Man.
This is awesome.
The NIT is back again, and for the first time since 2019, it’s happening in its full self. 32 teams. First three rounds at campus sites. South Carolina inexplicably left out of the field (this really does happen regularly with the NIT—great recurring bit by the committee).
We’ll go through all the teams in a minute, but first, we want to fill you in on the big NIT stories, because the unfortunate reality concerning sports media in this day and age is that you have been bombarded with propaganda all season hyping up that other tournament, meaning you may have missed the hot buzz us real college basketball fans are discussing today (if you’re really new to the NIT, here’s one of many a quick primer on why it’s the best). Three stories, beyond those surrounding the teams involved (I said we’d get to those, guy, stop asking when we’re gonna talk about Pitino, we’re gonna talk about Pitino down below):
1. The Bellarmine Saga
Bellarmine University, for those who don’t know, won the ASUN Conference tournament this year (a fun thing about the ASUN is that it used to be called the Atlantic Sun but recently changed its name; another fun thing about the ASUN is that it briefly tried to be the biggest conference in college sports). This was fun. It was exciting. It was a good run for Bellarmine, which was playing just its second season in the NCAA’s Division I, having previously been a D-II school. Everyone had a good time. Except for, ultimately, Bellarmine.
You see, there’s a rule in Division I sports that says you can’t play in NCAA postseason events for a certain “transition period” while you move up from a lower division, or in from NAIA or something like that. Bellarmine is still in that transition period. So, when they won the ASUN tournament, they didn’t get to go to the NCA* *********t, like most conference tournament champions do. That tragic fate went to the ASUN’s best postseason-eligible team, regular season champion Jacksonville State.
This was all well and good. Bellarmine knew that these were the rules. What Bellarmine evidently did not know was that these rules apply to the NIT as well, and that the NIT’s automatic bids for conference champions not conscripted into the NCA* *********t are reserved only for real conference champions, those who win the regular season title, rather than those who just get hot for a few games in March (no knock on Bellarmine for this—it’s just a lot easier to win a conference tournament than it is to win the full, regular season conference championship). And when Bellarmine found out, they were not happy.
There was a big (well, medium-sized) uproar, and some of it was justified. The transition rule is dumb. If the goal is to stop teams from bouncing up and down, just make a minimum period they have to stay in each division. But the solution to this is not to water down the NIT. The solution is to get rid of the rule and make the NCA* *********t take all conference tournament champions, since that’s evidently its thing. Bellarmine was right to be mad, but the NIT got caught in the crossfire.
Anyway, the whole thing ended with a very sad fifteen-minute press conference in which Bellarmine players (not Bellarmine coaches, who may have known the rule) talked about being sad. It didn’t work. No NIT for Bellarmine.
2. Bracket Complaints
Let’s get these out of the way too. You may think we’re going to talk about how Texas A&M fans are bummed they didn’t get invited to play in the less selective tournament. We aren’t worried about that, though. They’ll come around. What we want to talk about is the teams that have complaints with the actual NIT bracket. You can’t just become an NIT fan without knowing who’s pissed at the NIT! We all need to know what to be pissed about. Can’t just be pissed at anything. That starts happening and boom, we’re pissing all over the place.
South Carolina was projected by many bracketologists, our own Joe Stunardi included, to be comfortably in the NIT. They missed it. We don’t really know why. We think it’s because their NET and KenPom rankings aren’t great. NET and KenPom both try to predict how good teams actually are, rather than reflect how strong their résumés are, so South Carolina probably got a bit lucky this year but…they also won a lot of games. Some over some pretty good teams.
Similarly, Utah State and Washington State were not expected to be in the field. Many, Joe included, had them close, but neither had a whole lot of impressive wins, and Washington State actually had none. Not a single impressive win. Which is, paradoxically, kind of impressive. Maybe this was the difference. They, unlike South Carolina, had strong NET and KenPom rankings, so in they went. You could say the NIT cares about selecting the most competitive teams out there. It’s something you could say.
Finally, St. Bonaventure didn’t get a home game (the better-seeded 16 of the 32 teams each host in the first round, as long as their arena’s available), and again, it seems like NET and KenPom were the dagger. St. Bonaventure fans are furious, and you know what, I respect it. We need more fury around these parts. I feel worse for South Carolina, though. They’re a great NIT program, and this hampers their ability to try to inch one spot closer to St. John’s for the all-time lead in championships. I would cry conspiracy, but St. John’s was a semi-surprising omission themselves. Could that have been part of the master plan?
