We saw a lot of “way too early” top 25’s come out yesterday, and we agree: That’s way too early!
Now that we’ve waited 24 hours, here are twelve teams to keep an eye on for the 2022 NIT at this reasonably early stage:
Texas
Texas might not have the best roster. It might have an ungrateful fanbase. It might have a coach capable of willing his team to a few wins-they-shouldn’t. And if they get into the tournament…look out. Because I don’t think NIT refs are gonna consider mugging a crime.
Chris Beard said he’s not looking to rebuild. He’s going for trophies right away. We’ll hold him to that.
Marquette
Let’s not beat around the bush, though. Shaka Smart inherits a Marquette roster perfectly capable of competing in the NIT. And the vibes are apparently much better than they were for him in Austin. Winning another, and doing it this quickly, would put our guy in the greatest-of-all-time conversation. Dave Odom, watch your back.
Utah State
Speaking of Dave Odom, his son Ryan’s the new coach at Utah State, where he’ll take over a program that’s been knocking on the NIT’s door for years now. The younger Odom comes from UMBC, which had some success on the junior circuit in 2018 but was realistically never going to make noise on college basketball’s biggest stage.
Wyoming
But elsewhere in the Mountain West, Wyoming lurks. Jeff Linder built Northern Colorado into a relevant-in-context program quickly, he’s got a young roster in Laramie, and relevant-in-context in the Mountain West means a team’s a factor in the NIT. Just ask Colorado State. And Boise State. And Ryan Odom, chasing his dad’s legacy.
Maryland
Is it possible for a Big Ten team to make the NIT? We think so, but we wouldn’t bet on it. Still, we will never not put Maryland on a list like this. Scott Van Pelt is our white whale.
This does make some sense, though. The Maryland fanbase seems to be in a big “Hey Mark Turgeon, go ahead and look around” mode, and Mark Turgeon’s in a “But nobody wants me!” mode, and they weren’t that great this year and I have no idea who’s coming back or not coming back but I have a vague sense I saw a tweet about how this is rebuilding time for the Terps, and that’s enough for me.
Iona
Similarly to Maryland, I have no idea what Iona’s roster’s going to look like next season. But as of now, it looks like Rick Pitino might be there another year, and if there’s a place that screams, “Rick Pitino!” it’s a chain restaurant in Times Square.
Eastern Kentucky
There are Colonels in Kentucky not named Sanders, and five of them (at any given time when basketball is being played) are on the court for EKU. A.W. Hamilton has one of the most fun teams in the country, running the floor and creating turnovers like 2004 UAB (who missed the NIT despite quite the late-season effort). As it stands right now, they should bring a lot of folks back, and in the Ohio Valley, that could translate to a whole bunch of wins. Belmont should still be the conference favorite, but that too works in EKU’s favor. Watch this team. Until it becomes clear that I was way too optimistic.
Oregon State
Oregon State needed to learn to win in March. They did, and now they’re ready for the big stage. Come on up, Beavers. Bring those chainsaw noises.
Notre Dame
Notre Dame locked themselves into one particular recruiting class, and it hasn’t panned out. It’s good enough to find the bubble, though, and stop me if you’ve heard before about an experienced, underachieving team taking the NIT as a last, lonesome stand and cleaning the thing up under an embattled coach. (Don’t actually stop me—we’ve got three teams left!)
There’s speculation the Mike Brey era might end soon in South Bend. If that’s the case, what better way to go out than within a mile or two of the guy’s favorite hot dog cart?
San Francisco
One of these years, Todd Golden’s going to work out. He’s the Billy Beane of college hoops (probably more the Paul DePodesta, but I didn’t want to bring the Browns into this—we try to not get into politics around here). If there were one Sisyphean curse to be leveled against a man in college hoops, it would be repeatedly struggling to make the NIT after early-season encouragement. But maybe, just maybe, this’ll be the year.
Texas A&M
Similarly, Buzz Williams is gonna figure it out eventually in College Station, right?
Speaking of which, Texas A&M has some Marquette vibes in terms of the larger fandom.
Mississippi State
And finally, Mississippi State. If 2021 taught us one thing, it was to never count these guys out.
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Are these the twelve most likely NIT champions? Probably not. Are they the twelve on our reasonably early list of NIT contenders? Yes. Yes they are.
