The NCAA Postseason’s Little Brother

Sunday is the best off-court day of the year for college basketball fans. The choices. The snubs. The seedings. The debating of who's in, out, or where in the NCAA tournament bracket is now an annual event. People talk about it at the water cooler the next day, but are careful not to discuss too much. They don't want to let anyone in on their bracket sleeper.

But even with all this talk of the field of 65, other teams do get to continue their seasons. Sure, the National Invitational Tournament has lost the luster that it once held. However, for 32 teams, the distinction of playing in one of basketball's holy floors, Madison Square Garden, can carry its own prestige.

This year's NIT even held some of the pre-tourney pageantry of its big brother. The ESPN family held the selection show for the tournament, and past legends of the coaching ranks (including C.M. Newton and Dean Smith) made up the committee that chose the 2007 field.

The introduction of a tougher standard and a reduced field are a couple of changes to this version of the tourney. Past editions featured more big-name and well-known schools, but there seems to be more emphasis on excellence this time around. Regular season champions that aren't selected into the NCAA tournament now automatically qualify for the NIT.

While this shrinks chances for middling majors to crash the postseason (including the Missouri Tigers I root for), I'm all for it. This puts a premium on winning over the long haul. Eight teams from smaller conferences survived the grind of as many as 20 conference games to be tops on their block. They should have first opportunity to play on above squads that couldn't finish .500 in conference play.

And there's even some controversy in the seeding, at least in my opinion. The number one seeds are West Virginia, Clemson, Mississippi State, and Air Force. It seemed that teams such as Syracuse, Kansas State, and Drexel were most seriously considered for the Big Dance than Clemson or Mississippi State. Yet, when all was said and done the Orange and Wildcats ended up with two-seeds. The Dragons were saddled with a three.

Newton told ESPN on Sunday that the committee looked at teams they wanted to put in the tournament and asked, "Who would you not want to play?" They decided a team that finished 4-10 (Clemson) and one that tied for the SEC West championship at 8-8 (Mississippi State) were scarier than one that won 13 true road games (Drexel). But hey, I haven't coached a game at any level, so I can't truly talk. I can pipe up once in a while, though.

That being said, I'm going to do something that no one else has the guts, fortitude, gall ... okay, the time to do. I'll let you know who's going to make it to New York and celebrate a championship inside the Garden.

EAST REGIONAL

Not only did Drexel miss their ticket to the NCAAs, but they didn't get a lot of respect in the "Junior Prom," either. Even though they may only have one home game, I like them because of their road success. The Dragons will get away victories at Oklahoma State and West Virginia to fight on to the Big Apple.

NORTH REGIONAL

Fifth-seeded Providence could be the talk of the regional, winning at Bradley, then at top-seed Mississippi State. Unfortunately, they won't be the talk of New York. I see the Friars falling in the regional final. Tallahassee's a tough place to play, and a Florida State team that has won tough games against Florida and Duke will take advantage of their home court.

SOUTH REGIONAL

This is where the mid-majors could shine. Clemson and Syracuse are in this bracket, but I like Missouri State's shooting to take out the Orange at the Carrier Dome. In the top half, watch out for Appalachian State and Clemson's ability to continue sliding. That sets up the Mountaineers going to Springfield to play the Bears. Despite losing to Winthrop about a month ago, expect MSU to hold home court this time around.

WEST REGIONAL

This will be the only region where the top two seeds will battle for the trip out east. Kansas State is smarting after not getting into the NCAAs, and they will ride that anger with home wins in their first two games. Air Force took a nose dive at the end of the year, but I believe the mountain air will re-energize them. The Falcons were a dangerous team in the early season, and a second wind is all they need to make it through to the semifinals.

WHEN IT HEADS TO NYC

Florida State has talent and big-game experience. But there is a lot of talent on Bruiser Flint's bench, as well, and I like Drexel to continue being the postseason version of Butler (who won the Preseason NIT). In the other semifinal, Air Force's slowdown, methodical offense should push the Falcons ahead of Missouri State.

In the end, the efficiency of Jeff Bzdelik's squad will upend the Dragons, crowning the Falcons as the 66th best team in college basketball.

Sure, no one's going to read this column. But who knows, maybe I'll even convince myself to watch more of the NIT this year. I do have some stuff to say about that other tournament, but I'll save it for another day.