Well, we only got one official entrant: Alcorn State, with the automatic bid. But between Wisconsin’s strong closing argument, Nebraska’s disastrous closing argument, and whatever you want to call the end of that Seton Hall game, we’ve got plenty to talk about.
Let’s get to it.
Helpful links:
- NIT Bracketology: Our latest projection of the eventual field, from just moments ago.
- NIT Bracketology Rundown: First Four Out, Next Four Out, and assorted complications.
- NIT Bubble Watch: This page will help guide you to the most recent Bubble Watch, in case you’re viewing one from a previous day.
- NIT Blog Posts: This will take you to every blog post talking NIT, a collection which includes our daily previews of the action at hand, usually published shortly after this.
Conference by conference:
ACC
- Auto-Bid Contenders:
- In the Mix (High): UNC, Pitt, NC State
- Sweet Spot: Clemson
- In the Mix (Low): Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
“Pitt?” More like, “Shitt! We might not make the NIT!”
Pitt got past Georgia Tech yesterday, which means two things for us.
First, Pitt still has a solid chance to miss the NIT on the high side. They’re on the Upper Bubble, and they can only play their way off it in one direction. It’s either beat Duke and miss the NIT or lose to Duke and sweat it out.
Second, Josh Pastner might be done at Georgia Tech. Possibly even by the time this reaches your doorstep (I assume every neighborhood has one guy who prints out all our blog posts and delivers them to you all). This is, of course, sad, and a marker of the passage of time. In 2017—our first year following the NIT for the NIT itself—Pastner was our hot new thing, the coach who had developed Luke Walton (who was at that point a big freakin’ deal). Now, he’s just a guy who couldn’t win at a school that’s losing in many facets right now, and soon, he might be a special assistant somewhere for a year before popping up at Texas State or FIU.
Sorry, I shouldn’t be getting sentimental about the Face Shield Man here. That’s for someplace else. Back to the Bubbles.
One of the ACC’s redeeming attributes this season is its refusal to play defense, leaving us with a lot of mediocre teams who are more or less fine to watch. Case in point? Wake Forest—who put a breath of wind back in the NIT sails—hit two highlight reel shots in the final minute to take down Syracuse. Looked great. Looked like good basketball. Cameron Hildreth and Daivien Williamson, respect to you two. I can see why Jim Phillips is so confused when people tell him his conference sucks.
Who didn’t look good? Virginia Tech. It was a bad day by a lot of Lower Bubble teams, so the Hokies might get away with it, but there is a world where they only needed a respectable loss, and a respectable loss they did not get. UNC, on the other hand, did what was expected and beat up Boston College. Armando Bacot hurt his ankle, but he’s expected to play against Virginia today, and it sounds like he should be close to one hundred percent.
Big Ten
- Auto-Bid Contenders:
- In the Mix (High): Wisconsin, Rutgers, Penn State, Illinois, Iowa
- Sweet Spot: Michigan
- In the Mix (Low): Nebraska
“On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin! Plunge right through that (cut) line!”
We think we’ve got the Badgers, and everyone seems to be in agreement on that, but we are nervous. As many will say between now and Sunday, they have six Q1 wins and they beat Marquette on the road, checking two big boxes even if they are not a very good basketball team. They’re on lock watch, but they aren’t a lock yet, and they might not be a lock until Sunday afternoon. The only lock right now is our liberty. Err. Liberty. The university. We aren’t that confident in our chances to preserve our personal freedoms, but the Flames? They should be going to the NIT.
In the other Big Ten game, Nebraska lost to a team next to the likes of Buffalo and North Alabama and UMass in the ratings systems. Disaster. Unmitigated disaster. From a team who didn’t need one. This is sad. We like having Nebraska around.
Can Nebraska make the NIT? Yes. What they need, and I am not trying to be an ass this is the actual path I’m being serious here, is for the NIT Selection Committee to completely flip their approach from last year. If it’s a résumé competition, the Huskers are in. If it’s about being a good basketball team, well…did you have Big Ten Network on?
Big 12
- Auto-Bid Contenders:
- In the Mix (High): Oklahoma State, West Virginia
- Sweet Spot:
- In the Mix (Low): Texas Tech
Oklahoma State was, according to many, an NIT team after Avery Anderson went down and the Pokes lost five straight. This never made the most sense—they’d also won three straight in the immediate aftermath of Anderson’s injury—but they’re now 5–5 without the guy, it’s all been against Big 12 teams, they’re three games over .500 overall even if they lose tonight, and the theme of this year’s Upper Bubble is that everyone is always losing. I don’t really see how Oklahoma State’s an NIT team, but we’ll happily take them if someone will give them to us.
