NIT Tournament 2016: Updated Bracket and Schedule as Round 2 Continues

The leftovers from the NCAA tournament are doing pretty well for themselves in the NIT.

Though little can compare with some of the shenanigans of the Big Dance, such as a half-court bank shot by Northern Iowa as time expired, the NIT has come close with down-to-the-wire games and upsets of its own. 

In fact, one No. 1 seed already watches from home after an upset, and with teams such as Florida not even clutching top seeds, more madness is sure to ensue. 

As Round 2 rages forward, here's an updated look at the bracket and known schedule. 

NIT Round 2 Info

Date	Time (ET)	TV	Matchup
March 20	Noon	ESPN	Florida at Ohio State
March 20	7:30 p.m.	ESPNU	Georgia at Saint Mary's
March 21	7 p.m.	ESPN	George Washington at Monmouth
March 21	9 p.m.	ESPN	Georgia Tech at South Carolina
March 21	11:30 p.m.	ESPN2	Washington at San Diego State

Updated bracket can be found here, courtesy of NCAA.com. Full schedule and broadcast information are courtesy of NESN.com.

Georgia at Saint Mary's

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia and Saint Mary's make for a pretty interesting case study in how the selection committee works, or at least omits. 

The Bulldogs played a brutal schedule in the SEC, still finishing 62nd in ESPN's RPI rankings on a 23rd strength of schedule with a 6-12 mark against the RPI top 100. The Gaels, on the other hand, finished 40th despite a 163rd strength of schedule and a 6-3 mark against the same level of competition.

Regardless, both teams told different stories in the first round of the NIT. Georgia looked strong in a 93-84 win against Belmont and received a ridiculous 33 points from Yante Maten. Saint Mary's actually struggled, as it escaped seventh-seeded New Mexico State by just two points despite 51 percent shooting from the floor.

It's Georgia looking much stronger, clearly. It helps Maten's epic performance had quite the exclamation point, as Georgia captured:

“Inside, I went up strong,” Maten said, according to Anthony Dasher of Rivals.com. “I tried to get a little arc on the ball and on the outside they were backing off of me. I was feeling my shot going in before the game, so why not?”

Saint Mary's might rank higher in RPI and boast a rank of 14th in adjusted offensive efficiency at KenPom.com, in large part because the team shoots 41 percent from deep.

But Georgia's battle-tested pressure defense clearly has an the answer, and with Maten on such a roll, the Bulldogs can keep pace with any team in the bracket. Unless the Gaels can post a gigantic turnaround from Round 1, Georgia's speed, athleticism and sheer potency will wear them down as the game proceeds.

Prediction: Georgia 75, Saint Mary's 69

George Washington at Monmouth

Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

St. Bonaventure was the first No. 1 seed to fall in this year's NIT, and now Monmouth has to hope it can avoid becoming the second.

So far, so good for the Hawks, who breezed through the first round with a 10-point decision against eighth-seeded Bucknell. The next opponent is George Washington, a fourth seed that looked shaky while escaping fifth-seeded Hofstra by just two points.

Granted, the Colonials got double-digit scoring from four of their starters and proved to be a formidable opponent all season long, ranking 65th in RPI with an adjusted offensive efficiency of 50th.

Though Monmouth won't find itself intimidated. The Hawks stand 55th in RPI with an impressive 6-4 mark against the RPI top 100 and seem somewhat like a counterbalance to George Washington by sitting 57th in adjusted defensive efficiency.

This one is interesting not just because of the matchup on the court, either. Remember, George Washington head coach Mike Lonergan called out the Hawks by name during the buildup to Selection Sunday, campaigning for his team over Monmouth. The Associated Press provided the comment (via USA Today):

"

Some of those other teams I see on the TV, they can't do anything else. They're done. I'll put our wins against Monmouth's wins any day of the week. They're a big story, but I truly believe if we do the right things here, whether we have to win one game or two, the people in that room (the selection committee) that know basketball, it's not going to be about who has the best player in the country or who has the bench, it's going to be about the deserving teams.

"

That's called whiteboard material, folks.

Those quotes in mind, Monmouth will come out gunning. The team already looked impressive in the first round, and it's important to remember the Hawks average 80 points per game while shooting 37 percent from deep compared to George Washington's 75 and 37, respectively.

Look for Monmouth to pull away late with the Hawks wanting to make a statement to the remainder of the bracket. 

Prediction: Monmouth 79, George Washington 70

Stats and information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. Advanced metrics courtesy of ESPN.com and KenPom.com. Odds courtesy of Odds Shark as of Tuesday morning.