While NJIT held off Quinnipiac to become the first program to win a postseason game, the bulk of games will start up today with the NIT kicking off with 10 first-round games today (and six tomorrow). There is also one game being played in the CBI, and two games will be played in the CIT.
As we post this article at 10:30 AM EDT, there is one notable coaching change in the Atlantic 10 – Phil Martelli has been dismissed after 24 years at Saint Joseph’s. He had two notably successful seasons on Hawk Hill that included a Sweet 16 run in 1997 and an Elite 8 run in 2004 that included a team that ran the table during the regular season. The timing will certainly be awkward – today, ironically enough, is the feast day of Saint Joseph!
(7) HOFSTRA AT (2) NC STATE (7:00 PM, ESPN2). NC State seemed to be the power conference most upset at its exclusion from the NCAA Tournament, but there is no rest for the weary – they will face a Hofstra team that won the regular season title in the Colonial and fell short against Northeastern in the CAA Championship game last week.
(5) LIPSCOMB AT (4) DAVIDSON (7:00 PM, ESPN3). Early on in the season, Lipscomb was on track for a potential at-large NCAA run, but that changed with a pair of losses to Liberty and a regular-season loss at Florida Gulf Coast. They travel to a Davidson team that lost in the semifinals of the A-10 Tournament against eventual champ Saint Louis.
(8) CAMPBELL AT (1) UNC-GREENSBORO (7:00 PM, ESPN3). UNC-Greensboro was the victim of one too many bid thieves during Championship Week – the Spartans were the first team to be left out of the NCAA field this year. They have a good defensive ballclub, but they will be tested by the Chris Clemons Show tonight.
(8) ST. FRANCIS-PA AT (1) INDIANA (7:00 PM, ESPN). The Hoosiers made a late-season rush after a horrendous stretch in their season from mid-January to mid-February. They shouldn’t have too much trouble at home against the Red Flash tonight.
(7) WRIGHT STATE AT (2) CLEMSON (7:00 PM, ESPNU). There will be some intrigue in this game featuring Brad Brownell and his current Clemson team and his former team in Wright State.
(6) SAN DIEGO AT (3) MEMPHIS (8:00 PM, ESPN3). Memphis looked like they might make a home-court run in the American tournament, but they were short-circuited by Houston in the semifinal round. San Diego managed three wins in the West Coast Conference tournament and gave Saint Mary’s a huge scare in the semis before losing in the closing seconds of that game in Las Vegas last week.
(7) SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT (2) TEXAS (9:00 PM, ESPN). This might be the feature game tonight in the NIT with Mike Daum and the Jackrabbits going on the road to face a Texas team that had some decent quality wins this year, but not enough in quantity.
(7) LOYOLA-CHICAGO AT (2) CREIGHTON (9:00 PM, ESPNU). Our Hoops HD Selection Committee thought highly enough of Creighton that they were our last team in the NCAA Tournament field, but at the end of the day didn’t have quite enough quality wins despite a tough schedule this season. Loyola can be a pest, but haven’t been able to stay healthy all season long, either.
(5) ARKANSAS AT (4) PROVIDENCE (9:00 PM, ESPN2). The Friars are one of five Big East teams in the NIT field this year despite flirting with last place in the conference near the end of the season. Arkansas had one moment of glory with a win at LSU this year, but precious little else on their profile.
(5) DAYTON AT (4) COLORADO (11:00 PM, ESPN2). Very quietly, Colorado put together a somewhat decent season and only had two losses at home all year – one was against Washington and the other against Oregon State. They’ll be facing a Dayton team that does have some young talent, but might be unfamiliar with the Mile High air tonight.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE AT UTAH VALLEY (9:00 PM). We’ll let you guess at home which team bought their way into this tournament despite a 20-loss season.
CORNELL AT ROBERT MORRIS (7:00 PM, WatchCIT.com). Despite missing the 4-team Ivy League tournament, the Big Red of Cornell will get at least one postseason game on the road with a trip to Moon Township to take on the Robert Morris Colonials.
IUPUI AT MARSHALL (7:00 PM, WatchCIT.com). This is the first of 5 “Classic” opening round games – the Jim Phelan Classic features an IUPUI team that won at Boston College during nonconference play. Marshall had a middling season in C-USA one year after beating Wichita State in the NCAA Tournament.