2017 NIT: Syracuse favored to win championship?

The NCAA recently revealed the bracket for its 32-team 2017 NIT field and it looks like Syracuse is the favorite.

The Syracuse Orange will be playing in an NCAA postseason event after all. The Orange, who were projected by several media members to receive a bid to the “Big Dance”, received one of the four No. 1 seeds that the NIT handed out on March 12 following unveiled 68 team NCAA Tournament.

Syracuse finished with an 18-14 record and were knocked out in the second round of the ACC Tournament by Miami. But the Orange went 10-8 in ACC play with three big wins over Duke, North Carolina, and Virginia. However, what evidently cost the Orange was the fact that they went 2-11 away from the Carrier Dome and had several bad losses.

Syracuse does have some talent in senior guard Andrew White III and sophomore forward Tyler Lydon. The Orange’s biggest problem, besides depth, is the inconsistent play of guards John Gillon and Tyus Battle.

Joining Syracuse as No. 1 seeds are the California Golden Bears, Illinois State Redbirds and Iowa Hawkeyes.

First-round games are slated for to run March 14 and 15. The second round games are slated to be played between March 16 and 20. The quarterfinals will be held on March 21 and 22. The remaining four teams will head to Madison Square Garden for the semis on March 28. The finals will be played on March 30.

Clemson, the No. 2 seed in Iowa’s region, is making its 16th appearance in the NIT, which is the most of any team in the field. The Tigers’ best NIT finish is as runner-up in 1999.

Akron, Alabama, BYU, Belmont, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Monmouth, and Valparaiso were in the NIT last year. Valparaiso were runners-up in 2016.

The ESPN family of networks will televise the NIT.