Docs Website

53 Years Strong! A Trusted Leader In Sports Picks, Best Bets and Predictions Since 1971.

Main Menu

2024 NIT Tournament Bracket Predictions

by Joey House - 3/19/2024

NIT bracket predictions UNLV Basketball

While March Madness is usually reserved for the 68-team NCAA Tournament, there was a time when the National Invitation Tournament (NIT for short) was the premiere post-season destination for college basketball programs. While it can be disheartening for some programs who believed they should be dancing with the big boys (crazy old Rick Pitino comes to mind), a successful run in the NIT can help catapult a team back into the Madness. Wisconsin and UAB immediately come to mind, as they both made the NIT Final Four last year and now, once again, have a seat at the big boy's table.

One of the true joys of the postseason tournaments is the time-honored tradition of filling out brackets. While the NIT only has half the number of teams that its younger brother NCAA tournament, it has specific challenges in handicapping that the Big Dance doesn't even have to dream about. First, for the first two rounds of the tournament, the game is played at the higher-seeded team, forcing handicappers to factor in potentially massive home-court advantages. The other factor may be the most important aspect of handicap and also the most difficult: team psychology. This year we had seven teams turn down invitations. And as crazy as it sounds, I would rather have that than have a team that goes out and gives a half-ass effort and completely ruins my hard work handicapping a particular situation. At least now we have 32 teams who most likely will be giving their all to restart their winning ways.

Speaking of winning, without further ado, I bring to you my 2024 NIT bracket predictions. Since there are 32 teams, a normal person would think that the opening round would be a perfect 8-team on Tuesday, 8-team on Wednesday schedule. Leave it to the NCAA to change the perfect into curious, as the opening round has 9 games tonight and then 7 tomorrow evening. Because of this, I will be picking games by region (the name of the No. 1 seed in that bracket, not scheduled time).

Doc’s Sports offers college basketball expert picks for every game on our NCAA basketball predictions page.

Seton Hall Region

FIRST ROUND

21-13 St. Joseph's @ 20-12 Seton Hall (-7/141): The Pirates could be one of those teams suffering from a mental letdown. While we're not confident they can cover a 7-point spread, we do feel good about Seton Hall having a home-court advantage. PICK: Seton Hall

18-14 North Texas @ 17-15 LSU (-2.5/132.5): While the Mean Green are the defending NIT champions, we think their quest to repeat will be cut short by an LSU squad that is 5-1 SU in their last 6 games against teams from the AAC. PICK: LSU

19-15 Boston College @ 21-13 Providence (-3.5/141): Another bubble team we hope has something to prove. Watching the Friars tandem with Carter, Oduro, and Hopkins is the definition of joy. The Golden Eagles can shoot from long-range well, and their 7-foot big man Post should keep it close, but Providence has too many weapons. PICK: Providence

19-12 UNLV @ 24-4 Princeton (-3/139): The Ivy League regular-season champs had an off day in an Ivy semi and their penance is playing the Runnin’ Rebels for the first time in 25 years. The Tigers are 10-0 in their last 10 at home and keep that streak intact. PICK: Princeton

SECOND ROUND

LSU @ Seton Hall: This should be an intriguing matchup where LSU tries to speed up the pace (78th nationally) while Seton Hall tries to slow it down (234th in the country). Because Seton Hall tends to turn the ball over, LSU gets the bevy of fast-break points and escapes with a hard-fought win. PICK: LSU

Providence @ Princeton: Providence will use its size to dominate the interior, while Princeton sets up shop and snipes from a distance. While the Tigers were unbeaten at home this season, they didn't host anyone of strength. Providence wins and goes to the Elite 8. PICK: Providence

QUARTERFINALS (played in Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis)

LSU vs. Providence: This evenly matched game will come down to turnovers, where Providence holds an advantage. What got LSU into the quarterfinals (scoring off turnovers) led them to being bounced from the tourney. PICK: Providence

Wake Forest Region

27-6 Appalachian State @ 20-13 Wake Forest (-7/145.5): This App State team is for real, beating James Madison twice and knocking off Auburn. They rank in the top 60 in both offensive and defensive scoring. Wake's heart isn't in the game and the Mountaineers show football isn't the only App St. sport to throw upsets. PICK: Appalachian State

16-17 Xavier @ 17-16 Georgia (-1.5/156.5): Georgia throws multiple waves of bodies at Xavier and overpowers them in the long haul. PICK: Georgia

16-17 Richmond @ 18-14 Virginia Tech (-5.5/143.5): The Hokies long length wear down the Spiders, who are equally as tenacious. In the end, Virginia Tech earns a victory. PICK: Virginia Tech

22-7 Cornell @ 20-13 Ohio State (-11/158): The question of this game will be can the Big Red make enough 3s to keep Cornell in the game because Ohio State can score virtually at will inside. We don't think they will be able to do so enough to move on. PICK: Ohio State

