We had another classic last night. The people were ready for it. The hype was there. And Colorado State/Buffalo did not disappoint, with Isaiah Stevens’s last-second shot pushing the Rams past the Bulls (lotta horns out there last night) in a game it is really sad either team had to lose, and I mean that, and I’m not just saying that like all those commentators say in the other tournament (where it’s sad anyone even has to play).
But let’s talk about Conference USA.
Conference USA got another W. Louisiana Tech beat Mississippi. Now, the Bulldogs are going to play Western Kentucky, also of C-USA, in the quarterfinals, meaning America’s conferencest conference is guaranteed to have a team in the NIT Final Four just three days into the tournament. All while, over in the consolation bracket, North Texas took down Purdue tonight.
The best conference on the West Coast? The WCC. The best conference in the northeast? The Big East. But the best conference in America? Well, it takes an American conference to do that, and I’m not talking about the American. I’m talking about Conference United States of America. And I’m spelling it out.
Today’s games:
Memphis vs. Dayton, 12:00 PM EDT, ESPN
Early to rise, early to be the better tournament, that’s what they say. The NIT tips off a full Spongebob episode before that other tournament today, and it starts with the favorite facing, well, they’re facing Dayton.
Could Memphis lose this? Absolutely. It’s Dayton. Dayton’s only kind of bad, and Memphis is only decent. But this, like the one that follows, is one where the line is wide, at least by the NIT’s standards (4.5 points, it appears). No NIT game is a foregone conclusion. But these two are the closest.
Saint Louis vs. Mississippi State, 5:00 PM EDT, ESPN
Same story here, except SLU isn’t the tournament favorite. Can Mississippi State claim the title of being the SEC’s most prestigious men’s basketball program? They’ll need to play well. Probably. They might not have to. But they probably have to.
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Other notes for today:
- The final undefeated brackets fell in our NIT Bracket Challenge, but Joe has yet to get a pick right. Impressive stuff from our numbers guy.
- The WNIT tipped yesterday in Charlotte, Fort Worth, Memphis, and Rockford, and if you’re wondering if the Fort Worth thing is for real or if it’s in Frisco, those games are actually happening inside a building with a Fort Worth address. Second round today. And yes, that really is an awesome collection of cities. Partial to Rockford myself, of course, being from near there, but what a lineup. Hopefully we can stretch ourselves far enough to give the WNIT the love it deserves next year.
