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NCAA Basketball: 2019 NIT Season Tip-Off preview and predictions

By Donovan Darlington

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: A detail as Samir Doughty #10 of the Auburn Tigers holds a ball during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal against the Virginia Cavaliers at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: A detail as Samir Doughty #10 of the Auburn Tigers holds a ball during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal against the Virginia Cavaliers at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 07: An outside view of the Barclays Center during Samsung Unpacked New York City at Barclays Center at Barclays Center on August 07, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Samsung)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 07: An outside view of the Barclays Center during Samsung Unpacked New York City at Barclays Center at Barclays Center on August 07, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Samsung) /

The NIT Season Tip-Off begins on Wednesday, Nov. 27. Let’s take a look at the 2019 field and see what to watch during this exciting early-season NCAA Basketball tournament.

The NIT Season Tip-Off is one of the many regular-season tournaments that NCAA basketball fans should watch. Just like the others, this tournament has brought us some incredible moments over the years, and it could certainly do the same this year.

The NIT Season Tip-Off dates back to the 1985-86 season and has been played annually ever since. Throughout these 30+ years, the tournament has had a variety of formats. Up until 2013, there were years in which the tournament consisted of 16 teams, with the first two rounds being played at campus sites. The current format consists of just four teams that are selected to compete at a neutral location.

Unlike the postseason tournament that bears “NIT” in its name, through the years, the regular season NIT has had plenty of its victors move on to make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, and even win the National Championship. The most recent team to do this was Villanova in the 2015-16 season.

Since its start as a regular-season tournament, the NIT Season Tip-Off has been played in the state of New York. From 1985-2014, the semifinals and championship were hosted by Madison Square Garden. Since 2015, however, the tournament has changed locations and is now played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

This year, the field consists of four teams from four different power conferences that are looking to use their performances in this tournament to give them momentum throughout the rest of the season.

  • Ole Miss
  • Penn State
  • Syracuse
  • Oklahoma State

Each of these teams in the field has not been given too much love by the NCAA basketball community; however, each one of them is capable of proving the doubters wrong and having a great season.

The matchups

Now that we know who will be going at it in Brooklyn in the NIT Season Tip-Off let’s, take a closer look at each of these teams and the tournament as a whole.

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