3. We Don’t Know Who’s Hosting in the Second and Third Round (Maybe)
The NIT, without warning, changed its bracket this year by doing away with seeds below the top four lines. It used to be that all 32 teams received a seed, 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 8. This year, just sixteen teams received seeds (1 and 2 and 3 and 4) while the rest were simply…in the field. It’s pretty likely this was done to make each matchup geographically close, which we support because 1) we like maps and 2) close geographic games get more attention and 3) reducing travel reduces cost which keeps teams from asking whether it’s worth it to play in the NIT. It does, however, create confusion, because if, say, Missouri State upsets Oklahoma and St. Bonaventure wins at Colorado, we don’t know who’ll host that next-round game. This, of course, is awesome. A perfect level of confusion where it adds some levity without actually making it hard to follow the tournament.
***
Ok, now you’re in the loop. Want to get more in the loop? Let’s tell you about the teams, starting in the top left of the bracket (on the selection show, they just kept referring to the regions by their place on the physical bracket, and it was fun so we’re sticking with it here).
Top-Left Region
Dayton
What to know:
Dayton’s the top overall seed, and if you think that makes them the favorite, wait until you hear that Malachi Smith might miss the tournament. How big a deal is this? Well, uhh, pretty big. Smith’s probably Dayton’s best player.
What else to know:
Back around New Year’s, I recorded a podcast with The College Basketball Stories where I told the tale of the 1970 NIT while getting progressively drunker on eggnog. The 1970 NIT was a turning point in NIT history, when Marquette coach Al McGuire took a stand for justice, opting to play in the NIT rather than in the farce that is the NCAA’s pet tournament. The NCAA clamped down after this, which eventually led to a lawsuit, which eventually led to the NCAA buying the NIT (you could consider this blog an NIT insurgency, in a way). Anyway, none of that has to do with Dayton except the guys who host the podcast are Dayton guys and they’re nice to me.
Toledo
What to know:
An automatic bid out of the MAC, Toledo plays fast and plays fun. In their last four regular season games, they averaged over 90 points per contest. They also sometimes go horrifically cold, like when Kent State went into their place a week before those last four regular season games and whooped ‘em like a mama bear defending her cubs.
What else to know:
Toledo is named the Rockets. Dayton is merely the Flyers. Creates some questions about firepower in this first-round matchup.
Vanderbilt
What to know:
Vanderbilt was a bit of a surprise inclusion, and certainly a surprise to be hosting a game. Their SEC Tournament upset over Alabama may have proven to be the difference.
What else to know:
“Vanderbilt is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt.”
That’s what Wikipedia says, anyway. Had to look it up since these guys, unlike Belmont (whose campus sits across Broadway) and Lipscomb (whose campus sits a mile to the south) haven’t been a big deal in the NIT for a minute.
Oh, also, Jerry Stackhouse is coaching Vandy now.
Belmont
What to know:
Boy oh boy, what a matchup. Right across the street! Wonder if the committee was going to give Belmont the game but decided to give it to Vandy because they’re in the same five blocks and Vandy has the funkier arena (that raised court has NIT fans all kinds of fired up). Gonna be a great game for the state of Tennessee, and I’m personally proud of everyone involved.
Belmont’s just kind of always a factor. They were in the Rick Byrd years, they are now under former point guard Casey Alexander (who was the Lipscomb coach when Lipscomb made the national title game in 2019, and yes we mean the NIT title game, are you implying there’s a difference), they may always be an NIT factor. Last year, they went 26-4 overall and got snubbed by the committee, but they’re back for more, and as is typical of a Belmont team, they’re pretty good. Not outrageously good, but pretty good.
What else to know:
I have told many of you this many times but Casey Alexander’s head looks like it is a basketball trying to disguise itself as a head. I love Casey Alexander. Also, one time when I was in Nashville a friend (hey, Peter!) told me to check out Belmont’s campus instead of Vanderbilt’s because it’s prettier, and he was right but the automatic lights in the Belmont bathrooms are on a real short timer and I’d eaten barbecue the night before so I, uh, I had to use the flashlight on my phone. Also also, Belmont’s a big school for those trying to get into the music industry. Unlike Vanderbilt, which is a big school for those trying to get into the industry of feeling unfulfilled by their college experience.
Florida
What to know:
If you haven’t watched Florida since the Billy Donovan days…they haven’t exactly turned into an NIT program (this is their first NIT since 2016, and only their second since 2009), but they’ve been consistently in the mix for a few years now.
