The best part about Thursday night's 2012 NIT Championship Game was that it mercifully ended. The Minnesota Golden Gophers made a nice run in the tournament to make the final, but looked completely checked out against the Stanford Cardinal. The Gophers scored just 30 points over the final 29 minutes of the game and shot just 36.5 percent from the field as the Cardinal cruised to a 75-51 victory.
The Cardinal never looked back after going on a 14-4 run to take a six-point lead into halftime. They only pulled away from there, shooting 51.9 percent from the field for the game and going 6-for-12 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Stanford did have its sloppy moments, though. Both teams turned the ball over at astronomical rates, combining for 37 turnovers in 40 minutes of play. The difference in the game came down the fact that Stanford could make shots, and Minnesota simply couldn't.
Chasson Randle and Aaron Bright each scored 15 points to lead the way for the Cardinal. Jarrett Mann had a nice all-around game as well, adding nine points, four assists, four steals and a block. Rodney Williams led the Gophers with 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting from the field. Julian Welch and Andre Hollins struggled mightily, going a combined 3-for-16 from the floor and 1-for-6 from beyond the arc.
For more on the NIT Tournament, be sure to check out our NIT stream on SB Nation New York.