2012 NIT Quarterfinals Bracket Picks

E.J. Singler and the Ducks leave the friendly comfines of the Matt to face Washington tonight in Seattle. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Tonight the NIT Quarterfinals kick off with four games two tonight and two more tomorrow night. Winners advance to Madison Square Garden next week (March 27) for the semifinals in New York. With that said here are my picks for the next round in addition to letting you know how my picks have panned out.

5 Massachusetts Minutemen at 1 Drexel Dragons, Tonight at 4 pm (PDT) on ESPN
In my original picks, I had Drexel beating Seton Hall but with that not possible anymore I still like the Dragons to make it to New York. How did they get here? UMass won in double-OT at Mississippi State which was followed-up by a win at one seed Seton Hall 77-67. Drexel destroyed six-seed UCF and then defeated UNI 65-63 on Sunday in Philadelphia. The Pick: Drexel

3 Oregon Ducks at 1 Washington Huskies, Tonight at 6 pm (PDT) on ESPN
This prediction followed what I originally said and with that I still like the Ducks to win in Seattle, something they didn’t do during the regular season. How did they get here? Top seeded Washington beat UTA by ten and pummeled Northwestern by 21 on Friday night 76-55. Oregon has found a new offensive flow to them scoring 96 in a 20-point win over LSU which was followed-up by a 108-97 victory against Iowa. The Pick: Oregon

6 Minnesota Golden Gophers at 4 Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, March 21 at 4 pm (PDT) on ESPN2
Another, pat on the back to me for at least having this match-up half right but I’ll need to make a new prediction. How did they get here? Minnesota has been road warriors this NIT winning at La Salle and last night at Miami (FL) 78-60. Middle Tennessee State defeated Marshall and then was victorious at Tennessee on Monday night coming back to win 71-64. The Pick: Minnesota

5 Nevada Wolfpack at 3 Stanford Cardinal, March 21 at 6 pm (PDT) on ESPN2
Well I completely missed this one picking against Nevada in round one and Stanford in the second. How did they get here? Nevada won at Oral Roberts and defeated Bucknell on Sunday afternoon 75-67. Stanford hasn’t left the farm yet during the NIT beating Cleveland State and last night they needed OT to beat Illinois State 92-88. The Pick: Nevada

12-4 First Round (missed Akron over Northwestern, Arizona over Bucknell, Oral Roberts over Nevada, Mississippi over Illinois State)

4-4 Second Round (I had Miami (FL) beating Minnesota, Seton Hall beating Massachusetts, and not having the other team correct at all I gave myself losses having picked Arizona, Ole Miss and Oral Roberts winning in round one). I did hit on 11 of the 16 second round teams for what it’s worth. Overall through the second round I’m 16-8. Thanks for reading.

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