The National Invitation Tournament returns toNITe. 32 teams. 31 games. 30 Major League baseball teams who wish their sport had an NIT. 29 days in February this year. 28 days in February most years. 27 years into the last century when the Yankees peaked. 26 wins for New Mexico this year was one too many. 25 geese a-laying. 24 years ago that in the wasteland which followed Y2K, Dave Odom lifted his first NIT trophy of many. 23, like Michael Jordan. 22, like Joe Bamisile. 21, like Sammy Sosa. 20 swans a-swimming. 19 years in the Great Celtic Year. 18. 17 days. 16 teams who will win an NIT game. 15 iPhones. 14 disciples if you count Matthias and throw Mary Magdalene a bone. 13 clones of Taylor Swift. 12 donuts in a dozen. 11 months that wish they were associated with the NIT. 10 plays in the SportsCenter Top 10 which will come from the NIT Championship. 9 players in the average college basketball rotation. 8 teams who will play into next week. 7 pipers piping. 6 fouls allowed per player if the ref misattributes one to the wrong guy. 5 players on the court for each team. 4 teams going to Indianapolis. 3 kings bringing gifts at the NIT nativity play. 2 championship finalists……..
One NIT champion.
It’s the greatest tournament in college basketball history, the most selective tournament in the modern game, and the only tournament which makes millions each year leap to their feet in admiration, chanting congratulations to their foes with those magic three letters we will all call, in unison, in Indianapolis in two short weeks.
N–I–T! N–I–T! N–I–T! N–I–T!
Things to know:
- First round tonight and tomorrow. Second round this weekend. Quarterfinals next week. Final Four the following week.
- The Final Four’s at Hinkle Fieldhouse this year, in Indianapolis. Maybe you’ve heard of it if you love basketball and watched Hoosiers 46 times as a kid, often while visiting your grandparents.
- Many are calling this the greatest NIT field they’ve seen in years. We aren’t kidding about that. The combination of the tight NC*A Tournament bubble and the changes in format have led to a situation where Cornell, the worst team in this on paper, would be favored by twelve over their NCAA *ournament counterpart. (See? More selective.)
More storylines, team by team:
Seton Hall: Does Anyone Have More Dog in ‘Em Than These Guys?
While St. John’s was announcing it doesn’t like basketball, Seton Hall’s five senior starters were deciding they were going to play in the NIT. Last chance to play together. Last chance to bring Seton Hall its first national championship since 1953, when the Pirates beat? You guessed it. St. John’s.
Saint Joseph’s: Will Erik Reynolds Drop 40?
Erik Reynolds was the early star of the Atlantic 10 Tournament, which is funny to me because I knew a guy named Erik Reynolds in college and I once accidentally wore his suit jacket home from a dance and proceeded to get maple syrup all over it. When I brought it to him the next day, he wasn’t mad at all. He was so happy to have not lost the jacket he needed for job interviews that week that he was unaffected emotionally by the syrup. And yes, he also spelled it Erik. With a k.
The Hawk Will Never Die, you know. (If you’re unfamiliar with Saint Joe’s—the Hawk will be there tomorrow night and he will be flapping his wings without ceasing. It’s a sight.)
LSU: How Does Pistol Pete Feel About Caitlin Clark Getting All This Shine?
Pete Maravich, Rest in Peace, finished his own college basketball career in the 1970 NIT, commonly known as the greatest NIT of all time. The final points of Maravich’s 3,667 came in a semifinal loss to eventual champion Marquette (he did not play in third-place game loss to Bob Knight and Army due to ankle and hip injuries). Maravich famously did all this without being allowed to play as a freshman, and he did it before the three-point line and the shot clock. Will Pistol Pete return from the grave tonight, show up at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and reignite LSU’s passion for men’s hoops? If not, it’ll be a tough opener for the Tigers, going against the defending champs.
North Texas: Can the Mean Green Repeat?
A surprise inclusion in the field, Ross Hodge’s Mean Green are back after Grant McCasland’s Mean Green (ft. Ross Hodge) won it all last year. The team has a different look—no Tylor Perry, no Kai Huntsberry—but Rubin Jones, the winningest player in North Texas basketball history, returns, as do Aaron Scott, Moulaye Sissoko, and a few others looking to become only the third program in college basketball history to win back-to-back NIT titles.
Providence: Can Kim English Top Ed Cooley Already??
If you’ve followed Providence at all this year, you know that the main story is their old head coach, Ed Cooley, or as I like to call him, their old Ed coach. Cooley left Providence under controversial circumstances, and the Friars felt betrayed. But if Kim English can win two NIT games this year? He’ll have already matched Cooley’s total from twelve seasons at the Ocean State’s premier college basketball program. Providence didn’t lose much, you guys.
