The NIT, pandemic-permitting, is roughly nine months away, which means it’s time for us to talk about mid-majors. Below are five such mid-majors, ordered not by the likelihood of them making an NIT run, but rather because it sets me up well to make a certain Big East school the butt of a joke at the end here.
1. Valparaiso
You don’t know whether Valpo’s supposed to be any good. I don’t know whether Valpo’s supposed to be any good. Valpo probably doesn’t know whether Valpo’s supposed to be any good. The only guy who knows whether Valpo’s supposed to be any good is some Missouri Valley Conference blogger trying desperately to make it big and cover another league on some tangential SB Nation site. But when you saw “Valparaiso University” listed first, you believed. That’s what’s important. They have that It Factor.
2. Gonzaga
The number of things that have to go right for Gonzaga to make the NIT are few: They basically just need to get swept by BYU, split with Saint Mary’s, lose three conference games they shouldn’t (including one in the WCC Tournament), and not beat anyone inside the Top 20 (as it stands in March) in nonconference play. Once there…look out. They’ve been waiting years for this.
3. Charlotte
Ugh. I know, right? These guys.
Just kidding. I have no strong feelings about Charlotte. Feel like they bit me on a couple bets last year, though, which makes me think they’ve got The Stuff™. No idea if that’s true. Maybe they graduated everybody. Maybe they graduated everybody but they got enough transfers in that it’ll be fine. Regardless, Conference USA has some NIT heft to it, and Charlotte’s ready (or not ready) to assume the mantle.
4. Northern Colorado
These lads have been knocking on the door for years. Or at least, it feels that way.
5. DePaul
*giggles*
Just kidding. We won’t call DePaul a mid-major.
The Real 5. Marquette
Party like it’s 1970.
