Motherfuckers and motherfuckettes,
It is Saturday.
Let’s have ourselves an NIT-enthused day.
Game of the NITe of the Weekend
- 2:00 PM EST: Clemson @ UNC (ESPN2)
The most consequential and moving of the sixty games defining this beautiful 24-hour span is, as you’ve seen, Clemson’s visit to Chapel Hill. UNC is locked in an existential struggle against the forces of darkness (that’s us). Clemson is locked in an existential struggle against the crushing weight of expectations bestowed upon them by playing kind of well and getting kind of lucky for a few weeks. Somehow, this is a really big game in the ACC. What a season.
The Championship Struggle
- 12:00 PM EST: Penn State @ Maryland (BTN)
- 1:00 PM EST: Kansas @ Oklahoma (CBS)
- 4:00 PM EST: Wisconsin @ Nebraska (BTN)
- 6:00 PM EST: Indiana @ Michigan (ESPN)
- 6:00 PM EST: Oklahoma State @ Iowa State (ESPN2)
- 6:00 PM EST: Mississippi State @ Arkansas (ESPNU)
- 6:00 PM EST: Mizzou @ Tennessee (SECN)
Ask a passer-by on the street who’ll win the NIT, and they will probably be confused. Find your new best friend, though, and they’ll probably say one of Penn State, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Mississippi State, and Mizzou. Those are the people’s favorites right now. And these are big games for all seven.
Pipe Dreams
- 12:00 PM EST: Kentucky @ Georgia (ESPN)
- 2:00 PM EST: Rutgers @ Illinois (FS1)
- 4:00 PM EST: Duke @ Virginia (ESPN)
- 10:00 PM EST: BYU @ Gonzaga (ESPN2)
Kentucky, like UNC, is still but a dream for us, as are Duke, Illinois, and Gonzaga. (See, Illinois? We’re complimenting you.) For BYU, we’re the dream. BYU is dreaming of us right now.
Falling Fast
- 12:00 PM EST: Providence @ St. John’s (FOX)
- 7:00 PM EST: Kansas State @ Texas Tech (ESPN+)
There is a train wreck happening in Queens, and it’s name is St. John’s. Meanwhile, Texas Tech just kind of stinks. Got weirdly bad. Still good enough to cause terror if you go to their house, though. They’re kind of like Russia during a famine. Stay away! (See? Kansas State is not staying away. Kansas State is acting a fool!)
The Lifeblood
- 8:00 PM EST: Seton Hall @ Villanova (FS1)
- 10:00 PM EST: Colorado @ Utah (FS1)
Just solid, NIT-quality teams playing solid, NIT-quality basketball.
The Hot New Thing
- 3:30 PM EST: Vanderbilt @ Florida (SECN)
- 7:00 PM EST: Loyola Marymount @ Santa Clara (NBC Sports California but maybe WCC Network too??)
Vanderbilt burst back onto the scene with their upset of Tennessee this week, and LMU burst back onto the scene with their upset of Saint Mary’s. These are the teams college basketball journalists who don’t know what they’re talking about will call NIT locks, and things of that nature. Not everyone makes the NIT, guys. It’s a very narrow window to hit.
The Fun Belt
- 2:00 PM EST: Marshall @ Georgia State (ESPN+)
- 3:30 PM EST: Louisiana-Monroe @ Southern Miss (ESPN+)
- 5:00 PM EST: Louisiana @ Troy (ESPN+)
Nothing too wild in the Sun Belt on paper today, but ULL and Marshall both going on the road does give Southern Miss a chance to almost put this away.
It’s about time Brett Favre got some good news.
The A-Fun
- 5:00 PM EST: Jacksonville State @ Kennesaw State (ESPN+)
- 7:00 PM EST: Eastern Kentucky @ Liberty (ESPN+)
Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State are playing a three-day road-and-road (like a home-and-home, but the Owls beat those Cocks in the opener), and if you believe in things evening out, it will release Liberty into first place alone in the mildly interesting ASUN. That is…if Eastern Kentucky doesn’t turn this into a three-way tie up top.
The WAC!
- 7:00 PM EST: Sam Houston State @ Abilene Christian (ESPN+)
- 7:30 PM EST: Stephen F. Austin @ UT-Rio Grande Valley (ESPN+)
- 8:00 PM EST: Southern Utah @ Utah Valley (ESPN+)
- 10:00 PM EST: Grand Canyon @ Seattle (ESPN+)
Live, from Orem, Utah…It’s SATURDAY NIGHT! (I hold no ill will towards SNL but I would love to see it devolve into a touring business that makes its bones going to the lone theatres in smaller towns. We got some folks like that in Crystal Lake. I think Burt Bacharach came once. R.I.P.)