Boston College: Will the First Round Success Continue?
In Boston College’s NIT history, they’ve only been bounced in the first round twice. The first time happened in 1965, when they lost to eventual champion St. John’s (St. John’s has won a lot of NIT’s). The last happened in 2018, when they lost to eventual Final Four-ist Western Kentucky. Few programs have proven themselves consistently capable of advancing in this thing like Boston College has. And yet?
And yet the Eagles are still looking for that elusive first ring. (Watch, actually, if they’re still doing that. Not a ring. They give out watches.)
Princeton: Back Home to Indiana?
Mitch Henderson was born in Indiana and went to high school at Culver, a military academy. (This prompts the question: Was Mitch Henderson poorly behaved as a youth?) This was before he turned down the Yankees to play hoops at Princeton. Mitch Henderson has lived quite a life. Could it lead him back to his home state in pursuit of Princeton’s first NITle in 49 years? Or will the Tigers’ drought hit 50?
UNLV: 90’s on 90’s
Matching up with Princeton in the first round is UNLV, another basketball program who dreamt big dreams between 1990 and 1999. These two even played each other in an exhibition in March of 1998, towards the end of Henderson’s senior year. Is UNLV back? It’ll have to go through its past to get there. (Bonus storyline: Kevin Kruger is Lon Kruger’s son. Can he bring the family its first NIT crown?)
Wake Forest: Can the Deacs Handle the Expectations?
We have NIT probabilities, in another sign that this has all gone way too far. I haven’t seen the betting odds yet, but our model has named Wake Forest the favorite. How will a team that lost to Notre Dame immediately after its biggest win all season handle that label?
Another thing to watch with Wake (beyond whether they’d be loyal to democracy in a Revolutionary War rematch—Cam Hildreth is British) is what happens if Kyle Filipowski trips a third person over in the other tournament. Every time Kyle Filipowski has controversially collided this year, Wake’s fortunes have immediately done a 180. Makes. You. Think.
Appalachian State: Is This the Sun Belt’s Moment?
I don’t think an active Sun Belt team has ever won an NIT. I’m pretty confident about it. Southern Miss was in the Metro Conference when they won theirs. But that will soon change! The Sun Belt’s on the rise. It caught up to a lot of mid-major leagues in football. It put together two good college basketball teams this year (RIP JMU). Are Dustin Kerns and Myles Tate going to make the Fun Belt the next great basketball league?
Georgia: A Full-Circle Moment?
The first college basketball game of the season happened between Oregon and Georgia on Monday, November 6th. We all watched N’Faly Dante dominate the paint. We all realized Blue Cain really looks like he should be named Blue Cain. With the NIT Championship the conclusion of the meaningful college basketball year, will we come back to where we started? Not that they’d play Oregon. But South Florida and San Francisco are green and gold, too!
Xavier: Can They Justify Their Inclusion?
The haters are out for Xavier, who is 16–17 overall, and to be clear, the haters don’t come for the 2022 national champions. Jack Nunge is off-limits. We will decimate the haters. There are a lot of eyes on Seton Hall and Providence in this Big East Revenge Tour, but many who know ball are saying Xavier’s just as good, if not better. Also, Quincy Olivari’s from Atlanta. One of the most sensational players in the tournament going back to the Peach State to try to keep his college career going? We told you there’d be storylines.
Virginia Tech: They’ll Play Enter Sandman Tonight…Right?
Virginia Tech’s hosting in-state Richmond in the first meeting between the two in 15 years (Seth Greenberg was still in Blacksburg the last time this went down). Cassell Coliseum will be loud…right? It’ll be fired up? You guys are gonna lean into this? Please lean into this, Virginia Tech. Please.
(We have reason to believe Ken Pomeroy loves Sean Pedulla’s game, by the way.)
Richmond: Capital of Virginia?
Nominally, Richmond is the capital of Virginia. But with two NIT trophies apiece in Charlottesville and Blacksburg, the Spiders have work to do. Rivalry narratives like this one are funny, because although Richmond’s small, it’s also much whiter-collar than Virginia Tech, especially historically. Is it really an underdog story if the little guy has a bunch of students called Trey because they’re the third in their lineage? The great socioeconomic question of the NIT.
Ohio State: Can Jake Diebler Win a National Championship in His 13th Game as Head Coach?
