Our final NIT Bracketology is live. A few notes about what changed during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, and what else to know:
- North Carolina’s NCAA Tournament inclusion means Stanford will receive an NIT exempt bid, which comes with the chance to host one or possibly more games. If anyone new from the ACC opts out—Wake Forest has been silent so far—Georgia Tech would get the ACC’s third exempt bid.
- West Virginia’s NCAA Tournament exclusion means the Mountaineers and Cincinnati will receive the Crown’s two Big 12 automatic bids. This puts UCF in line for the NIT exempt bid should they choose to accept, and TCU next in line if UCF declines.
- Indiana’s NCAA Tournament exclusion means the Hoosiers and Ohio State will receive the Crown’s two Big Ten automatic bids. This puts Nebraska in line for the NIT exempt bid should they choose to accept.
- Xavier’s NCAA Tournament inclusion means Villanova and Butler will receive the Crown’s two Big East automatic bids. This puts Georgetown in line for the NIT exempt bid should they choose to accept.
- Boise State was the only non-Crown team among the First Four Out, so they’re in line for the NIT’s top overall seed if they choose to keep playing.
- If there are more opt-outs we didn’t account for in that bracket, the list of teams our model thinks are next in line for bids is included at the bottom. It begins with UAB and Saint Louis.
We’ll have our NIT Bracket Challenge information up later tonight on our homepage, www.thebarkingcrow.com. It’s going to be a good NIT.
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