The second round schedule for the NIT has been announced - read about it now.
The 2013 NIT Tournament started last night with a bang, and there are seven more games games televised nationally starting tonight at 7 PM Eastern.
The Kentucky Wildcats lost in historic fashion to Robert Morris. It was an unusual setting from the outset -- despite being the #1 overall seed in the NIT, Kentucky was forced to open the tournament on the road in Pittsburgh due to a scheduling conflict. The Robert Morris crowd responded, selling out their 3,444 seat arena in less than three hours on Monday. After their 59-57 win, the Robert Morris crowd stormed the court, likely marking the first time that has ever happened in an NIT game.
The other top seeds in action on Tuesday, Virginia and Alabama, both won their opening games handily. In Pac-12 action, Washington was defeated by BYU in Provo, while the Stanford Cardinal managed to hold off Stephen F. Austin, 58-57. Stanford will travel to Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide in the next round.
Here is the full schedule for Wednesday night's games, all broadcast on the ESPN family of networks. All times below are Eastern.
No. 3 Iowa (21-12) vs. No. 6 Indiana State (18-14), 7 PM, ESPN2
No. 2 UMass (21-11) vs. No. 7 Stony Brook (24-7), 7:15 PM, ESPN3
No. 4 Providence (17-14) vs. No. 5 Charlotte (21-11), 7:15 PM, ESPN3
No. 2 Tennessee (20-12) vs. No. 7 Mercer (23-11), 8 PM, ESPNU
No. 2 Baylor (18-14) vs. No. 7 Long Beach State (19-13), 9 PM, ESPN2
No. 1 Southern Mississippi (25-9) vs. Charleston Southern (19-12), 9:15 PM, ESPN3
No. 3 Arizona State (21-12) vs. No. 6 Detroit (20-12), 10 PM, ESPNU
Several NCAA Tournament bubble teams take the floor this evening -- many pundits believed Southern Miss, UMass and Tennessee all had reasonably good chances to make the First Four in Dayton. Alas, they are in the National Invitational Tournament, and will look to salvage their season and work their way towards Madison Square Garden and the NIT Final Four.
The final game of the night is hosted by ASU in Tempe; Arizona State welcomes the Detroit Titans to town in ASU's first postseason game since the 2010 NIT. That is a bad memory for Sun Devils fans who remember the 8th-seeded Jacksonville team that came into town and won on a last second shot, sending the top-seeded Devils to summer break earlier than expected.
Looking for a printable NIT bracket that you can fill out yourself? Print one here!