TJ Cline and the Richmond Spiders secured a No. 1 seed in the NIT Tournament. (Getty)
Not everyone makes the NCAA Tournament. Only 68 teams get invited to the Big Dance.
Every year there are worthy teams who don’t make the cut. That’s just the way it is. But that’s why there is the NIT Tournament.
An impressive resume and 25-plus wins doesn’t guarantee you’ll be a March Madness participant.
Just ask Colorado State about that. The Rams finished 27-6 and didn’t crack the NCAA Tournament lineup. They did, however, earn a No. 1 seed in the NIT, as did Temple, Richmond and Old Dominion.
The games tip off Tuesday with the higher seeded teams hosting. The entire tournament will be televised by ESPN’s family of networks.
The NIT “Final Four” will be held March 31 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The championship game is April 2.
Filling out an NIT bracket doesn’t exactly elicit the same excitement and water-cooler chatter as the NCAA one does, but there will still be plenty of good basketball in the tournament.
You can also get a PDF version of the bracket here.
