There’s Always the NIT!

As mentioned earlier today, the NCAA Tournament selection committee passed on our fine college basketball programs, but fear not Minutemen. Take heart, Rhody. The National Invitation Tournament is here to help us through these cold days in March.

UMass and URI picked up bids as is expected of essentially any Northeast school with a pulse and a winning record. Travis Ford’s team gets a 2-seed and a tough first-round opponent in Stephen F. Austin. With any luck, UMass could play in Amherst all the way to a regional final matchup with Syracuse, while the Rams get stuck with a 6-seed and a trip to Omaha to play Creighton.

Exciting, no? Well, how about this. The fine folks at Cuse Country, who have gotten to know their NIT brackets pretty well ever since Carmelo Anthony went one-and-done, have designed an NIT bracket pool. Yes, really.

It follows the same basic knowledge as your NCAA Pool, with two points for a first-round winner, three for the second, five, nine, and then 16 for picking the champ.

No word on if anyone has designed a pool for the College Basketball Invitational, the other tournament no one cares about.