GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Nick Calathes broke out of a shooting slump with 19 points, Chandler Parsons added 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Florida beat Jacksonville 84-62 Wednesday night in the opening round of the NIT.

The Gators, who lost four of their last six and missed the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year, played one of their best first halves of the season. They shot 63 percent from the field, were 6-of-9 from 3-point range and had a 21-point lead at the break.

Florida (24-10) extended it to 25 early in the second half on Ray Shipman’s dunk, then coasted the rest of the way. The Gators will host Miami in the second round Friday.

Lehmon Colbert led Jacksonville (18-14) with 11 points and six rebounds.

Calathes struggled from the field the last six games as Florida became the first program since Michigan State in 1980 to miss the NCAA tournament two straight years after winning a national title.

It was not the way these Gators wanted to make history. But they vowed to get back on track in the NIT, and maybe bring home a championship.

They knew they needed more from Calathes.

The 6-foot-6 point guard averaged 11 points the last six games, about seven points lower than his season average. Some thought it was fatigue from playing more than 34 minutes a game this season. Others figured it was lingering effects of an illness that sapped his strength a few weeks ago.

Either way, he looked just fine against the Dolphins. He was 8-of-10 shooting and added six rebounds and six assists.

He got plenty of help, too.

Parsons, who started 28 of the previous 33 games, came off the bench for the first time since early December. It might have been a much-needed change after scoring just nine points in the last four games and misfiring from just about everywhere.

He hit five of his first six shots and had 13 points and nine rebounds at the break. He finished with his second double-double of the season. Parsons also brought some enthusiasm to the court, getting into a couple low-post tussles early in the game.

Alex Tyus scored Florida’s first seven points and finished with 13. Erving Walker, who replaced Parsons in the starting lineup, added 11. Even walk-ons Kyle McClanahan and Hudson Fricke made baskets.

Florida shot 56 percent for the game and was 9-of-19 from behind the arc. Jacksonville shot 37 percent and missed 17 of 23 from behind the arc.

The Dolphins’ biggest problem was the slow start. They missed six of their first seven shots, got behind by double digits midway through the first half and never recovered.

The team’s leading scorer, Ben Smith, finished with seven points on 2-of-13 shooting.

Miami 78, Providence 66

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Jack McClinton made seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points in the first round of the NIT.

Dwayne Collins had 12 rebounds and Lance Hurdle added 12 points for the Hurricanes (19-12), who outrebounded the Friars 44-35.

Weyinmi Efejuku led Providence with 16 points, and Jonathan Kale added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Friars.

Miami will play Florida in the second round.

Kansas State 83, Illinois State 79, OT

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Jacob Pullen scored seven of his career-high 32 points in overtime.

Darren Kent added 19 points for the Wildcats (22-11). Dominique Sutton finished with nine points and 12 rebounds, including an offensive grab he put back to tie the game at 73 with four seconds remaining and force the overtime.

Champ Oguchi led Illinois State (24-10) with 23 points but fouled out midway through the overtime with the Redbirds trailing 77-76.

Kansas State seized control of the game in overtime, with a layup by Pullen putting the Wildcats ahead for good at 80-79 with 14 seconds left.

Creighton 73, Bowling Green 71

OMAHA, Neb. - P’Allen Stinnett scored 18 points, including two big free throws in the final minute, and Creighton came from behind.

The Bluejays (27-7) will host Kentucky (21-13) in a second-round game Monday.

Creighton, which trailed by 14 points in the first half and by 8 with 8 1/2 minutes left, went ahead 69-67 with 4:41 to play on Booker Woodfox’s 3-pointer.

Nate Miller put the Falcons (19-14) ahead again briefly, but Justin Carter’s 3-pointer with 1:46 left gave the Bluejays the lead for good.

Miller scored 22 points, Darryl Clements had 19 points and eight rebounds, and Brian Moten added 12 points for Bowling Green.

Baylor 74, Georgetown 72

WACO, Texas - LaceDarius Dunn and Kevin Rogers each scored 20 points and Curtis Jerrells added 19 to help the Bears get their first postseason win since 1950.

Jerrells put Baylor (21-14) ahead 74-69 with a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining.

But DaJuan Summers hit a 3-pointer for Georgetown (16-15) with three seconds left, and Tweety Carter missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity for the Bears.

Summers, who led the Hoyas with 19 points, grabbed the rebound and launched a shot at the buzzer that fell short.

Tulsa 68, Northwestern 59

TULSA, Okla. - Jerome Jordan scored 16 points and Ben Uzoh added 13.

Uzoh hit four free throws in the final 21 seconds as the Golden Hurricane (25-10) survived a late scoring drought to win their first game in the tournament since winning the title in 2001.

Craig Moore and Kevin Coble each scored 17 points to lead Northwestern (17-14), which went 9-for-23 from 3-point range against the nation’s second-best 3-point defense.

Justin Hurtt added 13 points for Tulsa and Ray Reese had 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Virginia Tech 116, Duquesne 108, 2OT

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech got 33 points from A.D. Vassallo and 23 from Jeff Allen and the Hokies scored on their first five possessions in the second overtime to overcome 46 points from Duquesne’s Aaron Jackson.

With the victory, the Hokies moved to 19-14 overall on the season and advanced to the second round where they will host the winner of the Georgetown-Baylor game.

Duquesne (21-13), making its first postseason appearance since the 1994 NIT, closed out its best season since the 1971 team went 21-4.

Tech appeared to have the game under control in the first overtime, leading by six with under a minute to go. But the Dukes rallied and tied the game at 94 on Jackson’s layup with less than 2 seconds left.

In the second overtime, Vassallo scored 10 points and the Hokies made all 10 of their free throws to put the game away.

Auburn 87, Tenn-Martin 82

AUBURN, Ala. - DeWayne Reed scored 23 points and Quantez Robertson added 19—both career highs in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday night.

Reed made five 3-pointers for the Tigers (23-11), who hit a season-high 14 from beyond the arc in their first postseason game since 2003. Auburn faces the Northwestern-Tulsa winner on Friday night.

Lester Hudson, the nation’s No. 2 scorer, led the Skyhawks (22-10) with 33 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. The Ohio Valley Conference regular season champions were making their first Division I postseason appearance.