Alright, we’ve got fresh NIT Bracketology to start the week, but you—you, raging NIT fan—aren’t content with just the bracket. You want intel. And we’ve got it.
At the moment, our First Four Out looks as follows:
- UCF
- Utah Valley
- Loyola Marymount
- Colorado
Behind them, these are the Next Four Out:
- UNLV
- Georgia
- Santa Clara
- Syracuse
Behind them, we get to UAB, Tulane, Yale, and Hofstra, but Joe Lunardi doesn’t have a third set of four so neither does Joe Stunardi. One other group? Those who would be in the mix if they weren’t projected to finish below .500, traditionally no-go territory for the NIT Selection Committee:
- Washington State
- Texas Tech
- Michigan
- Villanova
It’s a diverse field this week, with eight conferences sending multiple teams (kudos to both the A-10 and the Sun Belt for trying to use the automatic bid setup to their advantage). Those leagues are (*drum roll*) the…
- SEC (3 bids)
- Pac-12 (3 bids)
- ACC (3 bids)
- Big Ten (3 bids)
- Mountain West (2 bids)
- Big East (2 bids)
- Atlantic 10 (2 bids)
- Sun Belt (2 bids)
If we’re looking for the peak narrative, this set of quarterfinals could materialize:
- Florida @ Ohio State
- Utah @ Utah State
- Oklahoma @ Texas A&M (old Big 12)
- Cincinnati @ Oregon (hypothetical future Big 12)
And, finally, yes. The ACC could get an automatic bid. It needs Virginia to lose a few extra games to create some room for Clemson, but Clemson’s in the mix to both win the ACC and make the NIT with the right combination of wins and losses. Considering many call the ACC college basketball’s best conference, historically speaking, this would make Clemson the best team in college basketball. Haters on all sides, you have your intel.
See you…soon.
