.

The Minutemen are a dangerous offensive team this season, putting up an impressive 81.5 ppg. It certainly helps to have a pair of prolific scorers in Atlantic-10 Player of the Year Gary Forbes and the A-10's Most Improved Player Ricky Harris. Forbes can do it all on the court and is the real catalyst for this team. The 6-7 senior is averaging 19.5 ppg, while also leading the team in rebounding (7.7 rpg). With over 100 assists on the season (108), Forbes is also able to get others involved in the offense. Harris, a 6-2 sophomore, is one of those guys, averaging 18.0 ppg this year, while pacing the team with 96 three-pointers. Further scoring punch comes in the form of 6-8 forward Etienne Brower (12.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and 6-0 point guard Chris Lowe (11.8 ppg, conference-leading 6.2 apg). In the come-from-behind win at Syracuse last week, Forbes had an off-game, finishing with just nine points. Others filled the void however, with Harris pouring in a game-high 23 points, followed by Brower (19 pts), Dante' Milligan (13 pts) and Luke Bonner (13 pts). Milligan completed a double-double with 11 rebounds. UMass shot a disappointing 38 percent from the floor in the game, but was able to recover from a 22-point deficit in the second half to become the first team ever to beat Syracuse at the Carrier Dome twice in the same season.

The Gators have a pair of freshmen and a pair of sophomores in the starting five, so to say that this is a young team is probably understating the case a bit. Still, the youth has fared well on the year, leading to a scoring average of 77.9 ppg. Freshman Nick Calathes has made an immediate impact on this team, pacing the team in scoring with 15.4 ppg. Calathes is as versatile a player as there is, also making his presence felt on the boards (5.1 rpg) and in the passing lanes (team-high 218 assists). Sophomore Marreese Speights is the team's resident muscle in the paint. The 6-10 center is converting 63 percent of his shots on the year, leading to 14.5 ppg. He is also grabbing a team-high 7.8 rpg and is tops on the team in blocks as well (49). Veteran guard Walter Hodge rounds out the double-digit threats on the roster with 10.5 ppg. In the road win at Arizona State, Hodge led four Gators in double figures with 18 points. Speights added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Calathes had a superb all-around game, finishing with 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds, while Dan Werner chipped in with 10 points. Hodge and Calathes combined for seven three-pointers in the game, as Florida as a whole tallied 12 treys in all against the Sun Devils.

Both these teams have the ability to get up and down the floor and fill up the basket. Forbes doesn't usually has long slumps in terms of scoring, so expect him to shake off his 3-of-13 performance against the Orange and come out strong in this one. UMass is 3-1 all-time against defending national champions and certainly has the personnel to get the job done again.

Predicted Outcome

Massachusetts 81, Florida 76