NIT Tournament 2021: Odds, Bracket and Schedule for Quarterfinals Games

There are eight teams remaining in this year's men's National Invitation Tournament. Among them are a pair of No. 1 seeds (Colorado State and Memphis) and two No. 4 seeds (Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech).

The field will be trimmed to four after Thursday, when all four quarterfinal matchups are set to take place in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where the entire tournament is being held. That's one of the several changes the NIT underwent this season (as well as inviting only 16 teams rather than the typical 32) because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Here's the schedule for Thursday's quarterfinal games, along with odds for each matchup.  

Quarterfinal Schedule, Odds

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Thursday, March 25

No. 2 Richmond vs. No. 4 Mississippi State (-2), 6 p.m. ET, ESPN2

No. 1 Colorado State vs. No. 3 NC State (-1.5), 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

No. 1 Memphis (-4.5) vs. No. 2 Boise State, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN

No. 3 Western Kentucky vs. No. 4 Louisiana Tech (-1), 10 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Can No. 4 Seeds Keep It Going, Reach Semifinals?

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

The men's and women's March Madness tournaments aren't the only unpredictable college basketball events this time of year. Anything can also happen in the NIT.

With this season's smaller field, the No. 4 seeds were the last teams to make it into the NIT. And there are two such teams in the quarterfinals: Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech. Will they extend their seasons?

Mississippi State owned a 15-14 record heading into the NIT, but it opened the tournament with an impressive win, beating No. 1-seeded Saint Louis 74-68. The Bulldogs have won consecutive games only once since Jan. 13 (a two-game winning streak in late February), but they will be looking to notch a second straight victory when they face No. 2-seeded Richmond in the quarterfinals.

Louisiana Tech had won 10 of 11 games before it lost to North Texas in the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament. It bounced back by defeating No. 1-seeded Ole Miss 70-61 to open the NIT. The Bulldogs will now face one of their conference rivals, No. 3-seeded Western Kentucky, in the quarterfinals in a game that will also be a rubber match after they split their two regular-season meetings.

While these two No. 4 seeds may not have been favorites entering the NIT, they could soon be moving on to the semifinals.

Colorado State Looking to Take Down NC State

Richard W. Rodriguez/Associated Press

NC State may only be 14-10, but it faced some tough ACC competition throughout the season. The Wolfpack are a solid team that showed their potential in the first round of the NIT, pulling away for a 75-61 win over No. 2-seeded Davidson.

That's why Colorado State is a slight underdog heading into the quarterfinals despite being a No. 1 seed playing a No. 3 seed. The Rams are capable of taking down the Wolfpack, though, especially if they get strong performances from David Roddy and Isaiah Stevens, a pair of sophomore guards who are averaging a combined 31.1 points per game.

Entering the quarterfinals with a 19-6 record, Colorado State is motivated to keep its season going after it opened the NIT with a 75-73 win over No. 4-seeded Buffalo.

"The best teams play in March late into the season," Stevens said, per Field Level Media (h/t CBS Sports). "Being able to pull out a win was definitely big for us and our program."

Will the Rams get to play deeper into March? Their quarterfinal contest will likely be a competitive game that could go either way and should be entertaining to watch.

Memphis Could Be Poised for Impressive Victory

Matt Strasen/Associated Press

Memphis is making its second appearance in the NIT since Penny Hardaway became the team's coach ahead of the 2018-19 season. When the Tigers played in the tournament in 2019, they won their opening game and fell in their second. Can they have a better showing this time?

In the first round, Memphis got off to a good start by beating No. 4-seeded Dayton 71-60. On Thursday, the No. 1-seeded Tigers are set to take on No. 2-seeded Boise State in what should be a more competitive matchup. The Broncos bounced back from a four-game losing streak to beat SMU 85-84 in the opening round.

In order for Memphis to advance to the semifinals, Hardaway believes his team needs to "crash the glass" as well as they did in the opening round.

"We've seen Houston do that to us," Hardaway said, per Field Level Media (h/t Yahoo Sports). "If we can do that, we'll be tough to beat."

The Tigers are favorites to win against the Broncos, and with their balanced scoring attack, they could be difficult to stop.

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