We’ve made it to Selection Sunday. Here’s this morning’s NIT Bracketology. Final bracketology’s coming later today. We’ll get to the biggest questions for the morning, but first, here’s the NITuation:
Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song): Georgetown, St. John’s
Georgetown!!!! Why did you do that??
The Hoyas were in prime position. Surging. Would’ve been a trendy pick to win it all. But they couldn’t resist the siren’s song, and they’re now Big East Tournament champions, thereby disqualified from the NIT.
Alas.
Meanwhile, St. John’s got bumped by the Oregon State bid thieving. Still very close, though, as we’ll get to later.
Moving In: Memphis, Colorado State
Memphis was in dire straits for a bit there, but they pulled off the loss to Houston, and they’re now back in our graces. That was a close one.
Meanwhile, Colorado State may well have been bailed out by the Beavers. I expect there’ll be a nice gift basket headed to Corvallis.
Next in Line:
Below the field, from closest to close:
St. John’s
Richmond
Toledo
North Carolina State
Dayton
Kentucky
Stanford
Davidson
Providence
Navy
Belmont
Marshall
Next out of Line:
Above the field, from closest to close:
Wichita State
Utah State
Drake
UCLA
Virginia Tech
Maryland
Louisville
Syracuse
Oklahoma
Rutgers
Colgate (auto-bid if they’re up here)
Wisconsin
Florida
***
And that’s the NITuation.
Now, the questions:
If Colgate’s second half goes badly, what happens?
In NIT-land, this would constitute another bid thieving, because we’re assuming Colgate would get the call. Doesn’t look likely right now, but never say never when the NIT’s involved.
If our model’s wrong on Michigan State, who gets the call?
Our model could be wrong about a lot of teams, but Michigan State’s the one the media really doesn’t seem to think is NIT-bound. If the Spartans get conscripted into the other place, who from the Next out of Line list replaces them?
If Cincinnati wins?
Another bid thief possibility there, which would bump everyone down a rung.
What will the committee make of the sub-.500 teams?
Penn State’s the headliner—projected 4-seed, three games under the break-even mark—but Indiana’s also three games under .500, and Minnesota’s one game under.
Will there be opt-outs? And when will we hear?
This piece of the puzzle remains a mystery, to me at least. Granted, I haven’t really been on Twitter this morning.
How will the bracket be constructed?
Will there be four 1-seeds, four 2-seeds, etc.? A straight 1-16? Will rematch considerations be taken into account with the bracketing?
Will there be replacement NIT teams?
The scary fate for the top four is the possibility of getting yanked up into the other tournament. If they do…does someone replace them in the NIT? Again, when will we know?
How excited are you?
Hopefully the answer to this is “extraordinarily.” Bona NIT.
