NIT Tournament 2018: Updated Bracket and Quarterfinals Schedule

Just like their peers in the Big Dance, No. 1 seeds are becoming endangered species in the 2018 men's NIT.

After the second round wrapped Monday, only one top seed was still standing—the Saint Mary's Gaels, who sport a pristine 30-5 record. The other three—Notre Dame, Baylor and USC—were all ousted over the past three nights.

As the tourney shifts to the quarterfinals Tuesday and Wednesday, let's run through the updated bracket, lay out the upcoming schedule and make a couple of predictions for what's ahead.

Bracket

Be sure to check out NCAA.com for the full bracket.

Quarterfinals Schedule

Tuesday, March 20

No. 4 Penn State at No. 2 Marquette: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN

No. 4 Mississippi State at No. 2 Louisville: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN

Wednesday, March 21

No. 4 Western Kentucky at No. 2 Oklahoma State: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2

No. 2 Utah at No. 1 Saint Mary's: 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Predictions

Mississippi State at Louisville

Quick word of advice for the Cardinals—if this is a one-possession game down the stretch, don't let Quinndary Weatherspoon get a touch.

The junior All-SEC guard buried top-seeded Baylor with a triple from the right wing as time expired Sunday. As T.J. Werre of WJTV noted, Weatherspoon has a flair for the dramatic:

"I shot it with confidence and it ended up falling," Weatherspoon said, per John Werner of the Waco Tribune-Herald. "I thought I got a good shot, but I thought it was hard, honestly. It was short and I was able to get the shooter's roll. They have soft rims, so I appreciate that."

The Bulldogs have followed two Weatherspoons all season—Quinndary and his younger brother Nick, who sit first and second among their scoring leaders, respectively. Four of Mississippi State's top five scorers are guards, but this is more of an inside-the-arc attack. The Bulldogs only shoot 32 percent from three, but they make 55.5 percent of their two-pointers.

That's a tough way to attack Louisville's 28th-ranked defense.

The Cardinals are long across the frontcourt, and that size shows through their defensive metrics. Louisville ranks 35th in field-goal percentage against (41.2), and it's one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country. The Cardinals averaged 6.18 swats during the regular season (fourth), powered in large part by senior 7-footer Anas Mahmoud (3.0 blocks, seventh).

Louisville's offense comes and goes, but it hit on a winning formula in its 84-68 second-round drubbing of Middle Tennessee. The Cardinals striped 11 of their 21 long-range looks and assisted on 17 of their 29 field goals.

Provided they remain committed to proper spacing and ball movement, their offense should provide enough support to their suffocating defense to avoid the upset.

Pick: Louisville

Utah at Saint Mary's

L.E. Baskow/Associated Press

Credit Saint Mary's for not letting its NCAA tournament snub sour its NIT experience.

The Gaels—28th on KenPom.com, the highest-ranked team not in the Big Dance—have consistently displayed why they possess one of the nation's most lethal attacks. They scored 174 points in the first two rounds, shooting at least 56 percent from the field and 54 percent from distance each time out.

Senior center Jock Landale is among the most productive post players around. He's a nightly supplier of 21.3 points and 10.1 rebounds, and despite being utilized more than ever, he's shooting a career-high 64.2 percent from the field. Saint Mary's next four scorers are all 39-plus-percent three-point shooters, including senior point guard Emmett Naar, who nearly averages a double-double (9.7 points and 8.0 assists).

The Gaels are extremely one-sided, though, ranking seventh in offense and 130th on defense. That second mark looks concerning against a motivated Utah team coming off its strongest offensive performance of the season.

The Utes just steamrolled LSU 95-71 in the previous round, hitting 14 triples and getting at least a dozen points from all five starters. Utah assisted on 20 of its 33 field goals and shot 57.9 percent from the field.

"That was really fun," junior guard Sedrick Barefield said, per Lynn Worthy of the Salt Lake Tribune. "That was up there, probably top two or three as far as fun and playing together."

If the Utes can make that style contagious, they might strike the two-way balance needed to dispatch the Gaels.

Pick: Utah

Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of KenPom.com, ESPN.com and NCAA.com.