Over seven consecutive years of NCAA Tournament participation, most Virginia fans have come to regard the NIT with a mixture of derision and indifference. Sunday night, the Hoos were officially notified they’d be playing in it.
The NIT, little brother to the Big Dance, has been Virginia’s inevitable destination since Thursday night’s embarrassing loss to North Carolina. Needing an ACC Tournament title to clinch an NCAA berth, Virginia mustered a feeble performance in the quarterfinals. The Hoos went crashing through the floor of the bubble to become entangled in the unpleasant web of the NIT.
Waiting for Virginia in the NIT’s first round is Mississippi State. The Bulldogs were awarded a #3-seed (Virginia, as the lower seed, was not designated a seed number per NIT policy), but the Hoos will host the game because of scheduling conflicts at Mississippi State. The game will tip at 7 pm ET on Wednesday night and air on ESPN2.
What to look for
Tony Bennett’s unwillingness to play the three M’s has been the most controversial topic all season. Taine Murray, Igor Milicic and Carson McCorkle stirred excitement in nonconference play, but were fixed to the bench for the rest of the season. The reason, presumably, was that none of them were proficient enough on defense for Tony Bennett’s liking.
The transfer portal beckons the trio. One hopes they’re willing to stick around, but if college basketball’s recent trends reveal anything, it’s that players who don’t feel respected by their coach are liable to seek greener pastures. In the interest of retaining those guys and affording them some experience prior to next year, it would be nice to see Bennett give them a run in the NIT.
Also of note: Kihei Clark. The Senior Day celebrations and video in Kihei’s honor indicated he might be leaving. But Kihei has not closed the door on a return. If this is to be his last year, the NIT will be his last tournament in a Virginia uniform. Kihei’s departure will signal the end of an era for UVA basketball.
Jayden Gardner, meanwhile, is likely to return for a super-senior year. Armaan Franklin, Francisco Caffaro and Kadin Shedrick will, among others, also be back. An NIT run could boost those guys going into next season.
The path to MSG
Virginia will open the tournament by hosting #3-seed Mississippi State. The Bulldogs were seeded tenth in the SEC Tournament, winning one game before falling to eventual champion Tennessee. They’re ranked 45th on KenPom and boast some solid players, but shoot just 30% from deep, a good sign for Virginia.
If Virginia wins, it will face either #2 North Texas or Texas State. North Texas is the second-slowest team in college basketball. The slowest? Virginia. That would be a fun matchup.
A win there would put Virginia in the quarterfinals, which could be played against either #1 Oklahoma, Missouri State, #2 Colorado or Saint Bonaventure. A third win would put Virginia in the NIT Final Four, held in Madison Square Garden.
Expectations
Playing in the NIT is disappointing for a Virginia squad that entered the season ranked. The Hoos will need to find some sort of motivation if they are to advance through the bracket. A flat start in the first game could lead to an early exit; a fiery approach to the tournament could lead to a deep run and possible championship.
This may not be the NCAA Tournament, but March Madness is not confined to the 68-team bracket. Anything can happen. If Virginia takes the NIT seriously, the tournament could serve as a nice conclusion to a mostly drab season.
Image – Virginia Athletics
2 comments
A long run (four or more NIT wins) by the gang that can’t shoot straight for more than (at most) one game in a row? Be realistic. Then send next year’s returnees home to practice shooting at least several hundred jump shots daily, and pray the highly rated incoming crew has some decent shooting skills. And search the transfer portal for a good point guard in the event Clark decides not to return (based on his present career statistics and size, I seriously doubt he will have a career in the NBA, much less be drafted in the first two rounds where any substantial money is, so why not come back?).
I contend that it was probably unrealistic for Virginia to be ranked pre-season given that 3 players went the professional route and and three hit the portal. Aft we losing to Navy to start the season, JMU and then losing to Clemson at home by 17, this season had a chance to be a disaster.
Winning on the road at Clemson and Syracuse seem to turn things around. What I find refreshing is how this team to continue to improve throughout the season. It seemed like Jayden and Aarman seemed to get comfortable a the season progressed. Aarman was kind of wild card because when he played well and scored we became a very solid team.
I think when you look at the big picture Coach Bennett got the most out of this group. When we shot well we could win at Duke and beat Miami twice!
We have some nice pieces coming back. Beekman has super star potential, Shedrick really has upside, Cafarro is very solid second big man. Hopefully Gardner and Franklin return. Given the class coming in and hopefully Murray and Militec return, I think the 2022-23 team will be a 25+ win team!
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