NIT 2012: Top Contenders to Cut Down Nets at Madison Square Garden

The NIT, which is college basketball's second most prestigious tournament, is always tough to predict. It has more to do with what teams are best able to overcome the disappointment of missing the NCAA Tournament than which squad actually has more talent.

Assuming the selection committee doesn't reward any of the following three teams with stunning berths into the big dance, here are the top contenders to claim the NIT trophy.

Oregon Ducks

Oregon's terrific trio of Devoe Joseph, Garrett Sim and E.J. Singler have the ability to put up big numbers on any defense. They are all efficient shooters at better than 45 percent and combine to make almost six three pointers per game.

While those three guys garner most of the attention, Olu Ashaolu is the team's unsung hero. He picks up the scoring slack when needed, but more importantly he plays solid post defense to make sure the Ducks don't get dominated in the paint.

As long as Oregon gets enough secondary scoring, and there are no shortage of candidates to make that possible, the Ducks will be in the mix.

Iona Gaels

The Gaels appeared primed to claim the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's automatic bid before being stunned by Fairfield in the tournament semifinals. It was a disappointing turn of events for Iona, which could have made some noise in the big tourney.

Instead the team will have to turn its focus to the NIT. The Gaels are led by Mike Glover, who is averaging 19 points and nine rebounds, and Lamont Jones. Scott Machado is one of the best pure passers in the nation as evidenced by his high assist total.

Iona has five seniors on the roster who will be looking to end their collegiate careers on a high note, so they shouldn't have much trouble bouncing back.

Marshall Thundering Herd

Marshall was 13-4 two months ago before things went south. The team's offense, which seemed unstoppable at times during the season's first half, stopped generating so many points and the Thundering Herd couldn't pick up the slack on defense.

That said, they started to look a lot better during the conference tourney before bowing out to Memphis in the title game. It means they're destined for the NIT, but should enter with their offensive momentum back.

The guard duo of DeAndre Kane and Damier Pitts will be among the best in the entire tournament. If they dominate like they should, Marshall will be MSG bound.