One’s a projected one-seed. One’s a projected three-seed. Both have a championship on the mind. Yes, today, as two titanic programs on Tobacco Road meet, the stakes have never been higher.
Is UNC/Duke an NIT preview? If it is, it can be a preview of nothing earlier than a quarterfinal, per NIT bracketing rules. But selling it as such underscores how hard the rest of the season will be for these two. It’s not easy to win an NIT. You can’t be too bad. You can’t be too good. And if you’re thinking of Goldilocks, no, Larry Bird never won one.
That said, UNC and Duke are each at the top of the list of national title contenders right now. By which I mean, they’re very likely to play in the NIT, and if either does make it, they should be among the favorites to win it. So let’s enjoy this historic competition today.
Other notes for your Saturday:
- Boise State lost at Nevada last night, which could be big for getting the Broncos back into our part of the curve.
- Penn State took down Maryland at home, which should keep both teams narrowly beyond our grasp.
- Kentucky hosts Tennessee in a game that might end up bigger for their reputation than their résumé. Still, opportunity for the Wildcats to climb back up a peg.
- Seton Hall visits UConn. We won’t tell the Pirates what to do. We trust them to figure this out. They haven’t let us down yet.
- Big A-10 game: Reeling Saint Louis hosts surging-but-are-they-good St. Bonaventure.
- Some nice ACC games: Syracuse at Clemson. Notre Dame at Georgia Tech.
- Marquette’s got a shot with Creighton coming to town.
- Mississippi’s got a shot with a trip to Auburn lined up.
- Huge one between St. John’s and Providence.
- Small one between Mississippi State and South Carolina.
- Michigan State doesn’t have to clobber Nebraska, but it wouldn’t hurt. They do need to win. They really need that win.
- Tough loss for Marshall last night against Old Dominion. Not positive what that does to the Conference USA race (didn’t check), but whatever it did, it can be undone today, since Marshall’s got a rematch with the Monarchs and whoever might’ve passed them probably has a rematch with someone too.
- Cleveland State held onto the HoLo lead for another day, taking down Oakland in Oakland. They go for the sweep this evening.
