NIT Tournament 2017: Bracket, Schedule and Semifinals Predictions

Is there anyone outside Atlanta, Bakersfield, Orlando or Fort Worth who thought Georgia Tech, CSU Bakersfield, Central Florida or TCU would make the men's National Invitation Tournament semifinals?

Chances are a few brave souls outside those cities thought it would be the case, but the vast majority of fans following the NIT probably thought we'd see Syracuse roll into the semifinals after a trio of wins at the Carrier Dome and Illinois State, who arguably should have been an NCAA tournament team, staying undefeated at home before heading to New York City.

However, no No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 seed even made the semifinals in one of the more chaotic postseasons you will ever see.

Here is a look at the latest bracket and schedule alongside predictions for Tuesday's semifinal games.

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

 

CSU Bakersfield vs. Georgia Tech

This is a battle between CSUB's well-balanced scoring attack and a Georgia Tech team with a fantastic guard (freshman Josh Okogie) and big man (junior Ben Lammers) along with a forward (senior Quinton Stephens) who is playing his best basketball at the right time.

CSUB's scoring attack has been led by a reserve, junior guard Shon Briggs, who is averaging 17 points per game in the NIT. However, the Roadrunners are getting contributions from many folks, which is helpful when one or two players have an off night.

For example, the team's leading scorer this season, senior forward Jaylin Arlington, shot 0-of-7 from the field and scored just five points against Cal in the first round. However, four Roadrunners scored 11 or more points that night, led by senior guard Dedrick Basile's 18. CSUB outscored Cal 44-19 in the first half en route to a 73-66 win.

Georgia Tech is ranked sixth in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom.com, and that's due in large part to Lammers' fantastic defense in the paint. The junior blocks 3.3 shots per game and swatted eight attempts against Ole Miss in the quarterfinals.

The Yellow Jackets, however, have a subpar offense that ranks 267th in adjusted offensive efficiency. Simply put, Georgia Tech is a poor outside shooting team, as it makes only 32.9 percent of its three-pointers.

Although CSUB has made a fantastic run into the semifinals, it hasn't faced a big man as potent as Lammers or a defense as stout as Georgia Tech's. Expect this game to be close and low-scoring but for the Yellow Jackets to prevail.

 

UCF vs. TCU

UCF has pulled off two of the most impressive wins in the NIT, defeating Illinois State on the road (the Redbirds were undefeated at home before facing the Knights) and taking down a Big Ten team, Illinois, by 10 points.

The Knights, under first-year head coach Johnny Dawkins, are trending upward at the right time. In fact, it wouldn't be a surprise at all to see UCF in the NCAA tournament next season.

For now, UCF is focused on winning the NIT behind a fantastic defense that allows only 61 points per game.

TCU has other ideas, however. The Horned Frogs have a Swiss Army knife in junior guard Kenrich Williams, who can do a little of everything. For the season, Williams averages 10.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Williams even posted a triple-double against Richmond in the quarterfinals, scoring 11 points, dishing 10 assists and grabbing 14 rebounds in 33 minutes.

Regardless of who wins, don't expect this game to be high-scoring. Both teams play at relatively slow paces (TCU is 234th out of 351 in Division I teams in tempo, per KenPom.com, while UCF is 276th), so this game won't be a track meet by any means. Both teams might struggle to get to 60.

This almost seems like a coin-flip game on paper, but take UCF to win by a bucket thanks to some strong defense down low from 7'6" center Tacko Fall.