We made it, groovy among the grooviest. We made it to another NIT Sunday. Was there doubt? We hope not, and statistically, there probably wasn’t for any of you. We don’t have enough readers to consistently have some facing death. One day, though. One day, our readers will die.
There are eight games today for you, and for the special NIT fan in your life. Let’s go through them, from most NIT consequences to fewest (because I’m scared you’ll stop reading if we do the reverse).
1. Ohio State @ Michigan (1:00 PM EST, CBS)
They’re big names. They’re big brands. They aren’t that bad of teams. The Ohio State–Michigan rivalry takes on a new twist. The twist? It matters like it’s never mattered before. Each currently resides in the thick of NIT City. They’re in the territory where a single game could, like a pebble kicked up by a dump truck on a bridge in the movie Inception, shatter the windshield of their dreams.
2. Northwestern @ Wisconsin (6:30 PM EST, BTN)
Remember when the Big Ten was too good to send teams to the NIT because the ones that didn’t get conscripted finished below .500?
That era is taking a pause, if it isn’t outright over.
The Big Ten is ready to pack the bracket like it’s a woman with an addiction to shoe stopping and Delta just dropped its charge for overweight luggage. Will Northwestern and Wisconsin be among those teams making the metaphorical and literal trip? You have to tune in to find out (they won’t tell you on the broadcast, but the answer is going to be “maybe” regardless of what happens).
3. Houston @ Temple (6:00 PM EST, ESPN2)
Temple won the original NIT. Temple was recently named the coolest school in Philadelphia by a group text involving two people who lived in Philadelphia for a combined 28 years. Temple is here to, ideally, knock off the future NCA* *********t champions and then go on to win the NIT themselves. Even if they can’t do the second part, can they at least do the first? I’m told Broad Street’s too quiet this weekend.
4. Penn State @ Nebraska (4:30 PM EST, BTN)
You thought we were done with the Big Ten? Yeah, we did too. These people are everywhere. God bless them.
Nebraska probably isn’t making the NIT, Penn State might be, each provided us with so many sensational NIT moments in 2018 alone—not to mention the rest of human history—that we will always have a soft spot for those very differently attended arenas.
Have fun out there, friends.
5. Stanford @ Colorado (7:00 PM EST, FS1)
How many Stanford students do you think know they have a basketball team? I bet most of them do. But probably not all of them, right?
The Cardinal go to Boulder, looking to equilibrate the NIT picture. What does that mean? Let’s all take a guess and just say it means whatever we just guessed.
6. DePaul @ Seton Hall (12:00 PM EST, FS1)
You done messed up, A-A-Ron.
(Is anyone on Seton Hall named Aaron?)
(Has anyone ever said, “You done messed up, L. Ron,” after a Scientology scandal? Does the different syllable count throw that out? Do you need to throw in a meaningless now, so it goes, “You done messed up now, L. Ron?”)
Seton Hall really threw the NIT picture for a loop when they had the audacity to beat the living shit out of St. John’s on Wednesday. They’ve now won six of seven, and those britches are looking pretty tight. DePaul: We’ve always been as nice to you as anyone else has been. You know what to do.
7. Cal @ Utah (6:00 PM EST, ESPNU)
I wonder if anyone at Cal is wishing Covid was still a big deal so they could just shut down the season at this point. Never forget, though: Cal won three of four at one point this year, and they were not three you would expect. Get these guys on the court in Berkeley with students out of session and their opponent really struggling and then let them shoot the lights out and, well, they can technically win. They’ve shown that much.
Today’s game is in Salt Lake City.
8. Fordham @ Richmond (12:00 PM EST, USA)
We’re trying not to get too excited about Fordham, but we’d be lying if we said we didn’t want them to pull this off. According to some, they could be the worst team to ever receive an NIT at-large bid. And they used to let some real bad teams in, back in the day.
