San Diego State over Weber State: The Aztecs have caught fire at the right time, and came within a few points of winning the MWC tournament. Senior Lorrenzo Wade is playing the best basketball of his college careers right now.
Illinois State over Kansas State: Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich comes back to Manhattan, where he played his college basketball. He has Illinois State playing very well the last two years, and they should be able to repeat last year's first round NIT victory.
Davidson over South Carolina: The Wildcats can compete with the best of them, and Stephen Curry will be eager to bounce back from his injury and make a statement in the NIT.
St. Mary's over Washington State: Very much a carbon copy of the above game. St. Mary's feels it belongs with the best teams in the nation, and came close to beating Gonzaga twice, with Patty Mills only playing three of the four halves in those games. Victories by them and Davidson would make for a very intriguing matchup in the second round.
Auburn over UT-Martin: Although the SEC was not very strong this year, Auburn finished the season strong by knocking off tournament bound Mississippi State and LSU before falling to Tennessee.
Tulsa over Northwestern: Tulsa only lost to Memphis by one at home earlier in the season. They have played a very tough schedule and finished second in the underrated Conference USA.
Baylor over Georgetown: Even though Georgetown defeated Memphis and Uconn early in the season, they have been snakebit since late January, and Baylor will unleash its offensive attack and keep their recent hot streak going.
Virginia Tech over Duquesne: Very simple. ACC tested Virginia Tech takes on a Duquesne team that has very few quality road wins.
Creighton over Bowling Green: The Blue Jays are playing with a chip on their shoulder after losing by 24 in the MVC tournament and failing to make the NCAA tournament. Senior Guard Booker Woodfox is leading the NCAA in three-point percentage (not to mention having one of the best names in sports).
Kentucky over UNLV: Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson are quite a tandem, and now that they face a slew of mid-majors, they will have a chance to go deep in the NIT.
Nebraska over New Mexico: The Cornhuskers played great basketball this year under Doc Sadler, and finished .500 in the Big 12, with four close losses. Not usually known as a basketball school, Nebraska will turn some heads with this one.
Notre Dame over UAB: My pick to win the NIT, coming out of the Big East, Notre Dame skidded to a halt at the wrong time in Big East play, but is vastly more talented than many of the NIT teams. Don't count on the Fighting Irish losing to a lower seed.
Florida over Jacksonville: Florida lost quite a few close conference games to the best teams in the SEC, and they'll be ready to knock off the regular season champ from the Atlantic Sun conference.
Providence over Miami (FL): Both teams have faced some of the best competition in the country, with Providence finishing with a better record in the Big East that Miami had in the ACC. I like Providence because they get to host as a lower seed.
Niagara over Rhode Island: Someone needs to break through for the MAAC conference, and with only two home losses all year, Niagara is that someone.
Penn State over George Mason: Penn State is on the same level as most of the lower end Big Ten teams that made the NCAA tournament, and has seen and defeated better competition than George Mason. Watch out for round two, a potential rematch with Rhode Island, whom they lost to by five at home earlier this year.
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