I hope you all enjoyed your day off of meaningful basketball yesterday. Personally, I got a lot of things done I’d been putting off, and took some time to decompress. While basketball is exciting, it can get a bit stressful as one tries to process the magnitude of what they’re seeing. The NIT is kind of like the Louvre in this way.
Tonight
Tonight, we’re back in action. The second round kicks off, with Creighton hosting Memphis at 8:30 PM Eastern Time. You can watch on ESPNU if you have it or are at an establishment/friend’s home that has it and is willing to devote a television to it.
It’s been a thrilling road for each of these teams to get to this point, and for one, the excitement will only build, as the winner will be just one more win away from a trip to the Final Four.
Tomorrow
At noon Eastern tomorrow, Indiana will host Arkansas. From what I’m seeing, Romeo Langford might return from his back injury, but Daniel Gafford is still out with a case of NBA aspirations. You can catch this game on ESPN.
In the second half of tomorrow’s double-header, UNC-Greensboro hosts Lipscomb. Tip is at 2:00 PM EDT, and the game will also be televised on ESPN. NC State fans will want to tune into this one, because not only will it determine who the Wolfpack will play in the quarterfinals should they take care of business against Harvard, but it will also determine whether the Wolfpack play at home, or if their fans will need to make the drive over to Greensboro on Tuesday or Wednesday night.
Needless to say, travel plans and a whole lot more are at stake tomorrow afternoon.
Sunday
In personal news, Texas hosts Xavier at 3:00 PM local time (that’s Central for me, so 4:00 for you East Coast elites who probably don’t like the NIT because of that whole elite thing). This is also NIT news. You can see the game, and hopefully a whole lot of your favorite NIT fan, on ESPN.
Earlier in the day (2:00 PM EDT), Clemson hosts Wichita State. Clemson is sure to be favored, but so were their neighbors, Furman. Now that Wichita State knows the greater Northwest South Carolina area, expect them to be even more comfortable, if you can fathom it.
In the evening, you can watch tournament favorite NC State host Harvard at 7:30 EDT on ESPNU. As stated, NC State is the favorite, but Harvard is notoriously crafty, with noted Harvard Law alum Barack Obama having demonstrated in 2008 that the lads from Cambridge know how to win in North Carolina.
Finally, in the nightcap, feel-good story Nebraska visits TCU, one of the NIT powers of our day. If you haven’t heard about Johnny Trueblood, you will, but you’ll need to get yourself in front of ESPNU beginning at 9:30 EDT to do so.
Monday
Closing out the first round, Cinderella story Norfolk State goes to Boulder to square off with the Buffaloes. By virtue of Alabama losing, Colorado’s path to the quarterfinals has opened up, but droves of NIT fans are pulling for the Spartans. We’ll see if Colorado’s home-court advantage is enough.
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More to come tomorrow morning. I’ll update the pool standings after tonight’s game.
