Jizzle James left his mark. Walsh Gymnasium remained the epicenter. And I personally learned a whole lot about Scott Williams.
Yesterday’s games, in reverse order of soul-stirring (notes on today’s below):
3. Cincinnati 74, Bradley 57
First, a big apology to Cincinnati fans. I’ve been mentioning Viktor Lakhin in a lot of these blog posts, and that man is not seeing the floor right now. I missed that. Should’ve caught it. I disrespected all of you, and I am sorry. (If you also missed it, Lakhin has only played a total of seven minutes over Cincinnati’s last seven games, and he’s sat five of those entirely, including yesterday’s. Wes Miller was asked about it yesterday and just said he needs to be ready for the quarterfinal game.)
Second, Jizzle! With Day Day Thomas sidelined, Cincinnati’s freshman point guard took over the NIT second round. If this NIT is an episode of Parks & Rec, a bunch of Colts fans approaching middle age are going to have the time of their lives at the NIT Final Four alongside Jizzle’s dad, Colts hero Edgerrin James. I didn’t think anything in the world could make for a more Parks & Rec story than Indiana State coming out of this region, but Cincinnati has made a cosmic coup.
2. Ohio State 81, Virginia Tech 73
This got tight towards the end, with Sean Pedulla taking over the narrative role of so many white ACC point guards before him, but Ohio State got their swats in and made the lead stand in front of the biggest crowd of the tournament so far. Jake Diebler looks really natural on the sidelines for someone who’s never been a head coach before. Working the refs, got his squat down…the man is a natural.
1. Seton Hall 72, North Texas 58
We will always love the Mean Green, but Seton Hall’s inspiring run continues. Every college basketball program should have an old bandbox on campus in which to play NIT games. I can think of no more impactful lack of foresight on the part of our ancestors than that only a dozen power conference basketball programs have their own version of Walsh Gymnasium.
Kadary Richmond was a dog and a half. Leading NIT rebounder now. (We’ve added a tab for that on the NIT Bracket Challenge master scoreboard, for those tracking the tiebreaker.)
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Today:
Minnesota at Indiana State – 2:00 PM EDT, ESPN2
Minnesota fans are fired up about this run. It wouldn’t be surprising to see some showing of Gopher fans in Terre Haute. Only thirty tickets are available as I write this, a little more than an hour and a half before tipoff. The Hulman Center should be a scene.
On the court, Dawson Garcia vs. Robbie Avila is fascinating and terrifying. This Palm Sunday, Garcia vs. Avila might bring all of us closer to God. SMU’s approach to scoring on Indiana State was to repeatedly crash into Avila, like he was the door of a castle. Garcia’s got more quickness and finesse. Maybe we see the zone again from Josh Schertz? Maybe Indiana State just tries to outscore their guests?
Georgia at Wake Forest – 4:00 PM EDT, ESPN2
We all have always viewed the University of Georgia’s athletic department as a Cinderella story, so this shouldn’t be an aberration from our norms. They go to mighty Wake Forest in the cultural center of our country, Winston-Salem. Massive under-Dawgs, as far as NIT underdogs go. Do the favorites get it done? Or does the SEC continue to outperform expectations in respected March tournaments?
One thing to watch here is whether Blue Cain transforms into an even more Blue Cain version of Blue Cain upon arrival on Tobacco Road. The name ‘Blue Cain’ is an exceptional tobacco-adjacent name. Add in the rat tail, and the situation multiplies. This NIT might turn into an exercise in dropping Blue Cain into different Appalachia-adjacents segments of America and seeing where he fits best. Like a fashion show, but with Blue Cain and Southern culture.
VCU at South Florida – 7:30 PM EDT, ESPNU
What does destiny hold for Ryan Odom, the NIT prince? Can Amir Abdur-Rahim accelerate the clock on his own rise to greatness? Somebody will try to write about this game in twenty years. You will laugh and ask them why they didn’t write about it when it happened.
I have no idea what to expect on the court with these guys. Couple of wildcards. Couple of surprisers. Couple of catfish thrown into the barrel. Chris Youngblood should probably be the guy to watch. He goes, the Bulls go.
Iowa at Utah – 9:00 PM EDT, ESPN2
Like lightning, but more electric. While the NCAA T*urnament’s late slate inevitably turns dud-ly, Iowa and Utah will be sending smoke out the sides of all televisions tuned to ESPN2. Tall white men who can shoot. It’s going to look like the EuroLeague.
Utah is a better version of Iowa, and Iowa is a more extreme version of Utah. Iowa’s problem for a lot of this year was that they weren’t shooting threes and weren’t making them, but they’ve been changing that down the stretch, reversing towards their natural form. Payton Sandfort has his eyes on the NIT. Branden Carlson might have something to say about that.
Boston College at UNLV – 9:30 PM EDT, ESPNU
We don’t know who’s healthy for UNLV. We don’t know how much magic Boston College has in its Irish bones. What we do know is this:
This is going to be a very NIT game. Maybe the most NIT game of the tournament. Unpredictable, messy, and broadcast on ESPNU. This is pure NIT like that Yankees/Red Sox Wild Card Game a few years ago was pure MLB, or like how Messi/Mbappe was pure World Cup, or like how 2019 Alabama/LSU was pure college football. This is perfect. We are blessed today.
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The NIT Bracket Challenge scoreboard updates shortly after each game. A full 67% of brackets still have their champion alive entering this afternoon. Pins and needles, friends. Pins and needles.