Texas Tech is in “those poor kids” mode, where we all look at the situation unfolding and say, “Those poor kids.” The question now is whether they’ll be invited to the NIT, with a question involved in that question being whether or not they want to invited. I don’t know exactly how it works, but the way it used to function was that schools filled out the necessary paperwork before this point in the season, agreeing to play if invited. I would imagine something like that’s still the case. Of course, players can collectively ask to not be invited, like Georgia in 2018—and with Fardaws Aimaq announcing after the loss tonight that he’ll be transferring out, maybe that’ll happen—but the NIT committee doesn’t have to respect their wishes? Also, I feel like Texas Tech could get some revenue from an NIT game? I don’t know. They’re certainly deserving, and an interim coach won it last year, but the question’s going to be whether the NIT committee takes a team with an interim coach and at least one player transferring out or if the NIT committee takes Santa Clara instead.
SEC
- Auto-Bid Contenders:
- In the Mix (High): Mississippi State, Auburn, Arkansas
- Sweet Spot: Florida, Vanderbilt
- In the Mix (Low):
Vanderbilt will play LSU, not Georgia. Remember when Georgia was making an NIT push? That was fun.
Big East
- Auto-Bid Contenders:
- In the Mix (High): Providence
- Sweet Spot: Villanova
- In the Mix (Low): Seton Hall, St. John’s
Seton Hall, it was going so well!
Pirates are a legendarily ornery bunch, so maybe it makes sense that Seton Hall torched its own boats yesterday afternoon with no land in sight. After taking a four-point lead with sixteen seconds on the clock, the favorites lost, and they didn’t even require overtime to do it. DePaul made a layup, DePaul called a timeout, Seton Hall turned the ball over, KC Ndefo fouled a three-point shooter, said three-point shooter made three free throws, Seton Hall got a good look at the buzzer but it was blocked (it was initially called a goaltend, but the call was overturned). Now? Now, we must say something.
I like Shaheen Holloway. I feel personally bad for KC Ndefo, or anyone in his position.
But this isn’t the NCA* *********t, guys.
Beating Purdue in the “Sweet” Sixteen is easy.
Plenty of teams do that.
Succeeding in the NIT world is a whole lot harder.
In the other games, Villanova trounced Georgetown, moving into the Sweet Spot (they’ll be loudly on the Upper Bubble if they win tonight, but to get there they’ll have to win tonight), and St. John’s rolled Butler, one of few Lower Bubble teams to do its job.
Pac-12
- Auto-Bid Contenders:
- In the Mix (High): Arizona State, USC
- Sweet Spot: Oregon, Washington State
- In the Mix (Low): Colorado, Utah, Washington
KJ Simpson might be done for the year with what’s been said to be mono, but the Buffs play on, grabbing a win they really needed in the NIT bubble push. It wasn’t pretty (at one point the cameras cut out during a replay review, and the moment they came back we got to watch a lane violation), but it was a win, and with it, Colorado’s in a pretty good spot, getting to play UCLA today. On the other side of it: Washington’s flame flickers out.
I don’t really know who’s healthy and who isn’t for Utah anymore, but whoever’s left is in a bad, bad place after losing to Stanford. Looked like an extinguishing loss to us. Remember when we were going to get three Utah schools? Now it could be zero. Fickle things, those winds of fate.
Washington State took care of business against Cal, staying in a good position but we still won’t call them entirely safe. Arizona State took on a lot of danger from Wisconsin losing, but did escape Oregon State in a very convincing NIT performance.
Mountain West
- Auto-Bid Contenders:
- In the Mix (High): Nevada, Utah State, Boise State
- Sweet Spot: New Mexico
- In the Mix (Low): UNLV, San Jose State
Colorado State won, so they’re still swimming in the Titanic’s wake (the Titanic, in this metaphor, never sank and is simply the premier ship of all the seas, very similarly to how the NIT is the premier tournament of all the basketball, leaving Colorado State in this metaphor as someone very much in view but with a very small chance of actually climbing on board). UNLV took down the Air Force in overtime, so they retain the grace of possibility. New Mexico trailed a little early but pulled away from Wyoming in the second half, ending a very sad Wyoming season but keeping themselves in the picture for a top NIT seed.
The American
- Auto-Bid Contenders:
- In the Mix (High): Memphis
- Sweet Spot:
- In the Mix (Low): Cincinnati, UCF, Tulane
Conference USA
- Auto-Bid Contenders: Florida Atlantic
- In the Mix (High): North Texas
- Sweet Spot: UAB
- In the Mix (Low):
Inconsequential thrillers in the USA. Inconsequential so far, that is. UAB will play Rice, whom they’ve beaten by 18 and 28. North Texas will play Louisiana Tech, whom they’ve beaten by just 10 and 2. FAU will play Rick Stansbury’s Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, and you bet your ass that whatever the hell Big Red is, that goomba-y creature imitated by Italian television eats owls as snacks back in the wild.
