Thursday NITe Rites: Gene Hackman, the Big West, and Greensboro

People always talk about the solemnity of college basketball. The ritual. The dogma. They say, “It is a sacred tradition that on the Thursday night before the first week of Champ Week, we turn our eyes to the Big West.” What we do today is ancient, handed down by our forefathers. What we do tonight is important, as integral to the NIT dominion as a handle to a pot. Tonight, we ravenously imbibe the gifts bestowed on us by figures like McGuire, and Odom, and pre-faceshield Josh Pastner. In three weeks, we will be NIT fans watching the NIT. Tonight, we are NIT fans bringing our doctrine to the world.

First, though, taking stock after yesterday:

• Gene Hackman died. This is sad, and the circumstances are weird, and I didn’t know Gene Hackman or know much about Gene Hackman so I’m not going to try to eulogize him or eulogize the fictional Norman Dale, no matter how much I love Hoosiers and respect Hackman from what little I know. With the NIT now Hinkle Fieldhouse’s blood brother, though, it’s only right that we pay our respects to the man who gave us the character who helped establish Hinkle Fieldhouse as the cathedral that it is. Rest in peace, and condolences to those who mourn.
• Does Thad Matta look like Norman Dale? Or is it just something about the light in Indianapolis and my own mild difficulty remembering faces? Either way, Butler gave Rick Pitino and St. John’s hell last night. Couldn’t pull it off, but did better enough than Georgetown to presumably keep the edge in the Big East’s NIT exempt bid pursuit. “Better enough than Georgetown.” I’m going to put that on those pro-Butler mailings I’ve secretly been sending every school-aged child in the old Northwest Territory.
• Great finish in Norman, where Otega Oweh—whose program infamously refused an NIT invitation last year—helped give that same program, Oklahoma, a chance to right its wrong. The twist? Otega Oweh plays for Kentucky now.
• Messy finish in Los Angeles, where Ohio State held off a fertile USC push. Yep. I meant fervent. But with Musselman…I mean, the guy seems horny. Which reminds me! I don’t know why, but I keep thinking Andy Enfield is still at USC. I know he isn’t. I associate him with SMU now. I associate John Calipari with Arkansas. But every time I turn USC on my TV, I see Eric Musselman, and I say, “Oh yeah!” Not in the Kool-Aid Man voice, either. I say “Oh yeah!” in the Kool-Aid Man voice when someone decides to bake themselves their second frozen pizza of the evening because Cal is hosting Miami and it is very late at night.
• Speaking of Cal (Calipari, not California): Mixed finish in Fayetteville, where Arkansas won a heartbreaker despite Tre Johnson’s best efforts to forestall Texas’s own NIT push. Hook ‘em, Austin. We’re back.
• Gill Coliseum is a bangers only kind of venue. Big road win for San Francisco as they hunt a first round home game. Oregon State’s probably going to find its way into the NIT, but they keep missing chances to make that a foregone conclusion.
• Our “coaches involved in Indiana rumors keep losing” theory grew more legs, with both Texas A&M and Mississippi looking dead to the world. Distractions are everywhere. Bummer for Vanderbilt (A&M’s vanquisher), who’s now probably NIToast.
• The Big 12 NIT pack is so tight. That’s all I can ever really say about Kansas State and UCF and Arizona State and the rest of them. I have no idea what will happen there. They might all make the NIT. They might all get kidnapped and end up playing in the College Basketball Crown.
• Penn State almost did something hilarious to Indiana. Bummed about that one.
• Dayton didn’t actually have trouble against Archie Miller’s Rhode Island, but they did let URI Nation cut the lead to six late. More consequentially over in the A-10 Universe, Saint Joe’s beat the Bonnies, staying right on the NIT bubble.
• Going back to Andy Enfield: Credit to SMU for surviving Berkeley at night. The Mustangs are a contender for the NIT’s top overall seed. Would be cool if we could make some amends with Enfield after the way he treated the NIT in 2018. I’m willing to be the bigger man, by which I mean I will only accept his humanity if he makes a change first.
• Loyola’s hot.
• We thought it was heading this direction, but the Lipscomb automatic bid is officially on the table. Lose in the ASUN Tournament, and the Bisons are back on our side of the street. What a journey it’s been since the highs of 2019. For both of us. For the world.
• Wake lost to Virginia, as was foretold. Welcome back, Deacs.
• Seton Hall almost ruined another Big East team’s month, this time Villanova. Eric Dixon accounted for more than half of Villanova’s scoring, with his 32 points a touching reminder that even if he has to play in the College Basketball Crown this year, we are still his one true love.
• Arkansas State and South Alabama both won, so the Sun Belt is officially a…two-team race? All I’m getting on mred’s (wonderful) site is scenarios where James Madison or South Alabama wins the Sun Belt regular season title. We’ll try to confirm that before tomorrow.
• Here’s a cool play from the lesser college basketball world. Can’t say I’ve followed this “Michigan State” school closely over the years, but good for them for still being excited even with their season sunk.

Alright, that was a lot. On to the rituals. On to the rites.

Big Ten: Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey’s Last Shot at Glory

Ok fine, not their last shot. But Rutgers does play Michigan tonight, where they could solidify their NIT case and move towards home game status. (9:00 PM EST, Peacock)

Conference USA: It All (Hypothetically) Comes Down to This

Jacksonville State and Liberty are tied in the loss column with a few games to play. Middle Tennessee State is waiting in the wings, ready to slingshot past them if they wreck each other. (I have been watching a lot of NASCAR).