What else to know:
The guy who’s had Florida in the NIT mix for a few years now, Mike White, is leaving Florida to coach at Georgia. Yes, Georgia. Florida’s biggest rival institution in the SEC. One of those situations, it seems, where Florida and White both thought it best to part ways. Al Pinkins will serve as the interim coach for the tournament.
Iona
What to know:
Iona’s a small school just up the Hudson from New York City that ran right through the MAAC this year and then did not run right through the MAAC Tournament. Hence, they’re with us. Aggressive team, scrappy, effectively-coached.
What else to know:
Iona’s coached by Rick Pitino, best known for being the father of 2014 NIT champion head coach Richard Pitino.
Xavier
What to know:
Xavier, now a Big East team (if you’ve been out of the loop), had one of the most improbable runs in the country to reach this NIT. Left for dead after Groundhog Day, they lost eight of their final ten games to plop on down firmly into our field.
What else to know:
Xavier will be playing in this year’s NIT!
Cleveland State
What to know:
The Horizon League regular season champions, Cleveland State continues the HoLo’s impressive streak of sending automatic bids to the NIT (in NIT’s with automatic bids, which is usually all of them but I don’t know if you heard there was this pandemic and it kind of messed up the 2020 and 2021 NIT’s and…), the longest such streak in the nation.
What else to know:
Recently, the Horizon League changed its tournament format to try to make it easier for the best teams to win, thereby theoretically giving the low-major conference a stronger representative in the *other* tournament. Didn’t work. They are stuck with us, and now it’s a little bit awkward.
Bottom-Left Region
Oklahoma
What to know:
Oklahoma was all over the place in projections this year, not because they’re inconsistent but because the Big 12’s a hard league to play in, so a couple wins and losses in the right spots make a big, big difference. Many thought they were headed to the other tournament after they beat Baylor last week. Big break for them to avoid that fate.
What else to know:
Oklahoma’s coached by Porter Moser, the Loyola guy. Sister Jean did not join him in Norman. I wonder if he asked.
Missouri State
What to know:
Missouri State plays in the Missouri Valley Conference, best known currently as the home of famed March sensations (in that other tournament, largely, blech) Loyola and Northern Iowa and Valparaiso and Bradley and Southern Illinois and Indiana State and did Drake ever make some noise up there? Wouldn’t know. I have taste. They were a fine squad this year, and we welcome them to our shores.
What else to know:
Missouri State is located in Springfield, down in the southwestern corner of the state. We stayed in Springfield last March the night before we picked up our puppy, Fargo. Missouri State is Fargo’s hometown team. Will she pick them to win it all? We’ll see. Plan is to record her bracket picks tomorrow.
Colorado
What to know:
The Buffs had high preseason expectations. They had low early and mid-season results. They put it together down the stretch, though, and now they’re with us.
What else to know:
Colorado plays at a high elevation, which would be a big problem for a team unexpectedly playing a road game far from their low-elevation home.
St. Bonaventure
What to know:
St. Bonaventure is unexpectedly playing a road game far from their low-elevation home.
What else to know:
The Bonnies have one of the most notoriously fierce followings in college hoops, especially among mid-majors. These people love Bona basketball. Love it. They’re in upstate New York, so if they do get through to the Final Four…could be good for attendance.
Mississippi State
What to know:
There’s an argument to be made that Mississippi State is the preeminent NIT program of our time. They made the Final Four in 2018. They made the championship last year. Is this when they finally break through?
What else to know:
Mississippi State is coached by Ben Howland, the old UCLA guy. Remember him? Coached those Russell Westbrook teams? Ben Howland. Come on. You remember!
Virginia
What to know:
In 2019, Virginia won that other tournament. This year, they try to take a step forward as a program.
What else to know:
Tony Bennett, their coach, is not that Tony Bennett. Very handsome, though. Known for being very handsome. Feel like there are probably some weird middle-aged UVA fans out there saying inappropriate things about Tony Bennett. Just a hunch. We, thankfully, don’t objectify like they do. We like Tony Bennett because his pack line defense sometimes keeps games in the 40’s and games that low-scoring make us giggle.
North Texas
What to know:
North Texas is a late entry to the NIT picture, falling to Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA semifinals after losing to UTEP last weekend in El Paso. Heroic stuff. Great last-ditch effort to come our way. They’re a great mid-major, and they play the way a lot of great mid-majors do: Slow, with good defense and a lot of three-point buckets. Also adept at getting to the free throw line.