SECOND ROUND

Appalachian State @ Georgia: App State expended a lot of energy in the opening round, while it was business as usual for Georgia. They'll be fresher and run a little more, giving the Bulldogs a slight edge. PICK: Georgia

Virginia Tech @ Ohio State: Ohio State uses the more physical play of the Big Ten to their advantage, controls the boards, and dominates a Hokie defense that is 236th in defensive field goal percentage. PICK: Ohio State

QUARTERFINALS

Georgia vs. Ohio State: This should be a close game where the teams aren't separated by more than 9 points the entire time. It'll be a little bit slower than the Bulldogs are accustomed to but Georgia has a more equal distribution of talent, with 5 players averaging 9.2 ppg or better. They eke out a victory. PICK: Georgia

Indiana State Region

20-12 SMU @ 28-6 Indiana State (-7/156): SMU is going to struggle to control the Sycamores' offensive weapons, as they rate 10th in the nation in overall field goal percentage. On the opposing side, Indiana State shouldn't have much trouble slowing down an average SMU offense. Indiana State wins and covers. PICK: Indiana State

18-14 Minnesota @ 18-14 Butler (-4.5/150.5): The Gophers peaked too soon in the season and have nothing left in the tank. PICK: Butler

23-9 Loyola Chicago @ 22-11 Bradley (-4/137.5): Loyola's weak schedule is why we're talking about them here and not in the Big Dance. Bradley moves on with ease. PICK: Bradley

23-10 San Francisco @ 20-14 Cincinnati (-6/142): Home court makes the advantage here as Cincinnati is 15-5 SU in their last 20 games at home. PICK: Cincinnati

SECOND ROUND

Butler @ Indiana State: Indiana State will have a major chip on their shoulder and I think that is going to be their "Tackling Fuel" like Bobby Boucher used in the Waterboy. PICK: Indiana State

Bradley @ Cincinnati: This is going to be a low-scoring affair, but Bradley's offense does just enough to get the job done. PICK: Bradley

QUARTERFINALS

Indiana State vs. Bradley: We get a Missouri Valley Conference duel. ISU will pull off one of the more difficult feats in college basketball, defeating a team for the third time in a season. PICK: Indiana State

Villanova Region

22-13 VCU @ 18-15 Villanova (-7.5/125): Virginia Commonwealth comes into this match playing some of their best ball all season. I love Villanova but I think they may be slightly overrated because of their pedigree. I'm calling for the biggest upset of the tourney. PICK: VCU

24-7 South Florida @ 17-15 UCF (-6.5/142.5): Coaching can often make the difference in post-season play and UCF has a great one in Johnny Dawkins. PICK: UCF

19-14 Kansas State @ 18-14 Iowa (-5.5/157.5): Iowa has an old-fashioned offense that would have fit in perfectly in the movie "Hoosiers". Wasn't that tourney also 32 teams??? PICK: Iowa

24-9 UC-Irvine @ 19-14 Utah (-8.5/149.5): I think the Anteaters defense will disrupt Utah's perimeter offense enough to make it not very effective. Then UCI's interior offense takes over and they win the game. PICK: UC-Irvine

SECOND ROUND

VCU @ UCF: I love it when 3-letter acronyms play each other. Beating Villanova took all of the energy that VCU had and the minor Cinderella's dance is over. PICK: UCF

UC-Irvine @ Iowa: This game might set a modern record for the least amount of 3-point shots taken, as each team is a force inside. If this was the Big Dance, I would fade Iowa all day. It's not, so they move on. PICK: Iowa

QUARTERFINALS

UCF vs. Iowa: I said that good coaching can win tourney games, well bad coaching can most definitely lose them. Bad news for Iowa. PICK: UCF

Semifinals (Hinkle Fieldhouse April 2nd)

Providence vs. Georgia: The Friars turn to their defense to stifle an average, at best, Bulldog offense. Providence hits some timely threes and advances to the NIT Finals. PICK: Providence

Indiana State vs. UCF: I would be willing to bet you see Larry Bird and Coach K in the stands for this one. I just think that after getting the shaft from the NCAA Selection Committee, Indiana State is a team of destiny. UCF finds that out tonight. PICK: Indiana State

Championship (Hinkle Fieldhouse April 4th)

UCF vs. Indiana State

The NIT Selection Committee couldn't have asked for a better championship game from the teams that accepted their invitations. A seesaw affair all night, this game has the potential to come down to a last-second shot. The Sycamores of Indiana State had a mission at the beginning of the NIT to make the NCAA Stupid Selection Committee live up to their name. Win they win the NIT Championship 75-73, they do just that.

Get college basketball picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bet premium picks by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.

 

Most Recent March Madness Betting

One E-mail A Week Is All You Need!
Our weekly newsletter is loaded with exclusive free picks,insight and advice from our expert handicappers