The buzzer-beaters don’t stop at the NCAA Tournament.
De Pere High School alum Johnny Kinziger may not get to see himself in “One Shining Moment,” but he did get some glory when his three-pointer with 1.7 seconds on the clock lifted Illinois State to a 78-75 win over top-seeded Wake Forest in the men’s NIT on March 22, sending the Redbirds into the quarterfinals.
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With a win over Dayton on Wednesday, March 25 (6 p.m. CT on ESPN2), Illinois State would reach the semifinals, to be held at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, with the championship game April 5 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, also in Indianapolis.
Illinois State (22-12) opened the NIT with a 79-58 win on the road over Kent State and will play its third road game of the tournament. The squad hasn’t played a home game since Feb. 18.
The junior Kinziger, who led De Pere to a 30-0 record as a senior and shared the state’s Mr. Basketball honor in 2023, made second-team all-conference last year in the Missouri Valley, averaging 14.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He was one of the nation’s best shooters, one of four who shoots 43.5% from the field, 38.5% from long range and 89.5% at the line.
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This year, he didn’t earn all-MVC accolades, scoring 11.6 points per game with his percentages dropping across the board. But he does get a memorable grace note.
His brother, Zach, just finished his freshman season with the University of Wisconsin.
Wake Forest is the only other top seed that’s been eliminated from the NITr, with Auburn, Tulsa and New Mexico also qualified for the quarterfinals.
Illinois State had the No. 3 seed in the MVC Conference tournament but fell to eventual tourney champion Northern Iowa in an upset during the quarterfinals. Bradley, the team that finished just ahead of the Redbirds in the MVC regular-season standings, fell to Dayton earlier in the NIT. MVC regular-season champion Belmont declined an NIT invite after longtime coach Casey Alexander left for Kansas State.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: De Pere’s Kinziger beats buzzer, lifts Illinois State vs. NIT top seed
