SMU and Dayton Lead Packed Field as Teams Decline NIT Bids

-

SMU, Dayton, UC Irvine and San Francisco are the No. 1 seeds in the 2025 National Invitation Tournament, organizers revealed Sunday night.

Out of the 32 teams participating, only four — SMU, Stanford, Georgia Tech, and Oklahoma State — come from one of the five major conferences, which could indicate a notable drop in overall competitiveness for this customary mid-level competition.

The programs that turned down tournament invitations comprised Indiana, Northwestern, Rutgers, Wake Forest, Pitt, LSU, and South Carolina.Indiana found itself just outside the top 68 spots for the NCAA Tournament.For comparison purposes, LSU (with a record of 3-15 within the Southeastern Conference) and South Carolina (at 2-16) stood as the sole two representatives from the SEC who did not make it into the NCAA Tournament out of a total of 16 eligible teams.

The intention was to have exemption bids for two teams from both the ACC and SEC conferences. In this case, SMU and Georgia Tech stand as representatives of the ACC.

This marks the first year that the NIT will compete with the College Basketball Cup, which pledged to include two teams each from the Big Ten, Big East, and Big 12 conferences for its initial 16-team lineup.

Regarding the NIT, games will be played at on-campus locations initially, with the semifinals and finals taking place in Indianapolis. The tournament starts this coming Tuesday.

SMU is set to start with a game against Northern Iowa and might meet No. 4 seed Oklahoma State in the following round, where the Cowboys will be up against Wichita State.

In the initial match of their regional bracket, Dayton will face off against Florida Atlantic, who have previously been notable underdogs in the NCAA Tournament. This region also encompasses No. 2 seed George Mason, a fellow team within the Atlantic 10 Conference. Recently, George Mason nearly secured the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament from VCU during Sunday’s contest.

This season, UC Irvine concluded with a record of 28 wins and 6 losses but was defeated by UC San Diego in the championship game of the Big West Tournament. They will start their playoff journey against Northern Colorado and might face No. 4 seed Georgia Tech in the second round.

San Francisco will play against Utah Valley and might encounter a regional opponent in the second round, No. 4 seed San Jose State. In this West Coast-oriented section, Stanford stands as the No. 2 seed, beginning with an opener versus Cal State Northridge.

--Field Level Media

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Paradise Islands Offer Citizenship for Less Than £36,000

-
Image
Didn't you catch wind of it? For only $105,000, you can purchase citizenship to a tropical island paradise these days. The island country of Nauru located in the Pacific is offering passports to foreign nationals for $105,000 (£81,000) as part of an effort to generate funding for its climate emergency reserve. Soaring sea levels are swiftly eroding Nauru’s coastlines. In reaction, the nation’s leadership is considering a large-scale move inland; however, they are facing difficulties in securing funding for this initiative. Approximately ninety percent of the island's inhabitants will likely have to relocate to elevated areas due to sea levels surrounding Nauru increasing at a rate one point five times quicker than the worldwide average. Many nations provide citizenship in return for significant financial investments or property purchases. However, certain options may stand out specifically to wealthy Britons looking for opportunities. In fact, several stunning t...
Read more

Australian Grand Prix Fences Go Black for Clever Reason

-
Image
The 2025 Australian Grand Prix introduces several modifications to the circuit, primarily focusing on Turn 6 where Mercedes' George Russell had a crash in the previous year. However, the track authorities have implemented an additional alteration. The fencing along the Melbourne street race course has been painted black, particularly in the region of the starting grid. This minor alteration significantly enhances visibility for both spectators with tickets and photographers, despite its subtle nature. The cause stems from how light reflects off the metal. Black paint helps with this by absorbing the light, thus making it simpler to maintain visibility. Formula One tracks have consistently needed to address the visibility and safety of spectators holding tickets. Essential safety features include barrier walls and catch fencing, which protect not only the audience but also racers themselves. Take, for instance, Zhou Guanyu’s accident at Silverstone in 2023; without the p...
Read more

Bill Passes Just Hours Before Deadline, Averts Shutdown and Defeats Filibuster

-
Image
On Friday, senators moved forward with the stopgap funding measure approved by the House as the clock ticks nearer to a potential government closure. With a vote of 62 to 38, the senators decided to move forward with the proposal. Almost all Republicans along with ten Democrats helped override the filibuster. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer from New York Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin from Illinois, along with Senators Angus King of Maine, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Gary Peters of Michigan, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, voted to advance the bill, going against the majority of their fellow Democrats. The House-passed short-term A spending measure, referred to as a continuing resolution (CR), would maintain funding at FY 2024 levels up until October 1st. Nevertheless, should Congress fail to pass this legislation before 11...
Read more