In roughly an hour, the final games of the Virtual NIT will commence.
Actually, that won’t technically be true for another two hours or so, but you get what I mean.
Or maybe you don’t.
At 8:00 PM EDT, the quarterfinals are happening. All four of them at once. Then, in a bending of time and space unsuited to any real, physical tournament, the Final Four will begin in (virtual) New York, immediately following the quarterfinals’ completion. We weren’t sure if anyone would pay attention to more than three days of this stuff. We weren’t sure about two days either, frankly.
Without further ado, the eight teams remaining, in order of probability they win it (but we didn’t calculate the exact probabilities out because I forgot to ask Joe to do that and now he’s busy with something at his real job):
1. Texas Tech (1-Seed, Texas Tech Region)
The Red Raiders. Minnesota, as expected, gave them a fight last night in the second round, but this was a different team than the one that nearly lost to Prairie View A&M in the first round. Well, same team, but different result. They played better. Virtually. They get Eastern Washington tonight, whom you’ll find further down this list.
Tie: 2. Northern Iowa (2-Seed, Richmond Region), North Carolina State (4-Seed, Richmond Region), Rhode Island (1-Seed, Rhode Island Region), Texas (2-Seed, Alabama Region)
Without Joe’s numbers, I don’t actually know how to split it between UNI, NC State, Rhode Island, and Texas. Has to do with difficulty of opponent and all that and frankly, that’s above my comprehension. These teams are comparable in quality. UNI and NC State are better than URI and Texas, but UNI and NC State also have to play each other, and then they have to play probably Texas Tech. Not a great thing to be looking ahead at in the Virtual NIT.
Northern Iowa did not score 109 again last night, but they proved themselves in equal forcefulness, pulling away from a tough Mississippi State over the game’s final stretch.
NC State made NC Central’s underdog run simply an anecdote, rather than the main story, taking what had been a close game at the half and turning it into a comfortable victory.
Rhode Island kept Tennessee at arm’s length, and while we’d prefer they stay a bit further apart than that, given the prevailing social distancing recommendations, it was enough to live another day.
Texas ended up pounding UConn into the ground, but it wasn’t until Kai Jones made his mark that the beatdown happened. Close game for a while. But that’s why some are calling it The Kai Jones Game™.
6. Clemson (5-Seed, Alabama Region)
Clemson’s a lot closer to second than seventh on this list, which should tell you a lot about the state of the Virtual NIT. The Tigers poured it on against an overmatched Radford team (not to discredit Radford—their VNIT performance was noteworthy, and something upon which to build). Aamir Simms, in particular, impressed. But they’ll have their work cut out for them in the (virtual) Frank Erwin Center against the defending champ’s.
7. Colgate (7-Seed, Rhode Island Region)
A remaining Cinderella. Beating Georgia, while noteworthy, wasn’t the most shocking result. Neither was beating Rutgers on Tuesday, though that’s only not the most shocking on a technicality (North Carolina Central beat Richmond—this Virtual NIT’s been bonkers). What made it lodge in your heart was the manner in which Colgate did it—this team seems to have a knack for the big moment (which is something you say in the sports journalism biz when two 50/50 events break the same way, a 25%-likely occurrence).
8. Easter Washington (7-Seed, Texas Tech Region)
The biggest Cinderella left. Beat Tulsa in the final minute last night. Thrilling. Tough draw against Texas Tech, of course, but the positive spin on that is that if they do manage to win, it will only get easier in New York.
Storylines for Each Team
Wow, bonus! The storylines for each if they win.
Texas Tech: Did last year’s tune-up help prepare them for the big show?
Eastern Washington: Has a Big Sky team ever won an NIT?
NC State: Kevin Keatts. Prophecy Fulfilled.
Northern Iowa: A 2-seed?! The disrespect.
Rhode Island: Fatts Russell. VNIT legend. Also, big year for URI-nation.
Colgate: Rapolas Ivanauskas and the long game.
Clemson: … (really, don’t have anything here)
Texas: BACK-TO-BACK. And in what might turn out to be the only way in which Shaka Smart could keep his job at the helm. Makes one wonder…