Jacksonville State won the meeting in Jacksonville, so they can nearly put the thing away with an upset tonight on the road. For Liberty, the president changed but the question remains the same: Can these guys keep the Cocks in line? (7:00 PM EST, ESPN+)

As for MTSU: They play at NMSU. What conference leads the country in four-letter acronyms? Question for the room. (9:00 PM EST, ESPN+)

The American: Can UAB Get in the Picture?

While our friends at North Texas visit FAU in Boca Raton (7:00 PM EST, ESPN2), UAB’s in Wichita, where the Blazers will attempt to rally towards the NIT picture. High-leverage game for our guy Andy Kennedy and his men, who’ve been playing good ball for a month or two but have yet to break through. Not quite the Game of the NITe, but close. (9:00 PM EST, ESPNU)

Big West: Game of the NITe

UC San Diego and UC Irvine are getting their deserved credit, and each is an NIT contender. What’s been lost, though, in the Big West’s glowup, is that Cal State-Northridge is good? The Tritons head north to face the Matadors, who just last week beat the pants off the Anteaters in Irvine. I’d call ‘em the Panteaters if Matadors wasn’t already so cool. Long story short: CSUN’s a conceivable NIT at-large. UCSD’s still fighting UC Irvine for that exempt bid. (10:00 PM EST, ESPN+)

Zot, by the way. UC Irvine’s over in Fullerton. (10:00 PM EST, ESPN+)

SoCon: Chattanooga and Greensboro, as God Meant It to Be

Two great cities right there. At least from what I’ve been told about Chattanooga. Have been to Asheville and Athens and Knoxville and Greenville and Winston-Salem and Greensboro and even Lenoir City, of all the places in the Appalachian southeast and surrounding subregions. But I’ve never been to Chattanooga.

I distract myself.

Call me Buzz Williams.

UTC’s at UNCG tonight, and the NIT might be on the line. The Mocs are on the right side of the 125 KNIT threshold for an automatic bid. UNCG’s on the wrong side, but they’ve got a couple games left to gain a little ground. Right now UTC leads in the SoCon by a game, but UNCG’s going for a season sweep. Great stuff. Say it back. This is great stuff. (7:00 PM EST, ESPN+)

Not to be forgotten, Bucky McMillan and the Samford There’s–No–T–In–Our–Names visit VMI. They’re still hanging around the automatic bid scene and possibly the at-large arena, though they’ll need some help on both fronts. (6:00 PM EST, ESPN+)

WAC: “The WAC Is a Monster”

Utah Valley is off tonight, but Grand Canyon looms large in the rearview mirror. The Antelopes host UT Arlington trying to stay just one game back of the great Todd Phillips’s Wolverines. (9:00 PM EST, ESPN+)

Summit League: Jacks Watch

South Dakota State probably can’t even catch Omaha, and I don’t know what’ll happen with the tiebreakers if they do. But if they do, the Jackrabbits could earn an NIT automatic bid, which Omaha could not. So, we turn our eyes to Tulsa, where Oral Roberts hosts an SDSU team which either does or does not have an unfathomable amount to play for. (8:00 PM EST, I think it’s on Midco Sports Plus)

CAA: Towson Already Clinched, and Towson Won’t Get an Automatic Bid

But if it’s CAA you crave, UNC Wilmington’s probably the best team and not an outrageous thought as a potential NIT at-large (would need some opt-outs). They’re in Buies Creek, and if you don’t know what that means, you probably don’t crave CAA. (7:00 PM EST, FloSports)

Horizon League: I’m Glad It’s a Home Game for IU Indy

IU Indy, formerly known as IUPUI, recently known as the team whose bus incinerated last weekend, hosts Robert Morris. No NIT implications here, but RMU’s looking to win the HoLo. (6:30 PM EST, ESPN+) To do that, the Colonials may or may not need Cleveland State to lose at the Nutter Center. (9:00 PM EST, ESPN2)

Big Sky: Pro Griz Zone

I don’t think Montana can get their ratings into NIT automatic bid territory, so I suppose I should be more supportive of Northern Colorado, but FCS fondness dies hard. Montana’s at Sacramento State looking to maintain their one-game Big Sky lead. (10:00 PM EST, ESPN+)

America East: Is Vermont Gonna Do This?

With the Catamounts beating Bryant last week, Vermont’s now just one game back with three to go. They’re at NJIT tonight (7:00 PM EST, ESPN+) while Bryant deals with the notorious UMass-Lowell (6:00 PM EST, ESPN+). No NIT auto-bid stakes. Just dreams and pride.

Ohio Valley: Mo SEMO

Southeast Missouri State is another one well outside auto-bid contention, but they can clinch the OVC title with a win upstream in Edwardsville. (8:30 PM EST, ESPN+)

NEC: CCSU

These seven letters mean that Central Connecticut State is playing a Northeast Conference game. The context around that game is that the Blue Devils (the real Blue Devils) probably can’t get an NIT auto bid but can clinch the NEC crown either by beating Le Moyne or getting some help from Wagner vis-à-vis LIU. As though I needed to explain all that to you. (7:00 PM EST, NEC Front Row?)

**

Whew. What a night. Lot of low-majors. Good to get us ready for that first week of Champ Week, though. That’s where tradition comes from, you know. There’s almost always a reason behind it. A lot of Levitical law is useful for a society which needs to survive nomadically in the desert. A lot of NIT tradition is useful for a society which wants to get all fired up about Motor City Madness. RIP to Motor City Madness, by the way. If I’ve learned one thing about grief, it’s that it never fully neutralizes. We still miss you, Detroit.