What else to know:
North Texas has a huge music program. One of those weird things you learn if you move to Texas. Lot of music folks up in Denton (also, good Waffle House up there, and it’s right where 35W and 35E reconnect so if you’re driving up from Texas into the Midwest and you want food before you get into the barren lands south of Oklahoma City, it’s the ideal stopping point).
Texas State
What to know:
Texas State, Sun Belt champions.
What else to know:
Texas State is down in San Marcos, which is the target of a footrace between San Antonio’s urban sprawl and Austin’s urban sprawl. First one there gets to claim it as a suburb. Lot of mental health professionals in Austin went to Texas State. Not that NIT fans have unusually poor mental health or anything. Not that it’d be bad if they did, though. I go to therapy, I find it helpful even when I’m feeling good already, you should think about trying it out. My therapist went to Texas State. So did Lyndon B. Johnson. The big two.
Top-Right Region
SMU
What to know:
SMU put together an excellent bubble résumé this year, which is to say they did absolutely nothing that stands out on paper. They were the guy who brings pretzels to a party. Not unique pretzels, either. Just a bag from the grocery store. Rold Gold.
What else to know:
SMU’s on the edge of a really affluent neighborhood of Dallas that’s so affluent it decided to become its own town so it wouldn’t have to finance the rest of the city’s operations. There are a lot of rich schools out there in the world, but few are known as purely for being rich schools as SMU is known for being a rich school. With more of them, it’s like, “Hey, that’s a really good school and it’s also rich,” but with SMU, it’s like, “Hey, that’s a really rich school and I have no idea how good it is which makes me think it’s probably mostly just rich.”
Nicholls State
What to know:
Nicholls State’s a little public school down in Thibodaux, Louisiana, right along Bayou Lafourche. This is south, south, SOUTH Louisiana. The food is purportedly quite good.
What else to know:
Nicholls got in via winning the Southland Conference. Big underdog against SMU.
Washington State
What to know:
Wazzu was on the bubble, they made it, they somehow got to play at home. Same situation as Vanderbilt, we already talked about this up top. They won just one game this year over an NIT-at-large-or-better squad, but they’re expected to be a tough out. Solid team, just a bit unlucky.
What else to know:
Part of what figures to make the Cougars a tough out is their coach, Kyle Smith, who’s a big figure in the field of analytics-driven college basketball. If Casey Alexander’s disguise gets ripped off and it’s revealed he’s secretly a basketball, don’t be surprised if Kyle Smith’s concealment is the next to go, leaving a void of 1’s and 0’s scrolling feverishly in the place in the space-time continuum formerly occupied by this man’s human form.
Santa Clara
What to know:
Santa Clara plays in the WCC, best known as the league that produced 2018 NIT Final Four participant Saint Mary’s and frequent NIT appearer BYU and no other college basketball programs of any note unless you’re a big Loyola Marymount fan, which is fair. LMU was cool back in the day. And I mean, I guess Pacific plays out that way too, and Pepperdine had some good years, and San Diego was fun for us in 2019. Plus there’s Portland, and we have friends who work for Portland, and there’s San Francisco, the former NIT favorites (oh, crap, I need to name a favorite since Virginia Tech didn’t end up making it, I’ll do that in today’s notes, published in a few hours), but beyond those nine…quiet league. Nobody else noteworthy beyond those nine. Nobody else who’s made an NIT in the last 23 years.
What else to know:
Santa Clara’s in the Bay Area. Down by San José.
Saint Louis
What to know:
SLU, as it’s known, is one letter away from being named STU.
What else to know:
In the Billikens’ A-10 quarterfinal victory over St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis player Jordan Nesbitt reportedly yelled some terrible things at Bonnie cheerleaders. Unclear what exactly went down there, but it was a controversy, and we’ll be on the lookout for Nesbitt becoming the archnemesis of cheerleaders worldwide, which would be quite a plot development.
Northern Iowa
What to know:
UNI, home of the UNI-Dome, won the Missouri Valley this year. Topped Loyola, who has to play in that other tournament. Makes you think.
What else to know:
My godmother went to Northern Iowa.
BYU
What to know:
They couldn’t stay away for long. After making the NIT three straight years between 2016 and 2018, the Cougars have been on a drought lately, but Mark Pope has broken it and Provo is ready to party.
What else to know:
BYU hasn’t made it past the first round of the NIT since 2016.
Long Beach State
What to know:
Big West Champions, Long Beach State plays in the same conference as UC-Riverside, best known (actually, maybe) for being the alma mater of Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Joe Kelly.