Former interim, now full-time head coach Jake Diebler is 6–2 so far with the Buckeyes, with wins over Purdue, Michigan State, and Nebraska. We’ve had interims win the NIT before, or at least one—Jonas Hayes in 2022—but has a new hire ever done it? Jake Diebler’s championships per game ratio could be historic.
(Bonus: Could Ohio State meet Thad Matta in the national championship?)
Cornell: What Will Become of the NIT Debutant?
Besides Princeton, there hasn’t been a lot of Ivy League participation in the NIT. And people call them smart! *scoffs* Cornell is playing in its first ever NIT, looking to become the fourth Ivy League team to win an NIT game. Brian Earl’s tied for being the newest face among the Ivies, meaning: He’s only been the coach there for eight years. The Ivy League is the platonic ideal of college hoops for the nostalgic among us. Double round robin. Same coaches every season. Not a lot of transferring.
You can see why last-place Dartmouth felt the need to push the sport even further into the future. They needed to try something!
(Expect Chris Manon to get a lot of deserved attention on tonight’s broadcast. The man is exhilarating.)
Indiana State: It’s Not Just Robbie Avila
Isaiah Swope. Ryan Conwell. All the other guys on this team. We see you.
But yeah, Robbie Avila’s the story here. Chicago kid, playing in Terre Haute, has a chance to win a title in Indianapolis. It appears Cream Abdul-Jabbar is the most popular nickname for the guy. He is a beast. And for those who fawned over him only to abandon him now that he’s not in their preferred tournament? Shame. Shame, I say!
SMU: Can Rob Lanier’s Team Play Spoiler?
SMU is tough. Very, very tough. They’re like Houston if you took away the offensive talent, turned down the athleticism a bit, and replaced it with Zhuric Phelps chucking all the time, possibly out of necessity. SMU has a path that could go Indiana State, Butler, and then possibly Cincinnati, Bradley, or Loyola Chicago. SMU is out to ruin this NIT for the Corn Belt. They aren’t villains…
…yet.
Butler: Will the Torch Get Passed?
Butler’s hosting the NIT Final Four, which history shows us is a great way to win an NIT championship. How do you think St. John’s became the greatest program in college basketball history before Rick Pitino defiled them with shocking haste? There’s speculation that Hinkle could be a long-term host for this sacred event, given how much Indiana loves college basketball. Is this the beginning of a Butler dynasty? They’ll have to make their first NIT Final Four in school history to make it happen. And most of those games will likely not be played in friendly climes.
Minnesota: Can the Gophers Assert Their Claim to History?
Minnesota’s an interesting NIT program. They get overshadowed a lot because one of the titles was vacated, but they’re among the chosen few schools with three NIT championships to their name. Only seven schools can say that. Minnesota is one of them. What makes this even more impressive is that prior to 1973, Minnesota had never made the NIT, and that prior to 1993, they were only 7–5 in the tournament all-time. The Gophers are a premier college basketball program. They just need to remind us of that.
Bradley: Can Bradley Catch St. John’s?
The official leaderboard for NIT championships looks like this:
- St. John’s: 5
- Bradley: 4
- Dayton: 3
- Stanford: 3
The unofficial leaderboard looks different, because St. John’s, LIU, Michigan, and Minnesota have each vacated a title. (If you want to talk about college sports being the “Wild West,” go look at what was going down during the 90s. It’s a mix of the most innocuous and the most vile. Pure college sports, really). The official leaderboard, though…
Bradley could nominally catch the Johnnies.
Also: My impression is that Malevy Leons is pronounced like Malachi but with a v, and then lay-ONS. That’s my impression. Poor Tom Crean got put in a blender with that on Sunday.
Loyola Chicago: Can We Just Call Them Loyola Now?
I’m confused about the branding here. Growing up outside Chicago, this was just Loyola, and I know that’s a regional thing, but they’ve done more than the Loyola in Maryland, and Loyola Marymount has a second word in its name. I say that if they can make the NIT Final Four, we just call them Loyola now. Except…they’re steering into the Chicago branding? Lot of L–U–C chants. Hmm.
Bonus: Loyola and Bradley were longtime Missouri Valley Conference rivals. Many have called tomorrow’s game World War 3. Which, if you’re wondering, does imply that Sister Jean will be bringing a nuclear weapon to Peoria. The NIT: We don’t take this shit lightly.
Cincinnati: How About That New Home Court?
Last year, Cincinnati didn’t host any NIT games despite being in line to host three of them. They were replacing their home court. Experts say the program was always focusing on 2024.
This year? They can host at least twice. Three times, if Indiana State goes down above them in the bracket. Aziz Bandaogo eliminated the Bearcats last year in Orem. Will he carry them through in ’24?
San Francisco: Still Moneyballing?