West Coast Conference
- Auto-Bid Contenders:
- In the Mix (High):
- Sweet Spot:
- In the Mix (Low): Santa Clara, Loyola Marymount, BYU
Atlantic 10
- Auto-Bid Contenders: VCU
- In the Mix (High):
- Sweet Spot:
- In the Mix (Low): Dayton, Saint Louis, Fordham
We’ve got our matchups: VCU plays Davidson. Saint Louis plays George Mason. Dayton plays Saint Joe’s. Fordham plays…oh beautiful. Fordham plays La Salle.
(We were wrong about Duquesne. No Duquesne here.)
WAC
- Auto-Bid Contenders: Utah Valley
- In the Mix (High): Sam Houston State
- Sweet Spot:
- In the Mix (Low): Sam Houston State
Sun Belt
- Automatic Bid: Southern Miss
- In the Mix (High):
- Sweet Spot:
- In the Mix (Low): Marshall
Just realized we’ve been listing Louisiana as still being “In the Mix” for a few days, so apologies on that. They are not In the Mix. They are being conscripted to play in a tournament whose only aim is to leech the beauty of its predecessor.
Missouri Valley
- Automatic Bid: Bradley
MAC
- Auto-Bid Contenders: Toledo
- In the Mix (High):
- Sweet Spot:
- In the Mix (Low): Kent State
CAA
- Automatic Bid: Hofstra
ASUN
- Auto-Bid Contenders:
- In the Mix (High):
- Sweet Spot: Liberty (Lock)
- In the Mix (Low):
MAAC
- Auto-Bid Contenders: Iona
- In the Mix (High):
- Sweet Spot:
- In the Mix (Low):
Iona is through to the semifinals. Rider is not. Saint Peter’s again. Seriously. Took out one of Rick Pitino’s biggest obstacles. The Peacocks are back again, you guys, and now they get a day off before meeting Quinnipiac or Manhattan in the semis.
The Gaels will play the Siena/Niagara winner tomorrow, and…ok. We’ll do the list.
GAELS BRONCS BOBCATS SAINTS PURPLEEAGLES JASPERS STAGS GOLDENGRIFFINS MOUNTAINEERS PEACOCKS REDFOXES
The MAAC is so much fun to talk about. As in, the words themselves are fun. Someone please roll the conference expansion dice that link these guys up with Northern Arizona.
Summit League
- It’s over.
Ivy League
- Auto-Bid Contenders: Yale
- In the Mix (High):
- Sweet Spot:
- In the Mix (Low):
Big West
- Auto-Bid Contenders: UC-Irvine
- In the Mix (High):
- Sweet Spot:
- In the Mix (Low):
Big Sky
- Automatic Bid: Eastern Washington
SoCon
- It’s over.
Horizon League
- Automatic Bid: Youngstown State
Big South
- It’s over.
America East
- Auto-Bid Contenders: Vermont
- In the Mix (High):
- Sweet Spot:
- In the Mix (Low):
Patriot League
- It’s over.
No Colgate this year, as the Raiders won the Patriot League Tournament, leaving them wondering yet again what would have happened had their 2020 automatic bid held up.
MEAC
- Auto-Bid Contenders: Howard
- In the Mix (High):
- Sweet Spot:
- In the Mix (Low):
Howard won its opener, and won it big, but N.C. Central won its opener, and it also won it big. Formalities in the MEAC so far. NCCU remains the conference favorite. These two will play in separate semifinals tomorrow.
Ohio Valley
- Automatic Bid: Morehead State
Southland
- It’s over.
Texas A&M Corpus Christi won the Southland Conference Tournament yesterday and will not be playing in the NIT. This has been met with much wailing and lamenting down on the Gulf.
SWAC
- Automatic Bid: Alcorn State
Somewhere along the line, I got confused and started thinking Alcorn State was the Jaguars, even though they’re the Braves. I wasn’t getting Alcorn State confused with Southern, who is the Jaguars, I was just getting Alcorn State confused for a hypothetical other Alcorn State named the Jaguars.
Anyway, Alcorn State’s back for its second straight NIT, losing last night to Texas Southern. They’ve got experience. That’s valuable.
NEC
- It’s over.
**
Oh golly, they’re already playing basketball again! On ESPN+ and USA Network, my favorite two places to watch basketball.
Better get to that.
See you guys soon.
