We're No. 2: Breaking Down the National Invitation Tournament

In the current landscape the NIT is the bridesmaid to the Godzilla-like presence of the NCAA Tournament. But the NIT is fast becoming a factor again, after many years of toiling in the pits with teams actually turning down invitations to appear in the tournament. That proverbial slap in the face has now been handed down to the inaugural College Basketball Invitational, which had five teams turn down invitations after they were left home from both the NCAA and NIT.

Part of the appeal comes from the new television contract with the ESPN family of networks and part of it comes with a lucrative advertising deal with MasterCard. The bottom line is, the tournament is now in a position to compete, indirectly, with the NCAA. And again it does raise the question of expanding the Big Dance to 128 teams, as Bob Knight suggested last night during the NCAA Selection Show.

Well, this year is the best chance for the NIT to make noise in many years. Having C.M. Newton, the revered Kentucky coach and GM as its chairman, doesn't hurt either. And 2008 does seem an appropriate year for change, even in the college basketball landscape.

Here are the four brackets and my picks for the final four in Madison Square Garden. Bracket 1 with Ohio State as the No. 1 seed has four potential teams, in my view, that could be in the Big Apple in April and is by far the toughest bracket of them all. The second most difficult looks to be the fourth bracket, which has teams like Syracuse, Minnesota, Maryland and UMass.

Eight teams to watch:

Ohio State (19-13) - The Buckeyes are probably still a bit stung by being left out of the Big Dance, particularly after they made it all the way to the tournament final. So it's hard to know which team will show up. This version of the Buckeyes is a lunch-pail crew, nothing like the flashy unit you're accustomed to seeing. And they'll have their hands full with New Mexico (24-8) and J.R. Giddens, the Mountain West co-player of the year in the second round. In the final analysis it all depends which team shows up.

Dayton (21-10) - A lot of basketball pundits said Dayton could have caused some teams a heap of trouble in the NCAA Tournament had they been selected. Matchup problems abound for anyone planning to face the Flyers, whose moniker befits their playing style. A late-season fall probably cost Dayton their shot at the NCAA's, but this team has enough gusto to make any game interesting. They're looking at a second-round matchup with Utah State if things go according to plan.

Utah State (24-10) - It is a flatout mistake to assume that since the Aggies are not playing in the friendly confines of the Smith Spectrum in Logan, the Cameron Indoor Stadium of the West, that they will go down easy. Two-time player of the year Jaycee Carroll will assure that the regular-season champion Ags fight their way out of this. They probably would have won the post-season tournament and been on their way to another Big Dance if it weren't for Cinderella Boise State in the semifinals. Their concern is their big men, but that shouldn't be an issue in either their first-round or second-round games.

Virginia Tech (19-13) - Anyone who takes North Carolina to the buzzer has to be a concern. And anyone who displays a team-first mentality to go along with a fiery coach in Seth Greenberg has to be watched. Virginia Tech is not flashy but I have a feeling this team will be fired up and ready to prove all the critics wrong. They're already getting lots of press coverage, which is really bad news for any opponent.

Arizona State (19-12)

Anyone who defeated Arizona, injury-depleted or not, has to be given some scrutiny. This is a very defensive-minded team, which is customary under coach Herb Sendek. They're looking at a potential second-round matchup with Oklahoma State of the Big 12, but this has not been a good year for the Big 12. So the Sun Devils should breeze until they face Creighton in the quarterfinals. Then things could get interesting.

Florida (21-11)

Gators coach Billy Donovan doesn't like to lose. What's amazing is that he got the Gators to 21 wins in spite of losing half of last year's national championship squad to the NBA. Florida does have a rather tall order right out of the gate though, facing a good San Diego State Aztecs team led by another coaching legend in Steve Fisher. Then they're looking right down the barrel at Creighton, which is another team nobody wants to play.

Syracuse (19-13)

A perennial NIT entrant when they aren't making waves in the Big Dance, the Orange are making lots of noise this year in terms of its coach Jim Boeheim griping to the media about being left out of the NCAA's. So they'll be hyped up for yet another run to the Big Apple. They'll have Tubby Smith's Minnesota squad waiting for them, though, in the second round. And with Florida State and Umass awaiting them in the later rounds, the road to the Big Apple isn't paved with gold per usual.

Maryland (18-14)

Coach Gary Williams is also back in the NIT, which means that teams in the ACC have exactly one year to get ready for the Terps and their usual run to the NCAA's. So you can't discount the Terps, nor would you ever. Doing that is not a good idea. The only difference this year is that the Terps are facing a Minnesota team that probably should have been in the Big Dance. But the Terps' big game experience should carry them to a great matchup against Syracuse. The winner of that game will probably be heading to the Big Apple.

FINAL FOUR PICKS

Dayton, Virginia Tech, Florida and Syracuse.

FINALS

Dayton and Florida.

CHAMPION

Florida, continuing their historic run at consecutive national championships to three. That would also make Billy Donovan happy.

But like March Madness, nothing is guaranteed, not even in the NIT.