It’s dangerous to start writing one of these as Michigan State holds onto an ugly eight-point lead against Oakland at the half, and it’s also dangerous to start something with “blue bloods” in the title by talking about Michigan State. NIT blogging, though, has never been about letting fear win. The NIT status of blue bloods *and blue blood-adjacent programs,* so I don’t have to argue between the two (my favorite direction to take that argument is to speculate on the quantity of genetic diversity in each team’s gene pool):
- UConn: This is not the year.
- Kansas: Also not the year.
- Duke: It’s possible, actually. They don’t have any obviously good wins so far, and they have the bad loss against Georgia Tech. We’re still not positive if Jon Scheyer is a good coach. If he isn’t? The Blue Devils could be in business.
- Gonzaga: The NIT is always possible if you play in a low-major or mid-major league (or the present ACC). There are so many bad losses available to you.
- UNC: *chuckles* Not there yet, but they were also only four games over .500 at this point last year. We’re very much hoping. Great final possession against Kentucky. Speaking of whom…
- Kentucky: I don’t think we’re going to get them this year, but man oh man, would it be funny if Louisville beat them on Thursday. That would be the funniest thing. If that happens, we’re all in on the Cats. And the Cards! We are very easy to convince when it comes to the chances of well-followed teams making the NIT. At the end of the day, we don’t want to do this alone.
- Michigan State: Beating a very good Baylor team by 24 points is not how to make the NIT. We were ready for it, but it still stings, and making matters worse, the Big Ten doesn’t look as good as it’s recently been, lowering the possibility of MSU going 16–16 and getting left to us on optics. They’re going to have to earn it, and while they’ve been doing great work towards that end, they’re pointed in the wrong direction right now.
- UCLA: The Bruins are in prime position, but Mick Cronin has zoomed right past us before. We are wary. Very interested in a loss to Cal State-Northridge or Oregon State over these next ten days. One of those would make us believe.
- St. John’s: You think we aren’t including the most championship-winning program in history in this list? Fuck you! St. John’s is in the best place they’ve been in for decades. I’m dreaming it. You’re dreaming it. We’re all dreaming it. Title number 7 for the Johnnies.
- Indiana: Winning the NIT? Unlikely. Making the NIT? The Hoosiers look strong. And these guys lead the Big Ten! The best team in one of the best conferences in the country isn’t good enough to win the NIT. Says a lot, folks.
- McNeese: Not adjacent to blue bloods, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared of Will Wade embezzling money away from the NIT. That is the second-biggest threat to the NIT’s continued existence at this time.
RIP D.J. Smith (Fired, Not Dead)
There should be an acronym that means Rest in Peace but for when a coach gets fired. Because I’m guessing none of you follow the Ottawa Senators, and so how would you have known he was alive if I hadn’t clarified? Then, you might have seen him on the street, and *that* would have been scary.
Yes, the Sens finally fired their coach today, leaving Sens fans with a big ol’ feeling of, “What do we do now?” As for me and my house: We will wonder if the game against the Coyotes is tonight or tomorrow, then shrug our shoulders and go for a walk.
As with most coach firings, it’s probably the right move. This is something I think the British get right: Firing coaches usually works. Why do I think this? Because hiring them usually goes wrong.
Burnley Should Have Kept Sean Dyche
When firing doesn’t work? Goodness. Everton would be three points out of a spot in the Europa League (the European NIT) if Everton hadn’t broken all those financial rules before Dyche got there. Sean Dyche is crushing it at Everton. Horrible day for the haters. Horrible day for Burnley, too, but mostly because of how sad it is. Burnley sacrificed their icon in a bid to avoid relegation, got relegated anyway, became attached to a new guy and a new way of playing footie, and are now leagues worse than the coach they fired, a man whose way of approaching the sport was said to resemble that of a dinosaur. Dinosaurs are fun and cool! This sucks.
The Broncos Are Dead Again
Thankfully, the Broncos lost this weekend, and they lost in embarrassing fashion, getting whooped by the Lions. (And the Lions just lost to the Bears! And before that to the Packers! And the Packers really stink now.) The Broncos are likelier again to miss the playoffs than they are to make them. That’s where we want Sean Payton, an overrated coach who happens to be a huge jackass (this is why you don’t forbid bucket hats, Sean; the Crow does not forget).
In related news: I’m not sure I like Denver. If you want to be in the mountains, why wouldn’t you live somewhere actually in the mountains, instead of right next to them? If you want good Midwestern food, why wouldn’t you live in the Midwest? Earlier this year, someone said Denver feels a lot like Austin but if you took away all the racial minorities. I would add that they also took away some of the fun things that come from being in Texas. (Music! Barbecue! Getting to look down on other states for never having won their own individual war for independence!) Austin has its issues, and those issues are growing, but that’s kind of the point with Denver. Denver is just a really white version of Austin that already has a lot of those issues. It’s like if you took Chicago, Austin, and Missoula and made all three of them a little less cool.
Nothing against it, though. Would probably live comfortably there. Then again, I’m super white.* Would be easy to fit in.
*This is different from being A Super White, which is not an idea any of us endorse.
