The National Invitation Tournament might not get the publicity of the NCAA tournament, but there still are plenty of games worth watching.
In reality, this year's NIT features much more madness than the main event. The tournament began with No. 1 overall seed Kentucky losing to Robert Morris and continued with Mercer beating Tennessee.
Fortunately, there is a lot of action left to be played as teams try to punch their ticket to New York City for the semifinals.
This game will come down to energy. Robert Morris had a lot of it in a home game against Kentucky. It was one of the biggest games in school history and the Colonials came away with a win.
Playing on the road will make a huge difference, as the team will not be able to feed off the home fans. In addition, the Friars have won five in a row at home, including wins over Notre Dame and Cincinnati.
At the beginning of March, Louisiana Tech appeared to be one of the best small-school teams in the country. It would not have been surprising if the 26-3 team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
They beat weaker opponents with a fast-paced game, but their lack of efficiency causes problems against better teams. Southern Miss has a good enough defense to avoid falling into that trap.
At home, the Golden Eagles can control the pace, look for their shot and make it. They only have one loss in Reed Green Coliseum, and that will not change anytime soon.
Mercer got an impressive first-round win over Tennessee, but it did not appear that the Volunteers wanted to be playing in the NIT. The Bears were able to make 50 percent of their shots with very little resistance defensively from the home team.
Although the Cougars struggle on defense at times, they have one of the best offenses in the country. Tyler Haws and Brandon Davies form a great inside-out tandem and they help the squad rank 18th in total points per game.
Mercer simply does not have the size or athleticism to stick with BYU over the course of the game, and it will lead to an exit in the NIT.
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