NIT Tournament 2016: Bracket, Schedule and Top 1st-Round Matchups to Watch

The NIT demands attention this year.

Thanks to the most difficult task the selection committee has faced to date, talented teams hemorrhaged their way out of the Big Dance and found their way to the NIT, promising one of the most interesting brackets in years.

Teams such as mid-tier powerhouse Monmouth, deep SEC sleeper Georgia and an up-and-coming Ohio State squad litter the bracket, and that's just the beginning. No game or seed looks secure this time, meaning there's no reason to miss any of the proceedings.

Here's how things will unfold, courtesy of Ohio State:

Top 1st-Round Matchups to Watch

No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 5 Davidson

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Florida State finished with just 19 wins, so an NIT bid wasn't hard to predict. 

What is? How the Seminoles can handle some serious star power.

The Seminoles finished the season 78th in ESPN's RPI rankings with a rough 6-12 mark against the RPI top 100 and just one victory against the top 25. Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley both average more than 15 points per game, but whether it's enough to match Davidson is hard to say.

The Wildcats love to get out and run. Said star is Jack Gibbs, the owner of 23.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. He helped the Wildcats also pick up a win against a top-25 team, and they finished 59th in RPI.

Gibbs will garner plenty of comparisons to Stephen Curry, making him quite the fun player to watch. Whether he can compensate for a lack of scoring around him, as well as a lack of defense, makes this one of the top matchups to watch.

According to the metrics at KenPom.com, Davidson comes in at a miserable 250th in adjusted defensive efficiency, meaning it's highly unlikely the Wildcats can stop the Seminoles.

But can Gibbs?

Prediction: Florida State 76, Davidson 73

No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 North Florida

Richard Shiro/Associated Press

The state of Florida certainly deserves a spotlight in the NIT's opening round. 

Florida, by most angles, looks like it should roll in this contest. The Gators only amassed 19 wins in the SEC and a 2-7 mark against the RPI top 50 but still retained an RPI of 52 thanks to a ridiculous strength of schedule that ranked 11th in the nation.

The Gators are just fun, with Dorian Finney-Smith averaging 14.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and John Egbunu not far behind with 11.4 and 6.4, respectively.

One problem—Egbunu is far from a sure thing for the encounter against North Florida because of injury, according to Mark Long of the Associated Press:

This is a problem, even if Egbunu takes the court and isn't 100 percent.

The Ospreys don't have the sexiest total numbers around, which is what happens with a team out of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The result is a strength of schedule ranked 323rd and an RPI of 163.

What the Ospreys do have is a guy in Dallas Moore who averages 19.7 points per game. The team shoots a superb 41 percent from deep and is able to stretch the floor from most spots while getting out and pushing the pace.

Call it an interesting in-state chess match, especially if the Gators don't have their second-leading rebounder on the court. Odds are the talent gap will eventually break through, but North Florida looks like one of the potential NIT bracket-busters with the way the team can shoot.

Prediction: Florida State 79, North Florida 73

No. 2 BYU vs. No. 7 UAB

Young Kwak/Associated Press

This might be the most deceptive No. 2 vs. No. 7 in a long time. 

BYU posted 23 wins out of the WCC to land 76th in RPI, hitting on a 2-5 mark against the RPI top 50. But is the talent gap compared to UAB really so huge?

Maybe not. UAB comes in 79th after a 25-win campaign, going 3-1 against the RPI top 100 after getting no games against the top 50.

Chase Fischer paces the Cougars at 17.9 points per game, leading an offense that averages 84 points and shoots 38 percent from deep. It's Robert Brown for the Blazers, who comes in at 13.5 directing an offense managing 79 points on 37 percent shooting from deep.

Both teams enter with something to prove after losses to close the season, though UAB coach Jerod Haase has been the most vocal about his team's struggles, according to Stu McCann of ABC3340.com:

"

I hope (they're angry) and I hope to a certain extent that the disappointment can turn into a level of anger and desire to make things better the best we possibly can. We can't go back and change what happened last week but we are in a position we can make whatever we want to happen moving forward with this season.

"

Were this game at UAB, it might seem easier to roll with the Blazers. But Haase's team has to make a huge trip, and if there's a weakness hidden in numbers, it's ranking 156th in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom.com.

Over the course of two frames, the Cougars will wear down the Blazers.

Prediction: BYU 68, UAB 65

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Stats and information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. Advanced metrics courtesy of ESPN.com.