NIT 2015: Preview, Schedule for 2nd-Round Matchups

The first round of the 2015 NIT came and went over the last two evenings. Did you notice? Probably not, and it's hard to blame you given the relative lack of excitement on the floor.

Only one of the 16 games was decided by one possession, there were only two upsets of top-three seeds and everyone seemed pleased to move forth in a chalk-filled haze. There were no Robert Morris over Kentucky levels of schadenfreude or last-second buckets that made their way onto sports highlight shows. 

The lone cause for glee among those looking for an early March Madness preview came from South Dakota State, which waxed the floor with top-seeded Colorado State. Even the first round's biggest upset was marred by the small fact that the game never felt like one. Four Jackrabbits scored in double figures, led by George Marshall's 21 points, and the supposed underdogs never trailed after being down 4-3 in the first half.

USA TODAY Sports

"As crazy as this sounds, we gave what we had," Colorado State coach Larry Eustachy, who was vocal about his team deserving to be in the NCAA tournament, said after the game, per Kelly Lyell of The Coloradoan. "There's a lot to being mentally drained. … You just can't unring the bell."

The second-biggest upset in terms of seeding, again, wasn't much of one. Sixth-seeded Alabama crushed Illinois, 79-58, in a battle of major-conference also-rans. The Crimson Tide shot nearly 60 percent, held a 24-point lead at halftime and played like they were the ones at home. Which, of course, they were thanks to some poorly-timed renovations at Illinois' home floor.

"We were playing for more than just ourselves tonight," interim head coach John Brannen told reporters. "This is coach Grant's program as I've mentioned many times. He's asked us to carry it on in terms of going forward and we're going to do that to the best of our abilities."

Again, not much to write home about. Team motivated by coach firing gets out there and gets the job done against a team ready to be done for the season. We've seen that narrative. We've also seen things like William & Mary's near-miss of a historic comeback against Tulsa, which would have been great had it actually happened.

There's no other way to put it: The NIT's first round was a disappointment. But what the first round lacked in excitement should pave way for an excellent series of games over the weekend.

The great thing about so few top-seeded teams losing is getting to see them go head-to-head. Old Dominion and Illinois State should provide a top-tier battle of mid-major teams that just missed out on tournament berths. Using Ken Pomeroy's metrics as a measuring stick, the fourth-seeded Redbirds are actually the better team on a neutral floor and might be able to pull off the upset.

Stephen Lance Dennee/Associated Press

Murray State and Tulsa are about as opposite as two sides can get. Tulsa can't score. Murray State can't defend. Put the brain trusts of these two teams together, and you get a Northern Iowa-like juggernaut; apart they're merely polar opposites where one side will have to crack.

"We're going to have to go up there ready to play," Murray State coach Prohm said, per USA Today. "It's going to take a great, great effort to go up there and beat Tulsa on the road."

In fact, only two of the games on the schedule look like lopsided affairs. Texas A&M should be able to use its defensive prowess to thwart an already iffy Louisiana Tech offense, and South Dakota State's Cinderella run likely isn't going to get past a Vanderbilt squad that's probably better than a handful of at-large teams in the tournament.

Date	Time (ET)	TV	Matchup
March 20	9:30 p.m.	ESPNU	South Dakota State at Vanderbilt
March 21	11 a.m.	ESPN	Alabama at Miami (Fla.)
March 22	11 a.m.	ESPN	George Washington at Temple
March 22	7:30 p.m.	ESPNU	Arizona State at Richmond
March 22	9:30 p.m.	ESPNU	Rhode Island at Stanford
March 23	7 p.m.	ESPN	Louisiana Tech at Texas A&M
March 23	8 p.m.	ESPNU	Illinois State at Old Dominion
March 23	9 p.m.	ESPN	Murray State at Tulsa

Outside those two expected blowouts, though, we're looking at a series of closely matched opponents.

Jessica Hill/Associated Press

Richmond and Arizona State are two teams that excel at nothing but are pretty good on both ends. Alabama and Miami are going to do well at scoring the whole six times per game they will shoot. (Both are very, VERY, VERY slow-paced.) Temple and George Washington may never score at all against the other's defense. And Stanford and Rhode Island are akin to Murray State and Tulsa, as in one (Cardinal) struggles defensively, while the other (Rams) struggles to put the ball in the basket.

There's no other way to put it: The second round of the NIT should be pretty great. Not Thursday-of-the-NCAA-Tournament great. But good enough that you might find yourself secretively flipping channels away from the Big Dance over the weekend.

Given the way the first round went, that's about as good a compliment as one can pay.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter