They won’t leave. The BYU Cougars just won’t leave. They beat San Diego State yesterday afternoon in San Diego, and their NIT chances have never (this year) looked better. Good luck getting rid of ‘em.
Other NIT Notes:
- Richmond won The Game of the Weekend, beating Loyola in one that wasn’t as close as the score makes it look. We still feel good about the Spiders coming our way, but we don’t feel great about it.
- Davidson beat Rhode Island on the road, popping their head up into our part of the atmosphere. The A-10’s got a lot for us. As it often does.
- Kentucky’s back on the court today, taking on UNC in Cleveland. A win would quench the flames of NIT fervor. Don’t win, Kentucky. Don’t win.
- Butler’s up early on Indiana, and—well, actually, not that early anymore. Oh, and looks like they aren’t up at the moment. Ok, maybe this is a non-story. Butler’s playing Indiana. By the time you read this it will likely be over. It will likely have little immediate impact on either team’s NIT chances.
- Dayton hosts the University of Mississippi and Alabama hosts Western Kentucky University, so lots of good top-line action for us involving some of our SEC favorites.
- Arizona and Stanford play. Stanford’s got a lot of work to do to get on our radar, but Arizona has locked our eyes and is moving across the room. We’re scared. Sean Miller scares us. But he thrills us, too. Man.
- Furman/Winthrop’s not exactly impactful, but both of them could be trendy early-round picks in the eventual field. I’d say that NIT devotees have it turned on, but I don’t think NIT devotees are paying for ESPN+ unless we have to.
- Cincinnati visits Georgia. Not a big deal, since Cincinnati’s on the road and road losses don’t hurt, but still intriguing. Noteworthy how bad Georgia still is under Tom Crean. Just saying.
- Saint Mary’s has a risky one, hosting Colorado State in Moraga. Elsewhere in the WCC, Pepperdine hosts UC-Santa Barbara, looking for a helpful win. We like the WCC. We like the WCC.
- Ball State’s trip to Terre Haute does not matter for the NIT, but shoutout to Muncie’s finest, newly reigning MAC football champions. Great vibes in Muncie.
