We’re still a few weeks away from the beginning of the true NIT blitz, when every night seems to feature multiple high-stakes games, stirring our blood into a pulsing broth of adrenaline, hope, and fear. It’s a trying time, the NIT blitz, one that catches many fans unprepared. To ease yourself into it, it’s important to spend these next few weeks testing the waters—dipping in your toes and feeling the current’s pull. Tonight, keep an eye on this one: Oklahoma at Creighton.
I know, I know. What a beautifully Great Plains matchup. Intricate. Storied. Deeper than meets the eye. Collegetown vs. City School. Public vs. Private. Large vs. Small. A Pretty Good Coach You Often Forget About vs. A Pretty Good Coach You Often Forget About. The only thing that could make this better would be NIT implications. And boy oh boy, do they make it better.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma’s on the outside looking in. In Joe’s NIT Bracketology from yesterday, the Sooners were nowhere to be found. I asked him where they stand, and he said, “five spots too high counting bid thieves.”
Wow.
Talk about close.
Creighton’s probably going to end up in the top 75 of NET, so losing tonight would help OU avoid a Quadrant I victory. Losing won’t necessarily be easy, though: The Sooners are hardly turning the ball over, hardly fouling, and hardly allowing any offensive rebounds. Sure, those are the kind of things that can turn an NIT qualifier into an NIT champion, but for tonight, maybe put them on the back burner?
Creighton
The important thing for Creighton at this point is to not rock the boat. The Bluejays (I don’t know why I wanted to call them the Owls just now—seems like a better fit but Bluejays is unique so I won’t pick that fight) are right in the thick of the NIT picture: a 2-seed in Joe’s bracket. They’ve won the games they should, lost most games they should (got stomped in one, which was a nice touch), and showed enough spunk at times to make people say “Those Creighton boys, they sure have some spunk at times” (people are saying this, so maybe you’re just not listening). I feel like I remember seeing somewhere that they have a couple transfers and/or injured guys who might return soon, so it might be a good idea to lose here, but overall, Greg McDermott has his team in prime position to make its second straight NIT.
It’s rare for a team to qualify for back-to-back NIT’s. Only two teams did it last year—Harvard and Nebraska—and with neither looking particularly poised to make it happen again (the 2020 Ivy League tournament is at Harvard, after all). Creighton has an opportunity to establish themselves as one of the epoch’s NIT mainstays. To take advantage of it, again, they mustn’t rock the boat.
What constitutes rocking the boat in this situation? As in all situations, the answer is that you know a boat’s a rockin’ if you’re havin’ trouble dockin’, but really, it’s just a wide margin in either direction. A blowout loss at home isn’t the best idea against a fellow bubble team (though it could prove useful, and it’ll be interesting to see if McDermott’s weighing its merits). A blowout victory also isn’t great over a fellow bubble team, especially when rumors are circulating that you have good players who haven’t played yet (Slash maybe are just out for a few games? I should really look such things up.).
The Bottom Line
Oklahoma wants to lose. Creighton would be happy to keep it close, but they should probably err on the side of losing themselves. Buckle up.
