The Lunatic always gets a little bit sad at this point. With the Final Four set for both the men and the women, the realization of the fact that we only have one more weekend of basketball left is a little sad. Fortunately, for those of us desperate to soak up any college basketball that they can, the NIT will offer a diversion from the main media focus on the Final Four.
The other two smaller tournaments are already over – which caught the Lunatic by surprise – since I thought in past years, they also played this week. But congratulations to the CBI champion Seattle who beat High Point last week, and the CIT champion Norfolk State who beat Purdue Fort Wayne.
As for tonight, the NIT will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis – a departure from playing their finals at Madison Square Garden (another huge change that I don’t know how I feel about). As much as I care about tradition and the history of what the NIT has meant to college basketball and why I get upset when teams decline the invite to play in it, the NIT is making its own changes by leaving the historic Madison Square Garden. So many things are changing….
At 7 pm (on ESPN), Utah (22-14) will take on Indiana State (31-6) – this game is interesting as both teams are led by their centers, Branden Carlson for Utah and Robbie Avila for Indiana State. Can Indiana State win the NIT in their own Hoosiers-like story? Can Utah win the last games that a Pac 12 team will ever play? So many questions – so many stories.
At 9:30 pm (on ESPN2), Georgia (20-16) will take on Seton Hall (23-12) – this game will focus on the back-courts as Georgia’s set of guards, led by Noah Thomasson and Jabri Abdur-Rahim will try to stop Seton Hall’s trio of guards, Kadary Richmond, Dre Davis and Al-Amir Dawes. Can Georgia continue their winning streak for the SEC? Can Seton Hall continue to show the selection committee made a mistake by only taking 3 Big East teams? So many questions – so many stories.
All the stories are starting to write their final chapters. There are only 12 teams left who are playing, as they all look to end their season with a championship. And while we are all focused on the Final Four, these 4 teams still have interesting stories worth following. Good luck to all the teams playing tonight in Indianapolis.