Good news, everybody: Fargo barks again when she needs to poop, which is making me a lot less scared of her dropping a huge one on the floor like she did two weeks ago. Angel puppy. Sweet angel puppy.
We Don’t Know What’s Happening with Bellarmine (Last NITe)
Our impression is that Bellarmine is not magically getting an automatic bid to the NIT after last night’s win, and also that they aren’t even eligible for the NIT. The latter is a shame, but the former makes sense. The NIT rewards real conference champions—those that won their league’s regular season title. Getting hot at the right time doesn’t get you to the NIT. That’s what the junior tournament’s for.
Anyway, we’ll let you know if we hear anything saying Bellarmine’s getting a special NIT auto-bid, but so far we haven’t heard anything saying Bellarmine’s getting a special NIT auto-bid.
In other news last night, Bryant dodged us by winning their conference tournament, and Wagner took exception to the disrespect thusly shown to the history of college basketball. Malice in the Chace Athletic Center, they’re calling it.
South Dakota State also dodged us, which is a bummer because they could’ve been a contender. Alas. Sometimes, you win.
Clemson remained alive, but they’ve got a lot of work to do. Would guess they either need to beat Virginia Tech by a bazillion today or get all the way through Notre Dame. Maybe further.
And finally, Gonzaga won’t be getting an automatic bid this year. They’re hard to get, folks.
Conference Tournaments Bloom (ToNITe)
Holy butts there are a lot of games. Even more tomorrow, too, right?
Teams Trying to Win: Florida State, Utah State, Oregon, St. John’s, Vanderbilt, Washington State, Virginia
The majority of today’s NIT bubble action is coming from beneath. Florida State’s not in a bad place, but beating Syracuse might be enough to put them in a good place (12:00 PM EST, ESPN). Utah State needs multiple wins, and that starts against Air Force (3:30 PM EST, Mountain West Network). Oregon absolutely needs to beat Oregon State (5:30 PM EST, Pac-12 Networks). St. John’s almost definitely needs to beat DePaul (7:00 PM EST, FS1). Vanderbilt absolutely needs to beat Georgia (8:00 PM EST, SEC Network). Washington State absolutely needs to beat Cal (9:00 PM EST, Pac-12 Networks). Virginia probably needs to beat Louisville (9:30 PM EST, ESPN2). That’s our low end.
Teams Trying to Lose: Wake Forest, Xavier, Iona, Vermont
There are some games on the high end, too, though. Wake Forest could probably play their way in by losing to Boston College (2:30 PM EST, ESPN). Xavier might be able to crack the field with a loss to Butler (4:30 PM EST, FS1). Iona could grab an auto-bid with a loss to Rider (7:00 PM EST, ESPN+), while Vermont could do the same by magically figuring out how to lose to Binghamton (7:00 PM EST, ESPN+, this would be the most impressive loss I can remember). These are our favorites, because losses send fans limping dejectedly to Google to find out who else is in the NIT picture, and that means clicks and joy for us.
It’s Ambiguous: Virginia Tech
The weirdest one of the slate, and therefore our Game of the NITe, is Clemson vs. Virginia Tech (7:00 PM EST, ESPN2). We think Virginia Tech would still be ok with a win, but it could put them in a dicey position. Still, a loss could risk bringing more away games into their path to glory, making the road that much tougher for the NIT favorites. Tough one all around for the Hokies, but nobody said making the NIT is easy. Nobody has ever said that. If they said it, they misspoke. They definitely misspoke.
Automatic Bid Watch: Norfolk State, Colgate, Alcorn State
In other auto-bid possibilities, Norfolk State’s a huge favorite against Delaware State in their MEAC Tournament opener (6:00 PM EST, ESPN+), while Colgate hosts Navy in the Patriot League title game (7:30 PM EST, CBSSN) and Alcorn State opens the SWAC Tournament against Prairie View A&M (9:30 PM EST, ESPN+). Teams on the lower bubble will be watching these intently, I’m sure.
The Sens!
The Senators won last night in St. Louis, 4-1, with Tim Stützle and Josh Norris each registering three points. Anton Forsberg was strong again, Brady Tkachuk scored, and the fellas go back to Ottawa feeling great about themselves, as they always should because they’re lovely and we love them. Next game tomorrow night back home against Seattle.
***
The viewing schedule is pretty clear:
- 12:00 PM EST: Florida State vs. Syracuse, ESPN
- 2:30 PM EST: Wake Forest vs. Boston College, ESPN
- 4:30 PM EST: Xavier vs. Butler, FS1
- 7:00 PM EST: Game of the NITe, ESPN2
- 9:00 PM EST: Washington State vs. Cal, Pac-12 Networks
- 11:30 PM EST: Washington vs. Utah, Pac-12 Networks (Huskies have a ton of work to do but it’s theoretically possible)
Savor today. But leave room for tomorrow.
