National Invitation Tournament: Four best opening round games of 2018

By Bryan Mauro | Mar 13, 2018

MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 18: Head coach Kermit Davis of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders reacts in the first half against the Butler Bulldogs during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BMO Harris Bradley Center on March 18, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

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ST LOUIS, MO – MARCH 09: Quinndary Weatherspoon #11 of the Mississippi Bulldogs shoots the ball against the Tennessee Volunteers during the quarterfinals round of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 9, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

#5 Nebraska Cornhuskers vs #4 Mississippi State Bulldogs

Wednesday March 14^th, 9:00 PM EST

Starkville, Mississippi

ESPN 2

Its not every year where two power 6 conference teams are pitted against each other in the NIT. The Bulldogs and Cornhuskers are both going to be out to prove something, and both for different reasons. The Bulldogs and Cornhuskers did play in Starkville already once this year, for the Hurricane relief exhibition that so many teams took part in.

The Bulldogs went 9-9 in the SEC this year and got virtually no bubble talk and had no chance at making the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs are going to be out to prove that they should not be overlooked and that they are a team who should have been considered for an NCAA tournament bid.

In the SEC tournament, Nick Weatherspoon had a scary injury, one in which he was taken to the hospital for. Weatherspoon is not going to play, and his older brother Quindarry is the leading scorer for the Bulldogs. Will head coach Ben Howland be able to keep his team motivated and moving in the right direction without the help of one of their best players? The Bulldogs are going to have their hands full.

The Cornhuskers are one of the more surprising teams in College Basketball this year. Nebraska was picked to finish 13^th in the Big Ten, but they won 13 games in the league and finished in fourth place. Nebraska also has something to prove in this game, and that is their seed in the NIT is low, and they believe they belonged in the NCAA tournament field.

The reason the Huskers were left out of the field of 68 and the main reason to explain their seeding the NIT tournament, is that of their 22 wins this year, only 6 of them came against teams with winning records. The Huskers are led by James Palmer Jr, Palmer Jr can carry the team with his scoring and with his ability to get fouled. He gets to the line a lot and makes teams pay when he gets there. The motivation of Nebraska is going to be a huge factor in this game. Can Tim Miles get them motivated enough to show the NCAA tournament committee made a mistake?

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