NIT 2021: Updated Bracket, Schedule, Odds and Championship Predictions

The opening round of the 2021 National Invitation Tournament is halfway complete, and there has been plenty of excitement over the first four games of the tourney, with four teams advancing to the quarterfinals. Now, four more will move on over the next two days and extend their season by at least one more game.

On Wednesday, No. 2-seeded Richmond and No. 3-seeded Western Kentucky notched wins to advance. Those two teams were joined by No. 2-seeded Boise State and No. 3-seeded NC State, each of whom was victorious in Thursday's action.

With two games Friday and two games Saturday, the four No. 1 seeds in this year's 16-team tournament will be in action for the first time. The NIT field is smaller than past years (when it has been 32), as the entire tourney is taking place in the Dallas-Fort Worth area because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Here's the schedule for the remainder of the first round, along with odds for each game, followed by predictions for Friday's action in Texas.

Remaining First-Round Schedule, Odds

Ron Jenkins/Associated Press

Friday, March 19

No. 1 Colorado State (-1.5) vs. No. 4 Buffalo, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

No. 1 Ole Miss (-3.5) vs. No. 4 Louisiana Tech, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Saturday, March 20

No. 1 Memphis (-4.5) vs. No. 4 Dayton, noon ET, ESPN

No. 1 Saint Louis (-4.5) vs. No. 4 Mississippi State, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Buffalo Will Pull off Upset, Take Down Colorado State

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

The first game of this year's NIT featuring a No. 1 seed could also end up being an upset.

Entering the tournament with a 16-8 record, No. 4-seeded Buffalo has mostly played well over the past month. The Bulls won their first two games of the MAC tournament, extending their season-long winning streak to seven games, before they fell to Ohio in the championship game.

Still, Buffalo's second half of the season was enough for it to be invited to the NIT, and now it will look to have a strong showing in its second appearance in the tournament in program history (the first was in 2005).

"When we figured out we were playing in the NIT, I was excited," Bulls junior guard Ronaldo Segu said, according to Jason Wolf of the Buffalo News. "Not a lot of teams are playing, so for us to have a chance to go out there and compete for a championship like the NIT is really good for us."

If Buffalo is going to try to win the championship, it will first need to get past Colorado State. The Rams are 18-6 this season, but they've lost two of their past three games (including a loss to Utah State in the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament), which ended their hopes of reaching the NCAA tournament.

The Bulls should be up for the challenge. Junior forwards Jeenathan Williams (17.4 points per game) and Josh Mballa (15.5 points and 10.9 rebounds) were both named to the All-MAC second team, and Buffalo has plenty of veteran leadership with seven seniors on its roster.

Not only that, but Buffalo is capable of putting up a lot of offense, as it led the MAC and ranked 13th in the country with 81.7 points per game.

Expect a competitive game, as Colorado State is a solid team in its own right. However, Buffalo will capitalize on the opportunity to make a statement early in the NIT, and the Bulls will begin what could be a solid tournament run by running away from the Rams late.

Prediction: Buffalo 84, Colorado State 76

Ole Miss Will Open NIT with Sizable Victory

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

After going 8-8 to start the season, Ole Miss had improved results over the past two months. That put the Rebels on the bubble for the NCAA tournament as they tried to make a run through the SEC tourney.

Although Ole Miss came up short, it continued to play well. After notching their eighth win in 10 games with a victory over South Carolina in the second round of the conference tournament, the Rebels nearly pulled off a quarterfinal upset over LSU before falling 76-73, ending their March Madness hopes.

But Ole Miss earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT, and it will now look to keep extending its season, beginning with a first-round matchup over No. 4-seeded Louisiana Tech on Friday night. This is the Rebels' first NIT appearance since 2017, when they won two games and reached the quarterfinals.

The Bulldogs are 21-7 and had won 10 of 11 games before falling to North Texas in the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament. They should give the Rebels a competitive matchup, even if their schedule may not have been quite as challenging throughout the season.

According to Nick Suss of the Clarion Ledger, Ole Miss will be without junior forward KJ Buffen, who opted out of playing in the NIT, and also potentially senior guard Devontae Shuler, who left the team because of his mother having surgery in Las Vegas.

While the Rebels will be in much better shape with Shuler, a first-team All-SEC selection, they should still have the depth and talent to get past Louisiana Tech in this first-round matchup. Ole Miss will likely have to rely more on junior guard Jarkel Joiner and senior forward Romello White, each of whom is averaging 11.6 points per game.

The game may be a bit closer than initially expected, but Ole Miss will hold on to win and advance to the quarterfinals.

Prediction: Ole Miss 68, Louisiana Tech 61

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