The NIT fates giveth.
The NIT fates taketh away.
Blessed be the name of the NIT.
Our NIT Bracketology’s updated through yesterday’s games, and UNC’s gone. Michigan State’s back, though.
Here’s the NITuation:
Moving Out: UNC, Seton Hall, Tulsa
Seton Hall also won their way, at least temporarily, out of our grasp. Ever-elusive, those guys. Tulsa fell a long way, losing at home to UCF. Evidently they’re only 8-8 in Division-I games. Amazing they’ve stuck around this long. Props to the AAC.
Moving In: Boise State, Michigan State, Pitt
Great things happen in Reno, which is where Boise State fell to Nevada Friday night. Elsewhere, Michigan State avoided losing to Nebraska and Pitt played well enough at Virginia, pushing both up past scuffling competition around the cut line.
Moving Out (Auto-Bids): South Dakota State, Liberty, Bryant
Liberty’s no longer likely enough to lose their conference tournament. South Dakota State’s no longer likely to win its conference (in the regular season). Bryant stayed put but got passed by the teams below.
Moving In (Auto-Bids): Cleveland State, Texas State, South Dakota
South Dakota directly knocked out the Jacks, splitting a series in which they were supposed to get swept. Cleveland State is now just four games away from the HoLo crown, and has us checking tiebreakers as they lead Wright State by a game. (Disclaimer: This sentence was theoretical. We haven’t actually checked any tiebreakers.) Texas State’s back in the front of the Sun Belt after sweeping Arkansas-Little Rock in two games Tony Bennett would find slow.
Possible Automatic Bids Who Are on NIT Turf But Are Too Likely to Win Their Conference Tournament
Still just Marshall. Would project as a five-seed.
Close, on the High Side
The bubble in which those that miss the NIT get smited, and I mean to Hell, but they also go to the other tournament, which is even worse.
(I don’t know if I’ve been consistent with this, but today, the teams on the left are closer than the teams on the right, for the sake of my own brain processing my own writing.)
Close: Drake, UNC, Minnesota, Penn State
Closer: UConn, Maryland, Stanford, Seton Hall
Closest: VCU, LSU, Colorado State
Close, on the Low Side
We see you. We’re monitoring you. You’re not doing enough, though.
Close: Northwestern, Providence, Tulsa, San Francisco
Closer: Davidson, UAB, Notre Dame, Kentucky
Closest: Utah, Mississippi, Dayton, Mississippi State
***
And that’s the NITuation.
Other notes for today:
- Saint Louis beat St. Bonaventure, which should settle a lot of (well, probably just a few) stomachs in Missouri’s largest metro.
- Syracuse lost to Clemson handily. Jim Boeheim is rolling right now at this NIT thing. Syracuse does not budge.
- Georgia Tech pulled off a nice comeback against Notre Dame in Atlanta. Big miss for the Irish. Big miss for the Jackets too, but in a good way.
- Mississippi got a nice win at Auburn.
- St. John’s kept rolling, doing away with Providence in Providence (which is easier than you might think, considering how many waterways are in Providence).
- Mississippi State beat up South Carolina in Columbia, and in so doing forged closer to the promised land. Well done, old friend. We’re happy you are back in the NITuation.
- Drake almost lost to Valpo. We can taste them. Not in a pervy way or anything. Just like, their scent and stuff.
- Iowa plays at Indiana today. There’s this little piece of us that sees the NIT path for the Hawkeyes and is uncontrollably excited over it. There’s a larger piece too, of course, that says it can’t happen. But we don’t listen to that part.
- Boise State is still in Reno (what I would give…) and tries to avenge their loss this afternoon. By which I mean they definitely want to lose again so they can lock themselves in more thickly.