What else to know:
Long Beach State’s baseball teams are called the Dirtbags but the rest of their teams are the 49ers and that’s dumb. Call them all the Dirtbags. It’s way cooler.
Bottom-Right Region
Texas A&M
What to know:
A&M, coached by Buzz Williams (interesting dude, great coach, named Buzz), was a surprising inclusion in this field. Many thought they’d played themselves out of the NIT when they beat Arkansas on Saturday. Thankfully for them, here they are. Good team. Might be the NIT favorite (again, we’ll get to this later).
What else to know:
Texas A&M is America’s second-largest public university and possibly America’s largest cult. “Ooh, yeah, make the easy joke!” We aren’t joking about the NIT, Aggies.
Alcorn State
What to know:
SWAC Champions Alcorn State are the only HBCU represented in this year’s NIT. Their band is called the Sounds of Dyn-O-mite and they’re the alma mater of Medgar Evers, Donald Driver, and Steve McNair.
What else to know:
Back in the 1979 NIT, Alcorn State took down Mississippi State in the first round and nearly beat Indiana in the quarterfinals.
Utah State
What to know:
Utah State, though a surprise appearer here, is expected to contend. They beat Oklahoma in the championship game of November’s prestigious Myrtle Beach Invitational, and if that doesn’t say these guys are good, I don’t know what does. Justin Bean is, as the kids say, a walking bucket, making 48% of his threes this year and standing 6’7”.
What else to know:
Utah State is coached by Ryan Odom, best known for being the son of Dave Odom, a three-time NIT champion himself (won it once at Wake Forest then won back-to-back titles at South Carolina in the early 2000’s); and second-best known for being the former head coach at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, which is colloquially known as UMBC.
Oregon
What to know:
Oregon, at one point this year, swept a series in Los Angeles against UCLA and USC. They also beat UCLA in Eugene just a few weeks ago. UCLA is considered by many to be a contender in the other tournament. Make of this what you will.
What else to know:
Back in the 2019 NIT, Oregon played Marquette in the second round and Marquette scheduled it in the Al McGuire Center rather than the Bradley Center. The teams combined for 193 points. I watched at the Pizza Hut sports bar across the street from my apartment with friends. The bartender didn’t show up to work so some kid from the kitchen poured us drinks. Marquette went on to lose to 2018 NIT champion Penn State in the next round.
VCU
What to know:
VCU plays some ferocious defense. Turns the ball over like mad and can’t score to save their lives, but they play defense with teeth.
What else to know:
VCU’s a huge public school. Bigger than UVA. Also has an arts department in Qatar. Not kidding. Is this a thing? Do other schools do this? I’m seeing that it’s in a place called Education City. Sounds pretty lame. I didn’t go to school to get an education. I went to school to…watch the NIT? Not sure where I was going with this. We just crossed the four-thousand-word mark. Thank you for sticking this out I promise we’re almost done.
Princeton
What to know:
Princeton won the Ivy League. Disciplined team that, stereotypically I know but it’s true, doesn’t make many mistakes and shoots the ball well. Tough matchup for VCU, but the Tigers do have to go down to Richmond for it.
What else to know:
Albert Einstein once coached (academics, not basketball) at Princeton (wasn’t on the faculty but I think they told me he taught a class there). Now, they’re in the NIT. Coincidence?
Wake Forest
What to know:
The Demon Deacons were viewed by many as a safe non-NIT team until the season’s closing weeks, when they lost four of seven, culminating in a loss to Boston College in the ACC Tournament. The Deacs are led by ACC Player of the Year Alondes Williams and coached by ACC Coach of the Year Steve Forbes.
What else to know:
The way Wake Forest announced they hired Steve Forbes was to record this video at the peak of pandemic lockdowns.
Towson
What to know:
Towson is a lively low-major, champion of the Colonial Athletic Association and one of the nation’s best teams when it comes to creating second-chance shots.
What else to know:
Towson’s football field is named after Johnny Unitas, but Johnny Unitas didn’t go there. Three of his kids did, though. Towson’s on the outskirts of Baltimore. Another one of those sneaky-big schools.
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Alright, we did it. That’s all 32 teams. Man. What a crew. If you’re looking for more NIT content, you’re in the right place, it’s all around you on this site and it’s coming out by the hour(-ish, have to go do a tax thing now so will be AWOL for a few). Also, we have an NIT Bracket Challenge, so please enter that. I promise you will have the best time you have ever had involving an NIT Bracket Challenge.
Savor these moments. Before the first whistle sounds. The NIT doesn’t come around every year.
