NIT 2017: Bracket, Schedule and Players to Watch

The National Invitation Tournament has been one of the more chaotic and unpredictable postseasons we've seen in quite some time. Only one team higher than a No. 4 seed made the quarterfinals, and a No. 8 seed made the semifinals after winning three straight games on the road.

It's been a fun tournament filled with surprises every night. Here's a look at the latest bracket and schedule, as well as one player from each semifinal team to watch on Tuesday.

NIT Bracket (Quarterfinals Through Final)
Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
No. 6 Georgia Tech 74
vs.
No. 5 Ole Miss 66	No. 6 Georgia Tech
	vs.
No. 8 CSU Bakersfield 80	No. 8 CSU Bakersfield
vs.
No. 6 Texas-Arlington 76		GT/CSUB winner
		vs.
No. 4 UCF 68		UCF/TCU winner
vs.
No. 2 Illinois 58	No. 4 UCF
	vs.
No. 4 TCU 86	No. 4 TCU
vs.
No. 6 Richmond 68
NCAA.com

NIT Schedule
Matchup	Round	Date	Time	Television
No. 8 CSU Bakersfield vs. No. 6 Georgia Tech	Semifinals	Tuesday, March 28	7 p.m. ET	ESPN
No. 4 UCF vs. No. 4 TCU	Semifinals	Tuesday, March 28	9 p.m. ET	ESPN
CSUB/GT winner vs. UCF/TCU winner	Final	Thursday, March 30	8 p.m. ET	ESPN
NCAA.com

 

TCU: Desmond Bane

Bane, a 6'7" freshman guard, scored 16 points in just 21 minutes off the bench to help lead TCU to an 85-82 win over Kansas in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals.

He has been one of the catalysts for TCU's recent offensive success lately. Bane hit four free throws down the stretch in the Horned Frogs' 94-92 overtime win at No. 1 seed Iowa and ended the game with 13 points. In TCU's next game, a quarterfinal tilt with Richmond, Bane scored 13 again, drilling a trio of three-pointers in an 86-68 victory.

Bane has been in the starting lineup for TCU's last two games, and his presence has clearly given the team an offensive jolt. It will be interesting to see how Bane fares against UCF, which has the fourth-best scoring defense in the nation (61.0 points per game).

 

CSU Bakersfield: Dedrick Basile

Basile has averaged 16.3 points and four assists per game in the NIT, helping CSUB make a remarkable run to the semifinals as a No. 8 seed.

His most impressive outing occurred against Cal in the opening round, as Basile scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half and helped the Roadrunners take a 44-19 halftime lead. CSUB held on for the win, 73-66.

Basile also performed well in a raucous environment on the road against Texas-Arlington in the quarterfinals. CSUB took a 45-29 halftime lead against the Mavericks in that game, but UT-Arlington came back and cut the lead to 78-76 with six seconds left.

Here's Basile and CSUB head coach Rod Barnes with the rest of the story.

We could definitely see Mr. Clutch lead CSUB to an NIT championship. 

 

UCF: Matt Williams

The senior guard has not shot the ball well this year, making only 39.5 percent of his attempts. However, his shooting has improved in the NIT, as Williams has made 16 of his 33 field goals and 13 of his 25 three-pointers. For the season, Williams averages 15.1 points per game.

Williams will be the key against TCU on Tuesday. If he can hit his shots, then the UCF three-headed monster of leading scorer B.J. Taylor, 7'6" center and leading shot-blocker Tacko Fall and Williams will be tough for TCU to beat.

Williams is also a workhorse, as he (and Taylor) typically plays the entire game (or close to it). Expect that to be the case again on Tuesday.

 

Georgia Tech: Josh Okogie

The freshman guard has been on fire in the NIT, averaging 21.7 points per game in a trio of contests. He posted 26 against Ole Miss on 8-of-17 shooting and 24 against Indiana on 9-of-15 shooting.

Okogie averages 16.1 points and 5.3 rebounds for the season, and on any given night, he can score in droves. That's what he did against Tulane with a 38-point effort, and he also led the Yellow Jackets to a 75-63 upset win over North Carolina by scoring 26.

Between Okogie and shot-blocking guru Ben Lammers, Georgia Tech will be a tough out in the NIT.