Every now and then, we talk about Maryland’s NIT chances out of a general hope that Scott Van Pelt will see it, will click around this site enough to start keeping a close eye on us, and—when the Terrapins inevitably do make an NIT one of these years—will invite me on SportsCenter to evangelize on behalf of the world’s greatest tournament. A lot of the times when we do this, it’s wishful thinking. But this time, it’s for real. Maryland might be the NIT favorite right now.
In today’s fresh NIT Bracketology, Maryland checks in as a two-seed. Going through KenPom, only one other projected NIT team would be favored on a neutral court against the Terps, and that’s Arkansas, who’s the projected top overall seed.
Teams projecting as the top overall seed are not safe. They look great for a moment, but catch a bad break, and suddenly they’re bound for the other tournament, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. But two-seeds? Those guys are kind of safe. Which means Maryland’s in the sweet spot of being NIT-likely and actually pretty good, which makes them the NIT favorite right now.
See you soon, Scott.
Other notes for today:
- Michigan State dropped—err, rose—out of the field, meaning neither half of our desired Champions Classic NIT matchup (Michigan State vs. Kentucky) is actually aimed at the NIT right now. A shame.
- Tulsa keeps winning, Memphis keeps losing, and the bracket speaks for itself. Tulsa’s in the thick of it. We haven’t seen Memphis in weeks.
- Not a lot of NIT-relevant stuff going on today, but I suppose if Louisville loses badly enough…
