Have just a little time to burn while waiting for a couple calls back and before driving into College Park.

So how about an NIT bracket?

Sure, why not.

One thing that looks like a really good bet at this stage is some combination of George Mason, Georgetown, Maryland and Virginia Tech playing. Obviously, the latter three still harbor hopes of playing their way into the NCAA tournament. But if they're all stuck in the NIT, there could be a great local matchup or two.

Granted, no one would really care (maybe Mason would), but it'd still be neat in a perverse sort of way.

Anyway, here's a plausible (though, admittedly, not extremely thought-out) 32-team field, with Jacksonville, Tennessee-Martin and Davidson already locked into the event.

NORTH

(1) Providence vs. (8) Old Dominion
(4) Rhode Island vs. (5) Notre Dame
(3) Davidson* vs. (6) Vanderbilt
(2) Virginia Tech vs. (7) Temple

EAST

(1) Maryland vs. (8) Jacksonville*
(4) George Mason vs. (5) Georgetown
(3) Cincinnati vs. (6) Niagara
(2) Auburn vs. (7) UAB

SOUTH

(1) South Carolina vs. (8) UT-Martin*
(4) Tulsa vs. (5) Nebraska
(3) Kansas State vs. (6) Mississippi State
(2) Kentucky vs. (7) Illinois State

WEST

(1) Southern California vs. (8) UTEP
(4) San Diego State vs. (5) Cleveland State
(3) Creighton vs. (6) Northwestern
(2) New Mexico vs. (7) Baylor

--- Patrick Stevens

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