Friends.
Selection Sunday is just a week away, meaning you and I will soon know which 32 teams will be competing in the greatest of all tournaments.
Nervous?
Me too.
Excited?
Same.
A little under the weather?
Sorry to hear that—hope you can get a lot of rest this week.
There is a lot left to happen, but the NIT has already secured Chris Clemons (the Fighting Camel out of Buies Creek with a prodigious ability to score points), Mike Daum (the South Dakota State phenom who I’m under the impression has been playing in Brookings for over a decade), and Sister Jean (yes, that Sister Jean). In other words, we’re off to a good start.
Happenings over the next seven nights and days will have a large impact—it’s a tight race, a famously narrow field (as many know, one metric in which the NIT excels is selectivity—it’s much more difficult to squeeze into a 32-team bracket than one of 68 teams), and good teams are playing good teams, throwing lightning bolts into résumés.
Here are a few things to keep an eye on:
Indiana
In the nearly prehistoric days of 2017, Indiana turned down an NIT home game. This year, there’s a strong chance they’ll have another opportunity to host. Will they seize it? Or demur?
The Big East
It’s possible that this year’s NIT will look, to many, like a replay of the Big East Tournament. St. John’s, Butler, Georgetown, Xavier, and Providence are all staring down at-large bids, while Creighton and Seton Hall try to slide in from the front. This is a marvelous accomplishment for the Big East, especially when considering how over the last four seasons, only two Big East teams have made it.
With all the attention paid to the Pac-12 this season, it’s been easy to forget that the Big East is having a banner year. Kudos to the league for turning itself around.
Complainers
These arise every year. Last year, Louisville’s players reportedly voted to not play in the NIT, only to learn they didn’t have the power to decide that. Andy Enfield, who I’m guessing is still the coach at USC (no way to know), made himself appear a blind man on a mountaintop as he failed to capture the glory he was experiencing.
Even with USC out of the picture (to my knowledge), we’re likely to hear some complaints. From whom, though, will they come?
In all likelihood, the media will forget about Belmont by the end of the week, especially as bid thieves make the Bruins’ case more and more bleak. Also, it doesn’t seem like Rick Byrd to complain. You’ll have a few vocal tweeters, but nothing more.
Temple would be a good contender, given that it’s Fran Dunphy’s final season, but Temple is such an NIT program these days to begin with that it’s unlikely anyone would go to the trouble to publicize their complaints. As with Byrd, Dunphy doesn’t seem the type to complain, too, so this would likely come from the media.
Personally, I’m keeping an eye on three Big Ten schools: Minnesota, Ohio State, and Iowa. None of the three have accomplished all that much this season, but it’s very possible all three think they have. Better yet, each is just one beautiful loss away from diving headfirst into the waters of the NIT.
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These are just a few of the thrilling storylines we’ll all be keeping an eye on this week as NIT fans. Best of luck to those trying to crack the field. Remember: It’s not about finding the best 32 teams. It’s about finding the right 32 teams.
