New York — Kevin Johnson and Tulsa spoiled Memphis coach John Calipari's return to the New York area.
Johnson scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half to lead a balanced attack as the Golden Hurricane beat the Tigers 72-64 Tuesday night in the NIT semifinals.
Tulsa (25-11) advanced to the NIT championship game to face Alabama. The Crimson Tide (25-10) beat Detroit 74-63 in the first game. This was the first trip back to the New York area for Calipari, the first-year coach at Memphis (20-15), since he was fired as New Jersey Nets coach three years ago.
Memphis cut a 20-point second half lead down to three with 4:46 left. Tulsa then held the Tigers scoreless for the next 3:37, highlighted by Johnson's blocked shot against Shamel Jones, and hit its free throws to ice it.
Tulsa finished 20-for-26 at the line, compared with 4-for-14 for Memphis. Marcus Hill had 13 points and David Shelton added 11 for Tulsa, which had seven players score at least six points.
Alabama 74, Detroit 63
Erwin Dudley and Kenny Walker controlled the inside as the Crimson Tide overpowered Detroit.
Dudley had 20 points and 16 rebounds and Walker added 13 and seven as Alabama (25-10) advanced to play the Tulsa-Memphis winner in Thursday night's NIT final.
Rod Grizzard scored 18 for the Crimson Tide, who outrebounded the Titans (25-11) 44-33 and outscored Detroit 19-3 on second-chance points.
Alabama, which was ranked in the Top 25 for 14 straight weeks this season, lost five of its final six games and had to settle for an NIT berth.
After a slow start in which they were down by 14 points after nine minutes, the Crimson Tide felt right at home in Madison Square Garden.
Alabama wore Detroit down with its superior size and inside play. The Titans got within 59-57 on a 3-pointer by Rashad Phillips with 5:39 to play, but Walker scored eight straight points.
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