It’s a big week for the NIT. Next week, some would argue, is even bigger. But we aren’t here to argue. We’re here to unite around something bigger than ourselves. Joe Bi-just kidding I’m still writing in Shaka Smart tomorrow. We’re here to unite around the greatest tournament any of us have ever known, and will ever know, and are so very blessed to have ever known: the granddaddy of the ball, the dance that made New York famous, the Cracker Barrel biscuit to the stale imitations of bagels that are the other tournament…the NIT.
Here’s what to watch tonight:
NC State @ Duke (7:00 PM Eastern on ESPN)
NC State greets us from quite the little bind they’ve gotten themselves into over there. Last year, they assured their NIT prominence by scheduling what the NCAA called the worst non-conference schedule in the country. A magnificent feat by our guy Kevin Keatts. This year, they scheduled Memphis, UNC-Greensboro, Auburn, and Wisconsin in non-conference play. We shake our heads. We are disgusted.
In addition to the poor scheduling (good scheduling? Wrong scheduling.), they’ve gotten a few good wins. They beat Virginia in Charlottesville. They beat Duke by 22 at home. These are not the things an NIT contender wants to do, unless…
Unless they’re losing to UNC and Boston College and UNC another time and also Virginia Tech once and oh yeah Georgia Tech and they also lost that Memphis game back when Memphis was maybe good.
In other words, NC State’s fine. Just have to avoid beating Duke tonight on the road to stay in that sweet spot in the field, where they’re projected to end up as a two-seed.
Texas Tech @ Baylor (9:00 PM Eastern on ESPN)
If you’re some kind of night owl who stays up until 11 PM, or you have cool parents and live in Central Time, or you’re just a normal human being living elsewhere in the United States, you can watch this! Just leave your TV on after the NC State game, pour yourself a big bowl of ice cream (why’d you set the freezer so warm?), and sit down to watch Texas Tech’s improbable bid for an NIT berth continue.
The Red Raiders aren’t expected to make the field, but they do have a one-in-three chance. A one-in-three chance that does not include beating Baylor in Waco. Good luck, Mr. Beard (I’ll let you decide if I mean Chris Beard or Avery Benson, but know that I only mean one of them).
Alabama A&M @ Prairie View A&M (8:30 PM Eastern, not on any TV I know about)
Meanwhile, down here in Texas (as opposed to the last game, which was also down here in Texas), Prairie View continues its tour d’SWAC, just one win or maybe two wins away from clinching the regular season championship. I don’t know the tiebreakers. It’s likely, though, ok? It’s likely they’ll win the SWAC.
People are saying Prairie View could be the latest eight-seed to make some noise come mid-March, potentially matching up with Texas in the first round?? We’ll see.
North Carolina A&T @ South Carolina State (7:30 PM Eastern, I know not its TV)
Bethune-Cookman @ North Carolina Central (7:30 PM Eastern, I know its TV not)
And to cap it all off, over in the MEAC we’ve got NC A&T and NCCU trying to keep the pace with one another at the top of the standings. If both win tonight, Thursday night becomes a winner-take-all affair between the two for the regular season championship and possible automatic NIT bid. If one wins tonight, that still might be true, but it depends which one and how other people do and frankly how about both of them just win so we don’t have to dive into that. Thanks, guys.
