Another day, another set of games that will impact our favorite postseason basketball tournament. Your viewing guide awaits, and if you’re looking for background information, here are our College Basketball Probabilities and our model’s latest NIT Bracketology, from before yesterday’s games.
Conference Tournaments
Assorted Big South, Horizon League, and Patriot League Tournament Games (various times, who knows about the TV)
NJIT @ Liberty (7:00 PM Eastern, probably ESPN+ or something like that)
The conference tournaments begin tonight, so if you missed our previews, head on back to the home page and check ‘em out. The only team that can clinch an NIT bid tonight is Liberty, and they’re 15-point favorites, so don’t hold your breath. Still, the chance is there. The magic is in the air. Get ready.
MACtion
Ohio @ Akron (7:30 PM Eastern, the fictional MAC Network?)
Bowling Green @ Kent State (7:00 PM Eastern, the fictional MAC Network 2?)
It’s on in the MAC, and while I don’t know how the tiebreakers work, I know that if Akron wins more than Bowling Green does from here on out, the Zips are MAC regular season champions. Will the luckiest team in America stay lucky? Will Loren Cristian Jackson torch Ohio? Will your phone die while flipping between gamecasts?
Must-Win (Not Really)
Syracuse @ Boston College (7:00 PM Eastern, ESPN2)
Syracuse can make the NIT if they lose tonight, but it gets harder. So, you know, make of that what you will.
Must-Lose (Also Not Really, but Maybe Really? Unclear)
Maryland @ Rutgers (7:00 PM Eastern, Big Ten Network)
I’m not sure if Rutgers can make the NIT if they beat Maryland tonight, but I’m not sure about a lot of things. What a win might do is take their fate out of their own, comical, cartoonishly gloved Scarlet Knight hands.
A Loss Would Be Nice
Cincinnati @ South Florida (7:00 PM Eastern, ESPNU)
Cincinnati is sitting in a good position to get an NIT one-seed. Unfortunately, that’s also a good position to accidentally miss the NIT. Can’t win too many on the road, even if this one would be excusable.
A Loss Might Be Smart
Davidson @ Richmond (7:00 PM Eastern, TV Unknown)
Purdue @ Iowa (9:00 PM Eastern, Big Ten Network)
Richmond and Purdue are in a similar boat to Cincinnati, except their tasks are more ambiguous. Purdue has the possibility that a sub-.500 record is a no-go to worry about (if you’re unfamiliar, the NIT doesn’t formally prohibit sub-.500 teams from participating anymore, but it’s yet to happen since they repealed that rule), but also has to deal with the reality that beating Iowa on the road would really boost a résumé that can’t risk too big of boosts. Tough stuff.
For Richmond, the question is whether a home loss, and the NIT security that would accompany it, is worth the seeding cost.
Don’t envy Matt Painter. Don’t envy whoever coaches Richmond.
Seeding Opportunity
Tennessee @ Kentucky (9:00 PM Eastern, ESPN)
The Vols are pretty locked into not missing the NIT on the high end, making tonight a low-risk affair. As is sometimes the case with those affairs, the reward is high. First-round-home-game high.
A Lot at Stake
Mississippi State @ South Carolina (6:30 PM Eastern, SEC Network)
Texas @ Oklahoma (9:00 PM Eastern, ESPN2)
Finally, the good stuff. Oklahoma really needs losses, and time’s running out. Texas is playing a risky game, trying to stay in the NIT while keeping Shaka Smart employed in Austin. It’s possible those two things—making the NIT, our dear friend Coach Smart remaining in town—are incompatible. In which case, we understand. But we wouldn’t mind one last run to NYC.
For South Carolina, an NIT berth is likely but not guaranteed. Winning tonight makes it closer. Mississippi State, meanwhile, is in contention for a one-seed, which—as you know—means they’re also in contention for missing the NIT altogether. It’s a symbiotic opportunity, but only if the cowbellers aren’t feeling greedy.