Chris Gerlufsen coached under Todd Golden before succeeding him as San Francisco’s head coach. Golden of course comes from the Kyle Smith tree, and Kyle Smith constitutes the moneyball trunk of the great oak that is Randy Bennett’s coaching lineage. Gerlufsen, though, doesn’t get a lot of moneyball talk. Smith gave us opportunities to talk analytics the last two years. Will Gerlufsen provide any of the same?
(San Francisco won the 1949 NIT. Beat Loyola in the championship. Loyola Chicago, that is.)
Villanova: NIT Revenge Tour?
Justin Moore didn’t play in Villanova’s first round loss last year to Liberty. Was too banged up. Does he play tomorrow? Does Finneran Pavilion get noisy? Does Kyle Neptune silence the haters with an NIT title? (Spoiler: Few haters are silenced by NIT titles, unfortunately.) Villanova has yet to win an NIT championship in my lifetime. Does that change in Indianapolis?
VCU: Was Ryan Odom Born for This?
Ryan Odom is the head coach at VCU. Ryan Odom’s dad, Dave Odom, was the head coach at East Carolina, Wake Forest, and South Carolina. In those latter two stops, Dave Odom won three NIT’s in seven years. His career record in NIT games was 21–3! He is the most successful head coach of his generation and possibly the one before it as well. Dave Odom is NIT royalty.
Ryan has a lot to live up to.
UCF: Can Johnny Dawkins Do It Again?
Dave Odom’s got someone knocking on his door, and that someone is Johnny Dawkins. A two-time NIT champion at Stanford, Dawkins also led UCF to that unforgettable 2017 NIT Final Four (that was a Tacko Fall year). Whether Dawkins is long for the job in Orlando is, somehow, up for debate. It would be ridiculous for UCF to fire him, but reports said NCAA T*urnament or bust, and nobody said UCF was all that bright an institution. How much harder will he make it for those idiots to let him go?
South Florida: Can the Bulls Make Their First Final Four?
If South Florida doesn’t make the NIT Final Four, they will become one of only six programs to have played in this event nine or more times without making the semifinals. The way Amir Abdur-Rahim’s coaching, it’s only a matter of time. But is that time now?
(Also, that guy’s name is Kasean Pryor. If you haven’t watched South Florida this year, just remember that the guy’s name is Kasean Pryor. This will make more sense when you turn on your first South Florida game.)
((Also, also: We don’t usually call South Florida ‘USF’ in basketball because San Francisco also goes by that. Too confusing. Fine for football, though.))
Iowa: Can Fran Win His First?
I’m a Fran McCaffery guy. Sorry, haters, but Fran got mad yesterday at the very suggestion of talking about teams declining NIT invitations, and my sources at Iowa indicate he is a very good man to his people. I come from an Iowa State family, and I support Fran McCaffery, and I will not apologize for it.
McCaffery made it to the championship in 2013. It’s a long way back.
Bonus: Owen Freeman rocks. Rocks, rocks, rocks. Very fun to watch. I’ve said this elsewhere but he seems like the kind of big man who’ll start trying to broaden his skillset for the sake of his eventual professional career. So. Enjoy him now. College basketball big.
Kansas State: Will Tylor Perry Become the First Ever Repeat NIT MVP?
No one has done it before. Ever. Tylor Perry could be the first.
There’s also the Jerome Tang overtime thing.
There’s also the fact that this university saw a protest on their president’s lawn because of this basketball team?
This has been quite the year in Manhattan.
Which reminds me!
If K-State wins and UC Irvine wins, we might have the NIT back in Manhattan.
Utah: Ok But What If Rollie Worster Plays?
The storyline for Utah ever since January 11th has been that Rollie Worster is hurt. We have asked consistently whether and when he’ll come back. Suddenly, nobody is asking?? What the hell, guys.
And so, we must ask. (If he doesn’t, the main story becomes that Branden Carlson graduated high school in…I think it was 2017? Not one of those seven-year college guys. Rather: One of those post-high school LDS mission guys.)
UC Irvine: Zot.
The Anteaters were early on the “kick the shit out of Andy Enfield” train, which is nice for us because we haven’t let his 2018 NIT attitude go. The people’s champion, UC Irvine was firmly on the bubble entering Selection Sunday. Can they seize this opportunity and win their first NIT game since ’86?
**
We do have the NIT Bracket Challenge. Six more hours to get your entries in for that. My bracket will be up later today, as will Joe’s. Fargo’s is on Twitter. She was a very good girl as she filled it out, but she was also heartless and picked against Butler Blue in the first round. Playing hard to get?
