NIT 2012: Washington and 3 Teams with Easiest Road to Final Four

The NIT Final Four may not be the most exciting tournament to play in, but any basketball player that takes pride in his or her game will show up.

No. 1 seed Arizona was angry it didn’t get a bid and ended up losing to No. 8 Bucknell by 11 in Round 1.

It’s as simple as that. The teams that don’t want to be here are getting weeded out.

The good news is that not all teams have mentally checked out and it should set up an entertaining couple of games in the next week. Here are the three teams with the clearest path to Madison Square Garden entering the second round of games.

No. 1 Washington (Region 1)

The Huskies are the fifth-best rebounding team in the nation (40.3) and 34th in points scored (75.2), so it’s not like this team is lacking in the talent department.

No. 4 Northwestern is on deck, which shouldn’t be a problem considering how poorly the Wildcats are at rebounding the ball.

Then it’s No. 3 Oregon or No. 7 Iowa. The Huskies split with the Ducks during the season but would be favored on a neutral court because of their size advantage and ability to take care of the ball.

No. 1 Seton Hall (Region 3)

The Pirates are one of the best teams in the tournament talent-wise, and are Big East battle tested.

However, more importantly, they were the beneficiaries of playing in the weakest bracket.

The other three teams still alive in Region Three?

No. 3 Drexel, No. 5 Massachusetts and No. 7 N. Iowa.

That’s a cakewalk if I’ve ever seen one.

No. 3 Stanford (Region 4)

The Cardinal were the beneficiary of watching No. 1 Arizona and No. 2 Mississippi lose and are now the de facto favorites.

They have gone 6-3 of late and are coming off a double-digit win over No. 6 Cleveland State, a team that was one of the most underrated coming in.

With only No. 5 Nevada, No. 7 Illinois State and No. 8 Bucknell in the Cardinal's way, it looks like the Pac-12 may end up dominating a tournament after all.

Click here for updated NIT bracket

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