NIT Tournament 2017: Bracket and Schedule with Round 2 on Approach

The second round of the 2017 National Invitation Tournament kicks off Saturday with Syracuse taking on Mississippi in a battle of power-conference schools. It's the first of eight NIT games that will take place through Monday night.

Cal State Bakersfield provided the biggest upset of the opening round by knocking off top-seeded California. All of the other No. 1 seeds (Syracuse, Illinois State and Iowa) won by double digits, but the level of competition will be much higher the rest of the way.

Let's check out the complete slate for Round 2, including dates, start times and viewing information for each contest. That's followed by a breakdown of the remaining contenders and some top storylines. For a look at the updated event bracket, visit the NCAA's official website.

Round 2 Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	TV
March 18	11 a.m.	(1) Syracuse vs. (5) Mississippi	ESPN
March 19	12 p.m.	(6) Georgia Tech vs. (7) Belmont	ESPN
March 19	5 p.m.	(6) Richmond vs. (7) Oakland	ESPN2
March 19	7:30 p.m.	(1) Iowa vs. (4) TCU	ESPNU
March 20	7 p.m.	(1) Illinois State vs. (4) UCF	ESPN
March 20	8 p.m.	(6) UT Arlington vs. (7) Akron	ESPNU
March 20	9 p.m.	(2) Illinois vs. (6) Boise State	ESPN
March 20	11 p.m.	(4) Colorado State vs. (8) CS Bakersfield	ESPN2

NIT Power Rankings

Rank	Team	Round 1
1	Illinois State	d. UC Irvine 85-71
2	Syracuse	d. UNCG 90-77
3	TCU	d. Fresno State 66-59
4	Illinois	d. Valparaiso 82-57
5	Iowa	d. South Dakota 87-75
6	UCF	d. Colorado 79-74
7	Ole Miss	d. Monmouth 91-83
8	UT Arlington	d. BYU 105-85
9	Georgia Tech	d. Indiana 75-63
10	Colorado State	d. Charleston 81-74
11	Belmont	d. Georgia 78-69
12	CS Bakersfield	d. California 73-66
13	Richmond	d. Alabama 71-64
14	Boise State	d. Utah 73-68
15	Akron	d. Houston 78-75
16	Oakland	d. Clemson 74-69

Jim Boeheim isn't a happy camper. Not only was Syracuse one of the top teams left out of the NCAA tournament despite several high-profile victories, but now the Orange are playing in the NIT, which the NCAA is using as a testing ground.

Paul Schwedelson of the Daily Orange relayed comments from the longtime coach about the event's four-foul rule. Instead of the standard bonus on the seventh opponent foul and double bonus on the 10th in each half, a team shoots on the fourth opponent foul and the totals reset every 10 minutes.

"I don't think the four-foul rule is a good rule at all," Boeheim said. "Say you get (four), but you get the (fourth) one just after 10 (minutes into a half) and now they get (four) more, so you don't get a free throw for 10 minutes."

That could be a key factor in Cuse's next game against Ole Miss, which figures to become a physical encounter at both ends of the floor. The Rebels rank 237th in the nation in fouls per game, according to TeamRankings.com.

The Rebel Walk provided an interesting note about the matchup:

Illinois State was March Madness' other notable snub. The Redbirds owned a 27-6 record on Selection Sunday, and while their schedule didn't allow for many marquee victories, they did defeat Wichita State in conference play.

In addition, the argument about strength of schedule is a bit flawed because it's often difficult for dangerous mid-major teams to attract interest from power programs. It's hard to fault a team for not getting enough top-50 wins if those opponents are hesitant to play the game.

Illinois State head coach Dan Muller joked about the situation on social media:

If the Redbirds keep advancing they should get opportunities to face foes from those bigger conferences. That's where they can really make a statement to show the selection committee got it wrong. But they have to take care of business against UCF first.

Elsewhere, the most intriguing Round 2 matchup will pit Iowa against TCU. It's a clash between two of the event's top teams, with the Horned Frogs deserving better than the No. 4 seed they received.

The game may very well come down to which side is better able to impose its will on the pace. TCU prefers to play a slow, methodical game that relies on efficiency, while Iowa likes to play quick to make up for some of its defensive shortcomings.

Like Syracuse and Ole Miss, it's a rare meeting between the teams, per Jon Miller‏ of Hawkeye Nation:

While most of the focus has been on that handful of teams, the NIT is also crucial for a program like Cal State Bakersfield, which upset Cal in its opener.

Those are the type of victories that can give a smaller program momentum heading into the offseason recruiting process. Jeff Faraudo of The Californian noted Roadrunners head coach Rod Barnes didn't try to downplay the upset's significance.

"It's a huge win for our program," Barnes said.

The door is open for a Cinderella run by CS Bakersfield, too. The highest seed remaining in its quarter of the draw after a series of upsets is No. 4 Colorado State, the team's next opponent. If the Roadrunners continue to perform like they did against Cal, a semifinal berth is within reach.

All told, the remaining NIT field is a nice mix of established programs and those looking to rise up the ranks of college basketball. It should make for an entertaining second round.