I know it’s being said a lot, but let’s take a moment to appreciate this. Michigan State, Kentucky, and Duke all play home games today and tonight. Each of them needs a win. To help their chances of making the NIT.
What a world.
For Kentucky, it’s Arkansas coming to town. For Michigan State, it’s Penn State. For Duke, it’s Notre Dame. Each of those opponents has NIT hopes of its own—Notre Dame desperately needs a win, Arkansas could use a loss, and it’s kind of vague for Penn State but they are not-vaguely in the NIT mix. This is the weekNITe of the year so far.
Savor it.
Other notes for today:
- Not a lot of note happened last night. Pretty low-key evening. Hope you were able to relax and recharge. We never want to undersell the commitment of you, the NIT fan, and the energy you expend keeping tabs on the intricate network of complications and consequences that lead to the NIT’s selection.
- Not to be outdone by their lesser peers, the NIT King, St. John’s, has a big one of their own tonight, trying to avoid losing at Butler, who is rather bad.
- Dayton hosts VCU in an A-10 NIT smackdown. One will survive. Actually, that’s not necessarily true. I don’t get to decide that. Someone could die. We hope they don’t, but we are mortals, and we cherish these fleeting moments of this thing we call life. Also, if we’re just using “survive” in an NIT sense, a VCU win would be bad for both parties.
- Syracuse visits NC State. Not a lot Syracuse could do to hurt themselves right now. They could certainly find a way to hurt themselves, but it won’t be easy. They’re in an enviable NIT position.
