Tuesday, March 19, 2013

The College Basketball Blog: 2013 NIT Predictions



2013 National Invitational Tournament (NIT) Predictions

History of the NIT: As many fans are aware, the NIT is different from the other “extra” tournaments in that for many years it was considered equal or superior to the NCAA Tournament. That changed in 1975 when the NCAA Tournament did away with their 1-team per conference limit. From then on the NIT was a consolation tournament. 

In the years since then the tourney has gone through many changes, but the format has been consistent now for nearly a decade. It is a straight 32-team tournament, seeded from start to finish. All games are played at campus sites until the semifinals when the scene shifts to Madison Square Garden in New York. 

Championship History: It doesn’t make much sense to recount the NIT’s championship history all the way back to its inception in 1938. For all intents and purposes the pre-1975 NIT is a different tournament from the NIT since 1975. It makes more sense to look at the championship history since the tournament became the secondary postseason tourney that it is today. 

8 teams have won multiple NIT’s over the last 38 years. Minnesota, Tulsa, Stanford, South Carolina, Ohio State, Virginia, and St. John’s have each won twice. Michigan has won 3 NIT’s over the last 30 years. 

The Field: The NIT gets first dibs for teams after the NCAA Tournament. Any high major teams that were on the bubble and did not get a bid to the NCAA Tournament will receive bids from the NIT. There was a time when declining an NIT invite became a bit of a trend, but that’s a rarity at this point. The NIT also gives automatic bids to any regular season conference champion that lost in their conference tournament and did not receive an at-large bid to the Big Dance. Thus, the NIT is made up of decent teams from high major programs, along with many of the top teams from mid and low major conference. It is definitely the strongest field outside of the NCAA Tournament. 

Tournament Structure: One of the best things about the NIT is that it is very easy to make predictions for the tournament. Teams are seeded from the beginning and are not reseeded at any point. There is an actual bracket that can be filled out just like the NCAA Tournament but with just 32 teams. The first 3 rounds are played at campus sites. The semifinals and finals are played in New York. 

Once again this year, the only thing I have added to the NIT bracket is titles to the different regions for clarification purposes. Here are my picks. 


First Round


North
#1 Kentucky over #8 Robert Morris
#2 Baylor over #7 Long Beach State
#3 Arizona State over #6 Detroit
#4 Providence over #5 Charlotte 


South
#1 Southern Mississippi over #8 Charleston Southern
#2 Tennessee over #7 Mercer
#3 BYU over #6 Washington
#5 Louisiana Tech over #4 Florida State 


West
#1 Alabama over #8 Northeastern
#2 Maryland over #7 Niagara
#3 Denver over #6 Ohio
#4 Stanford over #5 Stephen F. Austin 


East
#1 Virginia over #8 Norfolk State
#2 Massachusetts over #7 Stony Brook
#3 Iowa over #6 Indiana State
#4 St. Joseph’s over #5 St. John’s 


Second Round


North
#1 Kentucky over #4 Providence
#2 Baylor over #3 Arizona State 


South
#1 Southern Mississippi over #5 Louisiana Tech
#2 Tennessee over #3 BYU


West
#1 Alabama over #4 Stanford
#2 Maryland over #3 Denver 


East
#1 Virginia over #4 St. Joseph’s
#3 Iowa over #2 Massachusetts 


Quarterfinals


North
#1 Kentucky over #2 Baylor 


South
#2 Tennessee over #1 Southern Mississippi 


West
#1 Alabama over #2 Maryland 


East
#3 Iowa over #1 Virginia 


Semifinals
#2 Tennessee over #1 Kentucky
#3 Iowa over #1 Alabama 


Finals
#2 Tennessee over #3 Iowa






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