NIT 2015: Known Bracket Format, Schedule Before Selection Sunday

Once the most coveted prize in the college basketball landscape, the NIT now occupies a weird middle ground between excitement and devastation.

A majority of the teams that will be favored to take home the NIT championship once had designs on spending their March competing on the top stage. It's why you so often see high-seeded teams eliminated early; it's hard to get yourself up for the consolation prize when the real one was so close. 

That said, the NIT is not without merit. It's become a proving ground for programs on the rise in recent seasons. Larry Brown's SMU outfit carried its finals run last year into a tournament berth this year, as did 2013 champions Baylor. The teams that wind up in this field are interesting not just because they're solid basketball teams but because they are likely to be among the field of 68 a year from now.

With that in mind, let's go over a quick reminder of the NIT format and take a look at a few teams that'll be worth watching in that other March basketball tournament.

Format/Seeding Procedure

• There are 32 teams selected for the NIT. They are chosen via selection committee similar to the NCAA tournament. 
• Teams that win their regular-season conference championship but are not selected to the NCAA tournament receive automatic berths. Perhaps the most notable among such teams this year will be Murray State, which is unlikely to receive a berth despite a 16-0 record in Ohio Valley Conference play this season. The Racers lost to Belmont in the conference tournament final.
• While not a hard-and-fast rule, teams selected are always above the .500 mark.
• The last four teams left out of the NCAA tournament are given the top four seeds in the NIT.

Dates	Rounds	Venue
March 17-18	First-Round Games	Campus sites
March 20-23	Second-Round Games	Campus sites
March 24-25	Quarterfinal Games	Campus sites
March 31	Semifinals	Madison Square Garden
April 2	NIT Championship	Madison Square Garden

Potential NIT Teams with Shot at Deep Run

Miami (Fla.)

Luis M. Alvarez/Associated Press

The Hurricanes closed with three wins in their last four games, but that's unlikely to be enough to put them over the top. Their losses to Green Bay and Eastern Kentucky in the nonconference are probably the breaking points when it comes to their resume.

That said, this team is far from a slouch. Angel Rodriguez and Sheldon McClellan are capable of going off at any moment—even if they're not the most consistent players in the nation. Rodriguez in particular is an interesting case of someone who shoots far too much for his skill set—he's a 33.4 percent shooter this season—but doesn't seem to alienate his teammates in the process.

That's likely because he can come up with jaw-dropping performances on occasion like his 24-point night when Miami took down Duke in Durham. In nine games against ranked opponents, Miami has not lost by double digits once, though it has gone 3-6 in those contests. Jim Larranaga has a fine team here that might be worth a top seed in this tournament.

Murray State

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

This can go one of two ways. Murray State can lose early, thus "proving" itself unworthy of being in the tournament. Or, motivated by their slight, the Racers will make a deep run and make folks wonder why the committee wouldn't bit the bullet and give them an at-large berth.

I can see either scenario playing out. On one hand, Murray State is among the more exciting offensive teams in the nation.

Four players average double figures led by Cameron Payne's 20.3 points per game. Payne as a whole is one of the best players the casual fan has never heard of. He's a decisive, at times explosive scoring threat who's unafraid to take any shot. Watching him develop over his final two seasons of eligibility is going to be a joy; his presence alone should keep Murray State in the March hunt.

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Payne is joined by the veteran trio of Jarvis Williams, T.J. Sapp and Jeffery Moss. Williams and Sapp will be playing their final collegiate games in this tournament, while Moss will return for his senior year in 2015-16. Had they been able to take down Belmont, winning a couple of games with this core wouldn't have been out of the question.

On the other hand, Murray State is pretty dreadful defensively. Ken Pomeroy's efficiency metrics rank the Racers No. 203 in defensive efficiency, and it's not hard to see why watching them play. They're inattentive and at times lazy, which is not a great combination when no player on your roster is taller than 6'8". If the disappointment of not making the tournament is enough to cause any drop-off in offensive performance, Murray State is in deep trouble.

Stanford

John Locher/Associated Press

OK, sure. Maybe losing four of its final five games isn't exactly the most promising sign. And maybe its one win in that time frame being a nail-biter against a bad Washington team isn't either. You've probably got me there.

But Stanford on aggregate is not a half-bad basketball team. Chasson Randle, though he's shot miserably for more than a month now, is an explosive scorer capable of going off at any moment. Anthony Brown is a bully, playing far bigger than his 6'6" frame should allow. Stefan Nastic finally became the player Johnny Dawkins hoped when he recruited him four years ago.

The Cardinal's trio of stars combine to create an efficient offense that can stay competitive with any team. Like Murray State, however, things tend to fall apart on the other end. Stanford's defensive effort tends to be sporadic, and despite Nastic's size (6'11"), he's not much of a deterrent near the rim. Arizona and Utah were able to blow Stanford out by locking up the shooters outside and slicing the Cardinal defense up like there was no tomorrow.

Of course, all the teams Stanford has the potential to play over the next few weeks have flaws on one end or the other. That's why they're in the NIT and not the Big Dance.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.