The Method Behind My Madness (NIT Edition)

Written by James Brown, Gatorsfirst.com Co-Founder

Florida has gone to three consecutive Final Fours. Well, the last one was at MSG, but who’s counting? Oh. Right.

To make this whole bracket thing a little more personal, Gatorsfirst.com is posting their own choices for an NIT Bracket.

I call my bracket ‘poetic justice’ or ‘sweet revenge’ or 'insert something cool here' to justify the fact I have Auburn and Florida revisiting their bubblicious meeting from last Friday night. I really did not set up for the field to work that way, but now I’m going to run with it.

Anyways, here are the rest of my picks…

I don’t know if the NIT regions are called anything. They aren’t on my official NIT bracket I downloaded from them. And it’s more fun to refer to them by the No.1 seeds. So there.

San Diego State Region

Second Round: San Diego State, Kansas State, South Carolina, St. Mary’s

As much as I love Curry, I couldn’t pick Davidson. Not when the Gamecock home crowd seemed so excited to wear the 90’s-esque camo for our game in Columbia. 

This is the best game to watch in the first round NIT, if you’re an absolute sports or gambling addict. 

Besides, South Carolina has their own Curry, his name is Devan Downey. St. Mary’s is an easy choice. Then I’m sticking with the home teams.

Quarterfinals: San Diego State, St. Mary’s

Kansas State just isn’t that strong this year. But since Mohamed Abukar, a.k.a. Mustache Ride, left (he did leave, right?), the only Aztec I know is Stephen Strasburg. But he doesn’t play basketball; he’s just good enough to be the Yankees #2 starter.

Due to that lack of knowledge, I’m sticking with the chalk. Additionally, although I am not aware of anyone doing monster statistical breakdowns of the NIT, I’m going to bet home court advantage counts for something.

Auburn Region

Second Round: Auburn, Northwestern, Georgetown, Virginia Tech

Baylor got a lot of credit for essentially one good weekend. Or a lot of Big XII teams choking. Either way, I’m going with the team from a stronger conference. Ditto for Northwestern on the conference strength argument, C-USA is terrible.

Quarterfinals: Auburn, Georgetown

I believe more in Georgetown than Virginia Tech. Mainly because I want to believe in Macklin.

Creighton Region

Second Round: Creighton, UNLV, New Mexico, Notre Dame

There was talk about Kentucky skipping the NIT if they missed the NCAAs. That doesn’t speak well for what I expect their mindset to be. I believe in Lon Kruger- ‘Find A Way’! Watch out, Billy Clyde. 

As much as I dislike their football program, I’ve grudgingly accepted that Notre Dame’s teams have been pretty good. They did have an extremely (inexplicably?) tough season. At any rate, they aren’t bad enough to lose a first round NIT game.

Quarterfinals: Creighton, Notre Dame

One more time: homecourt advantage.

Florida Region

Second Round: Florida, Miami, Niagara, and Penn State

We’ve never had trouble with JU-type teams in November. Why should it start now? JU got the bonus of getting an NIT auto-bid, thanks to their regular season conference championship, but didn’t get the NCAA bid. Otherwise, they aren’t good enough for the NIT.

Quarterfinals: Florida, Penn State

Traditionally, Miami teams have athletic guards who explode for like 80 point against Billy Donovan’s teams. I haven’t watched one minute of this year’s Miami squad, but I do know that kind of guard would kill us this year, especially.

I’ve previously discussed our personnel deficiencies at length. I also don’t know a lot about Penn State, but their home crowd should be into an NIT game, as they are perennially one of the worst basketball programs at notable football schools. So I’ll take them here.

Madison Square Garden

Final Four: Florida, Auburn, San Diego State, Notre Dame

Sticking with my homecourt theme, I’m taking three No. 1 seeds. I also think Notre Dame is the strongest No. 2 seed. St. Mary’s I might actually like a little more, but it’s rare the team the media decides the "biggest snub" is able to get over that mental hump and make a deep NIT run. I’m in it to win it, and I think San Diego State is a much, much safer pick.

Championship Game: Florida over Auburn

We’ve got the MSG experience. Walter Hodge’s college career ends where it begins. A somewhat sloppy conference tournament quarterfinal rematched in the NIT final. 

I like the storylines here. And I’m picking Florida because we really have to be considered the favorite. Which means the NIT is pathetic.