NIT Tournament 2016: Bracket and Schedule with Round 2 on Approach

There was little in the way of surprises in the first round of the 2016 National Invitational Tournament. Of the 16 first-round matchups, 15 saw the higher seed go through to the next round. The lone upset came courtesy of the eighth-seeded Wagner Seahawks, who survived a furious second-half assault from No. 1 St. Bonaventure to clinch a 79-75 victory and set up a date with No. 4 Creighton.

While those with an affinity for underdogs might be upset the Seahawks are the only team that may fit into a glass slipper and make a Cinderella run, the rest of the tournament shouldn't lack for drama. The overwhelming majority of top-seeded teams advancing means there should be some high-quality NIT action moving forward. 

CBSSports.com has an updated version of the bracket with scores from each game. The schedule for the second round can be found in the table below. 

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Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	TV
Thursday, March 17	7 p.m.	No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 1 Valparaiso	ESPNNews
Friday, March 18	9:30 p.m.	No. 3 Virginia Tech vs. No. 2 BYU	ESPNU
Saturday, March 19	12 p.m.	No. 8 Wagner vs. No. 4 Creighton	ESPN
Sunday, March 20	12 p.m.	No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Florida	ESPN
Sunday, March 20	7:30 p.m.	No. 2 St. Mary's (CA) vs. No. 3 Georgia	ESPNU
Monday, March 21	7 p.m.	No. 4 George Washington vs. No. 1 Monmouth	ESPN
Monday, March 21	9 p.m.	No. 4 Georgia Tech vs. No. 1 South Carolina	ESPN
Monday, March 21	11:30 p.m.	No. 3 Washington vs. No. 2 San Diego State	ESPN2

Second-Round Monday Madness

With three games on the slate, March 21 is the big day of basketball for the NIT's second round, as it takes place on one of the NCAA tournament's off days. Here's a quick rundown of the trio of intriguing contests.

No. 4 George Washington vs. No 1 Monmouth

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

The NCAA tournament will go on a small break after the conclusion of the second round on Sunday.

While this often means an extra-heavy case of the Monday blues for college basketball fans, please allow Monmouth and its famously theatrical bench squad to serve as a tonic as they kick off the day of NIT action with a game against George Washington.

Junior guard Justin Robinson led Monmouth with 23 points in his side's 90-80 win over regular-season Patriot League champions Bucknell on Wednesday, and the bench was back to its usual tricks, per For The Win: 

It was a nice bounce-back game of sorts for Robinson after three straight performances where he scored below his season average of 19.2 points per game.

The Hawks' second-round opponent is George Washington, who eked out an 82-80 win over Hofstra thanks to a running jumper from senior guard Alex Mitola in the closing seconds of the game. Mitola's game-winner save George Washington from embarrassment, as they nearly choked away an 11-point halftime lead.

Junior forward Tyler Cavanaugh led the Colonials with 20 points and 11 rebounds. As per usual, Cavanaugh's scoring support had a decidedly international flavor.

Senior guard Patricio Garino (Mar Del Plata, Argentina) backed up Cavanaugh with 18 points, indefatigable senior forward and Copenhagen native Kevin Larsen added 16 points in 39 minutes of play and sophomore forward Yuta Watanabe from Ehime, Japan, chipped in with 15 points.

George Washington's international cohort has propelled its basketball resurgence in recent years. The Colonials are 24-10 on the season, their third straight campaign with at least 20 wins. The unique roster makeup makes them a a team very much worth watching as basketball's influence grows around the world.

As for the Hawks, well, every game of theirs has to be cherished at this point, as it could be the last we see of this deeply lovable team and it's famous band of merry bench bandits.

No. 3 Washington vs. No. 2 San Diego State

Leon Bennett/Getty Images

It will be strength vs. strength when Washington takes on San Diego State on March 21. The Huskies ranked seventh in the nation in scoring this season with 84.1 points per game. They blew past that figure in their first-round win over Long Beach State, racking up 107 points, no overtime required.

Freshman guard Dejounte Murray poured in a game-high 30 points, freshman forward Marquese Chriss added 27 and senior guard Andrew Andrews added another 25.

Washington will be hard-pressed to get anywhere close to that total against the Aztecs, who ranked sixth in the nation in points allowed per game. Head coach Steve Fisher's squad put in a typically stout defensive shift against IPFW, holding the Mastodons to 31.1 percent shooting from the floor in a 79-55 win.

Senior forward Winston Shepard keyed the team with a triple-double, posting 10 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, with two steals thrown in for good measure. Fox Sports San Diego noted Shepard's statistical feat was a first for the program: 

The Aztecs' dominant display was perhaps a way of saying they don't belong in the NIT. The NCAA tournament selection committee couldn't find a reason to bring SDSU along to the Big Dance after they lost to Fresno State in the Mountain West Conference tournament championship game. This is the first time since 2009 that the Aztecs have missed out on the NCAA tournament. 

Despite posting a scorching point total, Washington coach Lorenzo Romar still felt his team got off to a slow start by digging themselves into an early hole. 

"Our guys, after we came out pretty sluggish, I thought realized if we didn't get going we were going to be going home for the summer,'' he said, per the Associated Press (h/t CBSSports.com). ''Give our guys a lot of credit, started playing hard, started playing with more energy.''

Playing with energy from the start will be key for Washington. The Aztecs' best guys are an experienced bunch. Shepard, senior forward Skylar Spencer and sophomore guard Malik Pope are all tall, long players capable of clogging passing lanes and smothering drives to the hoop. They can grind games to a halt.

The Aztecs forced 16 turnovers against IPFW. A quick start and smart ball-handling from Murray and Andrews will be critical if Washington is to pull off the minor upset.

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Georgia Tech

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Every No. 1 seed at the NIT has some frustrations to work out, as the top seeding means they just missed the cut for the prestigious NCAA tournament.

Despite playing short-handed with five players suspended from the game for "conduct issues," per the Associated Press, South Carolina found a constructive way to channel its pent-up frustration, by repeatedly feeding 6'11" Lithuanian center Laimonas Chatkevicius the ball in the team's 88-66 win over High Point.

Chatkevicius towered over each and every High Point player and had no trouble scoring, putting up 30 points on 15-of-16 shooting from the floor. 

It was a simple, bullying strategy executed to near perfection, and head coach Frank Martin said the game worked to relieve whatever lingering feelings his squad had after getting left out of the NCAA tournament. 

“We still had a little residue in us for getting left out,” said Martin, per the State's David Cloninger. “Whatever happened between today and when we lost to Georgia, it’s over. We’re going to be one of about 50 teams still playing on Monday. You’ve got to be excited.”

The Gamecocks will face a stiff challenge in the second round from Georgia Tech, who smacked Houston 81-62 in the first round behind 20 points from senior guard Adam Smith and another 19 from senior forward Marcus Georges-Hunt. 

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The Yellow Jackets aren't nearly as vertically challenged as High Point. They can throw 6'10" sophomore center Ben Lammers and 6'9" forward Quinton Stephens at the towering Chatkevicius. Should Georgia Tech gum up the works inside, South Carolina could be relying heavily on guard Sindarius Thornwell, who had 20 points and made four of six shots from beyond the arc against High Point.

Should both those players struggle, points could be hard to come by for South Carolina. The team ranked 152nd in three-point shooting percentage on the season, and Thornwell was the only player to make more than one trey against High Point. 

Georgia Tech wasn't a particularly good defensive team this season, but they have the players to force South Carolina to alter its strategy. However, the Yellow Jackets will have to hope their own sharp-shooting continues. They made 50 percent of their threes against Houston, well above their 35 percent clip on the season.