Brace yourselves.
He’s coming.
Western Kentucky beat Louisiana Tech last night, and they only beat them by two, and it’s hard to say there’s ever been a time when WKU’s NIT hopes have looked better (except, you know, when they made the Final Four very recently).
God truly does bless us.
Elsewhere:
- Michigan State lost to Purdue at home, only managing 54 points (though to be fair, they only allowed 55). We’re listening, Tom.
- Davidson…poor Davidson. Just when it looked like they were going to get into the thick of things, they lost in overtime at home to Dayton. (Yes, we’re talking about Dayton again. But they’re on a short leash.)
- Toledo remains king of the MAC, beating the everloving pants off Ohio. Goodness.
- Mississippi righted the ship with a win on Wednesday, but they now face a tricky question. Do they try to beat LSU at home? The rest of the schedule’s fertile enough that they probably don’t need the win to have a strong-enough résumé. But there are seeding considerations to consider. And it’d be one of their better wins, excusing some bad losses. Man. The NIT’s so complex. No wonder only the most intellectual of sports fans enjoy it.
- Utah’s been flirting with NIT contention, and they get an opportunity to go in for the kiss tonight with Oregon coming up the mountain. (Larry Krystkowiak, if you’re reading this, please do not try to kiss Dana Altman. There’s a pandemic going on. That would be inadvisable.)
- Kentucky goes to Gainesville. The Wildcats aren’t in-the-picture enough to be our focal point today, but we’re keeping a close eye on what they do. On the one hand, they’ve won two straight. On the other, they only beat Vanderbilt by three.
- I’ve lost track of where Oklahoma is in the NIT race, but they play at Kansas this afternoon.
- They say you’ve gotta spice it up to keep romance alive, and there’s no one spicier in our lives than Seton Hall. Are the Pirates going to lose at DePaul today? We have no idea. And that’s an exhilarating feeling.
- Miami should be in NIT contention, based on how good (and bad) they are. But they really miss Chris Lykes, and they’ve had other injury issues, and we just aren’t sure if there’s an NIT path available to them, because if they get healthy and go on the run they need to buoy their stock enough for NIT contention, the other tournament might steal them. Anyway, they play NC State in Raleigh, and there’s a theoretical symbiosis opportunity there.
- The A-10 rarely disappoints, and today is not a rare day. Rhode Island at VCU….Ok that’s kind of it, but it’s a good one, and there’s a chance Richmond loses at George Mason, which would be…rich (I’m sorry).
- Texas A&M’s gonna get some NIT hype, because Texas A&M fans are loud and oft-deluded, but to get in the picture they’re going to need to beat someone better than Auburn, or Wofford, or Tarleton State. Enter: Tennessee.
- Intrigue between Georgia and Arkansas. We mean the teams. Who play each other today. Though that land between the two states is also intriguing. Huntsville, man. We don’t talk about Huntsville enough. So many rockets.
- Hail Marys (Hail Maries? Hails Mary?) for TCU (home against Baylor) and Oklahoma State (at Kansas State) in the Big 12.
- Risky trip to Nashville for Mississippi State, and we aren’t talking about my Mississippi State-alumna friend whose husband tried to buy cocaine on Broadway at a bachelor party and accidentally bought flour instead. He’s staying home this weekend. The Bulldogs are playing Vanderbilt.
- Can Syracuse build on its NIT momentum after losing to Pitt? Georgetown visits the Orange today, and this is probably the longest we’ve ever gone without so much as thinking of Georgetown in the middle of the college basketball season.
- Big one in the Patriot League between Colgate and Boston U. Keep an eye on Navy over there too. The Midshipmen, who lead the conference, play at Lehigh today.
- In the HoLo quest for yet another automatic bid, Cleveland State’s got a two-game lead over Wright State after the former won last night and the latter lost. The Vikings play Northern Kentucky (yep, Viking-on-Viking). The Raiders (that’s Wright State) host Youngstown State.