The WAC is setting up for a frenzied finish. I don’t actually know this, but it feels like a six-way tie is on the table. That’s the vibe we’re getting.
CAAction
- 2:00 PM EST: Hofstra @ Monmouth (FloHoops)
- 4:00 PM EST: College of Charleston @ Hampton (FloHoops)
Hofstra and Charleston play with matches.
The National Championship
- 2:00 PM EST: Louisiana Tech @ FAU (ESPN+)
- 4:00 PM EST: MTSU @ UAB (Stadium)
- 6:00 PM EST: Charlotte @ North Texas (ESPN+)
UAB’s got a big test today in the quest to get back on their feet in the USA. FAU’s still within shouting distance from us. We’re hooting *and* hollering.
Arch Gladness
- 2:00 PM EST: SIU @ Drake (ESPNU)
- 2:00 PM EST: Murray State @ Bradley (ESPN3)
The period before Arch Madness is referred to as Arch Gladness by scholars. SIU, Drake, and Bradley are tied at the top of the league. What a valley.
Nerds
- 2:00 PM EST: Princeton @ Dartmouth (ESPN+)
- 7:00 PM EST: Columbia @ Yale (ESPN+)
Princeton’s holding on for dear life atop the Ivy League, Yale’s hot on their heels. If you’ve never seen a bulldog chase a tiger? This is your chance.
The SoCon
- 2:00 PM EST: Western Carolina @ Furman (ESPN+)
- 3:00 PM EST: The Citadel @ Samford (ESPN+)
UNC-Greensboro doesn’t play today (I don’t know when they play, but my guess would be tomorrow), but Furman and Samford are trying to keep pace with one another. So if you like watching schools try to keep pace with one another, this is a good chance to watch schools try to keep pace with one another.
Joe Kelly-land
- 10:00 PM EST: UC-Davis @ UC-Santa Barbara (ESPN+)
- 10:30 PM EST: UC-Riverside @ UC-Irvine (ESPNU)
- 12:00 AM EST: Cal State-Fullerton @ Hawaii (ESPN+)
The Big West? The Big Best. UCSB’s got the lead right now, but misstep, and we could be singing the music of old friends, friends like Mike Magpayo and Kamaka Hepa.
Toledo’s Answer
- 7:30 PM EST: Toledo @ Eastern Michigan (ESPN3)
Kent State did its job last night. Toledo now needs to keep pace. They’ll try to do it against Emoni Bates.
Oral’s Trials
- 3:00 PM EST: Oral Roberts @ Western Illinois (ESPN+)
Oral Roberts is trying to go undefeated in the Summit League. Mike Daum is rolling in his proverbial grave (still alive, Mike Daum is still alive, as far as we know Mike Daum is very much still alive).
Vermont’s Final Boss
- 7:00 PM EST: UMass-Lowell @ Vermont (ESPN3)
Vermont leads the A-East by a game and a half, but only by a game and a half, and only by a game and a half over specifically UMass-Lowell, and UMass-Lowell beat Vermont head-to-head the first time they played.
You are thinking the exact thing I’m thinking (yes, don’t worry, this will be over soon).
Games
- 12:00 PM EST: NC State @ Boston College (ESPN+)
- 12:00 PM EST: Pitt @ Florida State (ESPNU)
- 2:00 PM EST: Virginia Tech @ Notre Dame (ESPN+)
- 4:00 PM EST: UNLV @ San Diego State (FOX)
- 5:00 PM EST: Georgia Tech @ Wake Forest (ACCN)
- 6:00 PM EST: USC @ Oregon State (P12N)
- 7:00 PM EST: South Florida @ Cincinnati (ESPN+)
- 7:00 PM EST: Tulsa @ UCF (ESPN+)
- 7:00 PM EST: Louisville @ Miami (ACCN)
- 8:00 PM EST: Arizona State @ Cal (P12N)
- 8:00 PM EST: Wyoming @ Boise State (CBSSN)
- 8:30 PM EST: Texas A&M @ LSU (SECN)
- 10:00 PM EST: Utah State @ San Jose State (CBSSN)
These are games. Many—if not all—feature an NIT character.
Our Personal Cold War
- 12:00 PM EST: Marquette @ Georgetown (FS1)
- 12:00 PM EST: West Virginia @ Texas (ESPN2)
Shaka Smart and Texas aren’t going 1-v-1 yet, but they do play at the same time. We’ll take that.
The Crapple Cup
- 10:30 PM EST: Washington @ Washington State (P12N)
I’m sorry. That was mean. Washington and Wazzu are trying their best. We were excited about Kyle Smith, this year has been a letdown, Seattle sounds cool though we’ve only sparingly been, we just got disappointed, ok? And we lashed out.
I’m sorry.
I’ll go now.
