NIT 2017: Bracket, Schedule and Tournament's Top Teams Heading into Round 2

While the focus around college basketball is solely focused on the opening day of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, the NIT is plugging away to its second round.

The first round featured snow delays, close finishes and the embarrassing bow-out of talented teams disappointed to miss out on the Big Dance. You know, like every other NIT.

Once you get past the first round, though, the malaise typically dies down. Teams that win their first game don't suddenly start punting their second; things should get more competitive, even as the spotlight dims in favor of March Madness.

With that in mind, here's a look at the schedule and top teams heading into Round 2. 

Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV
No. 1 Syracuse vs. No. 5 Mississippi	March 18	11 a.m.	ESPN
No. 6 Georgia Tech vs. No. 7 Belmont	March 19	Noon	ESPN
No. 6 Richmond vs. No. 7 Oakland	March 19	5 p.m.	ESPN2
No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 4 TCU	March 19	7:30 p.m.	ESPNU
No. 1 Illinois State vs. No. 4 UCF	March 20	7 p.m.	ESPN
No. 6 UT Arlington vs. No. 7 Akron	March 20	8 p.m.	ESPNU
No. 2 Illinois vs. No. 6 Boise State	March 20	9 p.m.	ESPN
No. 4 Colorado State vs. No. 8 CSU Bakersfield	March 20	11 p.m.	ESPN2

Full bracket available here.

Ole Miss

The Rebels finished fifth in the SEC and were one point away from taking down conference finalist Arkansas in the quarters. Landing a No. 5 seed was a little bit of an eye-opener, and they further solidified their status as a potential NIT favorite with a win at Monmouth.

The Rebels shot 51.6 percent from the floor and had five players in double figures, spearheaded by a 23-point, 11-rebound effort from Sebastian Saiz. The senior forward set Ole Miss' double-doubles record in the process.

"We average close to 80 (points) a game, and I thought our spacing was pretty good," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said, per John Sorce of the Journal. "Saiz is an All-SEC post guy. We did a good job playing through him and finding the open man. At the end of the day, you have to find the open man and make shots, and we did that in the second half."

Ole Miss plays at one of the nation's highest tempos and can be difficult to match up with on short notice. That will be an issue for Syracuse, which already had to deal with its opener Tuesday being delayed due to the winter storm in the northeast.

Syracuse

That said, the Orange are the best on-paper team remaining in this field. They narrowly missed out on an NCAA tournament berth, to the point some thought they deserved to get in. (Hot take: There's no such thing as a snub in a 68-team field. Do better during the regular season.)

Syracuse responded to the disappointment of missing the field and the one-day delay in fine form, shooting 55.8 percent in a 90-77 win over UNC-Greensboro. Andrew White III scored a game-high 34 points and knocked down seven threes while playing all 40 minutes.

White and Tyler Lyndon both played the entire game. If you thought for a second Jim Boeheim would punt the game and allow his season to end in a whimper, it's just not his style, and the result will be a pretty fun matchup with Ole Miss in the second round.

Spoiler alert: The winner of this game will go on to win the NIT. Book it. (Or don't; NIT hot takes are quite unnecessary. I just think they're the best two teams of an increasingly mediocre bunch.)

UT Arlington

Do you enjoy fun? Rainbows? Happiness? The look of a puppy as you're about to give it a treat for good behavior?

Then you should be OK with Arlington making as far of a run as possible.

Arlington and BYU put together the most exciting game of Round 1, running up and down the court against one another to the tune of 194 total points. The two sides scored 117 first-half points, which Ken Pomeroy wrote was the highest total of his play-by-play data.

These teams covered the floor, jacked threes at an alarming rate and forced their way to the type of shots that would make the Houston Rockets proud. Arlington wound up pulling away in the second half for a 105-89 victory, instantly becoming a favorite in its bracket.

TCU

I'm cheating here. There's nothing especially fun about TCU. The Horned Frogs are simply the highest-rated team by Pomeroy remaining in the field; they were the best team not given an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament.

These kids play hard for Jamie Dixon and have a chance to make a run here.