The leeches are out. The haters. Those who call themselves “college basketball fans” and prove that by latching onto mid-major teams, calling them their “sleepers,” and trying to wrench them from the grasp of their deserved bride: The NIT.
But not this time.
Not today.
We won’t stand for this any longer.
The Spiders lost last night, at home, to Hofstra. Not the worst loss, but a bad one, and yet the reaction to it in the college basketball blogosphere is nothing like what it would be if, say, Virginia Tech pulled the stunt. The Spiders are a fine team. I have nothing against them. In fact, I have everything for them (using “for” as the opposite of “against” here but I’m not sure that’s right). They deserve this. They’ve earned it. Their best win came against a Kentucky team that’s just trying to keep anyone from killing anyone else. Their second-best win came against Loyola in Indianapolis by two points, which is exactly the amount by which an NIT contender should beat Loyola in Indianapolis. Their conference schedule is loaded with opportunities for medium wins and medium losses.
Lay off the Spiders.
They’re ours.
Elsewhere:
- Missouri almost got the exact treatment Richmond didn’t get, escaping Bradley by a point.
- Arizona looked thoroughly impotent holding off Montana. Just like we like ‘em.
- VCU avoided making it a universally bad night in Richmond, holding off a furious end-of-game effort from James Madison.
- Cincinnati continues to fall from our grasp, with their latest act a conference-opening loss at UCF that wasn’t actually a conference-opening loss because their conference-opening loss came against USF last week and we already forgot about it.
- After Saint Mary’s held Colorado State’s nose in the mud until Colorado State stopped breathing, we thought the Gaels were good. We neglected to notice they only scored 53 points in that game. Yesterday, they managed just 49 in a bludgeoning at the speartips of San Diego State. We had been worried and we’re no longer worried and that’s really beautiful. Merry Christmas, Australia.
- Oklahoma avoided having a lot of explaining to do, losing by a bucket to Texas Tech.
- Louisville beat Pitt at Pitt, reminding us that Louisville’s fine and Pitt’s not guaranteed an NIT berth no matter how much money Jeff Capel channels from a booster to the NIT selection committee.
- NC State took down UNC, which’ll probably push them back over the projected cut line for now, but we trust you, Kevin Keatts. We’ve always trusted you.
- Davidson executed the Southern Beat Cal Strategy™, beating the hell out of poor Vanderbilt.
- Penn State hosts Illinois in a conference-home-underdog-game. Probably too early to say what a win would do to PSU’s hopes.
- Marquette hosts Villanova in a possible conference-home-underdog-game. I say possible because Villanova may be too good for this to qualify, in which case Marquette definitely does not want to win.
- UCLA plays at Oregon. The Bruins have built some distance from us, but experts (my heart) are saying it won’t last.
- Xavier visits Creighton. Last call for Xavier to play badly before we turn them off for a few weeks. Your move, Travis…Steele? Is that guy’s name Travis Steele?
- Providence and Butler play in an NIT bubble game the magnitude of which I am not sure we’ve ever seen on December 23rd. Grab your children. If you don’t have any grab someone else’s children (legally, if possible). Tell them what they are witnessing.
- If Seton Hall doesn’t blow it against Georgetown, we can count them back in the NIT groove. They’re kind of treating it like a half-pipe, now that we think about it: swinging back and forth but staying inside at all times. Seton Hawk’s Pro Skater.
- Northwestern, newly minted in-the-thick-of-it NIT team, visits Indiana. Will they lose by 20? 30? Just 10? We can’t wait to find out (if Northwestern wins this, eyebrows will be raised, and not in an approving manner).
- Boise State hosts New Mexico and BYU hosts Weber State in games involving mountainous bid contenders. Extra points in our hearts to anyone from BYU who calls Weber State the Beekeepers, and give us a call if you’re from Weber State and you’re calling Weber State the Beekeepers, because we’ve got a campaign to resurrect.
- No NIT notes tomorrow or Friday, but keep an eye on Michigan State on Christmas. A bad loss to the Badgers and they’re right where we want them. Similarly, Minnesota’s got a tricky visit from Iowa (see: Marquette, Villanova; above) and Maryland plays at Purdue (don’t even think about winning, Terps—you’re on the road). Good day for NIT-relevant action.
