The 2013 NIT Schedule is set to go, and here at Bankroll Sports, we will be analyzing the NIT betting lines, as well as providing you with a list of all of the top NIT games on TV for 2013. Be sure to keep this page locked into your favorites, as you’ll find NIT game recaps and all of the NIT scores for this great tournament, from the first tip on Tuesday night to the end of the Final Four at Madison Square Garden!

NIT Finals: NIT Final on TV for Thursday, April 4th (4/4/13)
#3 Iowa vs. #2 Baylor

If we were to go back and re-bracket the NCAA Tournament right now, it is clear that Baylor and Iowa would have been in the field of 68. We wouldn’t always be able to say that throughout history, but we do think that these are the two most talented teams that aren’t dancing in the nation. Iowa has figured out how to step up its offensive game just enough, pairing it with a defense that has held eight straight foes to 64 points or fewer. The Hawkeyes have 10 straight covers to their credit, and they are now 23-6 ATS in their last 29 games. Baylor has covered three of its four games here in the NIT, and it has an offense that is averaging 89.0 points per game in the postseason. This is the final game in the career of G Pierre Jackson, and it is clear that either he or G Roy-Devyn Marble will ultimately be the MVP of the NIT when push comes to shove.

NIT Final Four: Live NIT Games For Tuesday, April 2nd (4/2/13)
#3 BYU 70 vs. #2 Baylor 76
#3 Iowa 71 vs. #2 Maryland 60

In the opening game of the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden, Baylor was able to fend off a BYU team that just couldn’t figure out how to knock down a shot from the outside. G Matt Carlino had five triples, but he took 14 attempts from long range, and the rest of the team went 0-of-6 from downtown. Meanwhile, Baylor scored 73 points in spite of the fact that the team only shot 43.3 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from long range. G Pierre Jackson scored 24 points and had 10 assists, marking the third straight game that he directly had his hands involved in at least 40 Baylor points.

Maryland tried to give Iowa everything that it could, but in the end, the ACC reps didn’t have the horses to run with the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes were +10 in the turnover category, and that really made all the difference in the world. The Terps only got nine points out of G Dez Wells for the game, and that was never going to cut it. G Roy-Devyn Marble scored 21, and he ws one of the three on the team that scored at least 10 points, as Iowa marches onto the NIT Final on Thursday.

NIT Quarterfinals Bracket: Live NIT Games For Wednesday, March 27th (3/27/13)
#3 Iowa 75 @ #1 Virginia 64
#3 BYU 79 @ #1 Southern Miss 62
#4 Providence 68 @ #2 Baylor 79

It was a night that the top seeds of the NIT would soon like to forget. Virginia was a dominating home team all season long, but it just didn’t have the offense to ultimately be able to keep up with G Roy-Devyn Marble and the Hawkeyes. Southern Miss meanwhile, didn’t beat an RPI Top 50 team in the regular season all year long outside of Middle Tennessee State, and now, it has paid the price against another team of very similar stature. Most didn’t really believe that the Cougars were going to be able to go on the across halfway across the country in tiny Hattiesburg and post a victory, but they were able to get the job done and knock off what proved to be a stingy Conference USA team. The only game where the chalk held up in the whole third round of this tournament was when Baylor beat Providence. The Friars had a fantastic end of the season, but they really proved that the only reason they were playing in this deep into the NIT is because of their easy schedule. They were overmatched from the get go against a Baylor team that continues to be the biggest offensive force in this entire tournament. G Pierre Jackson had one of his biggest games of the year in the win, as he scored 20 points and had 13 assists.

NIT Quarterfinals Bracket: Live NIT Games For Tuesday, March 26th (3/26/13)
#2 Maryland 58 @ #1 Alabama 57

Maryland became the first road team to win a game in over a week here in the NIT, as it knocked off the Crimson Tide by a single point. The game could have easily swung the other way if not for two huge plays by the Maryland defense. C Alex Len capped his 15 points and 13 boards with his fifth block of the game with just a few seconds left, and the defense came up big with one more hold on the final possession of the game to earn the victory. The Terrapins also hit 50% of their shots from the field and went 7-of-15 from beyond the arc. Alabama became just the second No. 1 seed to bow out of the NIT and the first that did so playing on its home court.

Second Round NIT Bracket: Live NIT Games For Monday, March 25th (3/25/13)
#8 Robert Morris 68 @ #4 Providence 77
#7 Mercer 71 @ #3 BYU 90
#5 Louisiana Tech 52 @ #1 Southern Miss 63

For a postseason that has been marred with low scoring games all across the board, it is remarkable to think that BYU now has 90 points in both of its first two games here in the NIT. The Cougs never had a problem getting past Mercer on Monday, as G Tyler Haws and F Brandon Davies went off once again, putting up 50 points between them. Southern Miss dismissed Louisiana Tech later in the night with a 63-52 defensive struggle, while in the opening game on Monday night, Robert Morris proved that it didn’t quite have enough in the tank to take down Providence. The Friars were the beneficiaries of some great scheduling, as they took on Robby Mo instead of Kentucky thanks to the fact that Rupp Arena was booked for the NCAA Tournament. Providence flexed its muscles in the second half after the first half was a 34-34 slug fest that appeared that it could have gone either way.

Second Round NIT Bracket: Live NIT Games For Sunday, March 24th (3/24/13)
#5 St. John’s 50 @ #1 Virginia 68

Now these are the Johnnies that we expected to show up here in the NIT. St. John’s really never had all that much of a chance to get the job done in this one, as it looked like a team full of zombies out there against the Cavaliers. UVA’s half-court defense was dominating all day long, and as a result, the Cavs notched their 14th cover of the season here at John Paul Jones Arena. There is no doubt that Virginia was the better of the two teams, and the 18 points for G Justin Anderson marked one of the best games of his entire career in a huge spot.

Second Round NIT Bracket: Live NIT Games For Saturday, March 23rd (3/23/13)
#4 Stanford 54 @ #1 Alabama 66

Stifling defense was the name of the game for the Crimson Tide on Saturday afternoon. The team held Stanford down to just 18-of-58 shooting (31.0%) for the night, and the Cardinal only mustered a total of 24 points from inside the arc over the course of the whole night. That certainly wasn’t going to cut it against an Alabama team that did a nice job cutting into the lane all night long, even against the Cardinal bigs.

Second Round NIT Bracket: Live NIT Games For Friday, March 22nd (3/22/13)
#3 Arizona State 86 @ #2 Baylor 89
#7 Stony Brook 63 @ #3 Iowa 75

Baylor’s offense has now scored over 200 points in two games here in the NIT. The Bears got 26 points and 16 assists from G Pierre Jackson in this one, and G Brady Heslip knocked down another four shots from beyond the arc to get hosting Baylor past Arizona State in a gritty game that could have gone either way. Meanwhile, G Roy-Devyn Marble had himself another nice night for Iowa, as he scored 28 points and dished out five assists in a win over Stony Brook. The Hawkeyes were kept close for a half of basketball, but as we have been seeing over the course of the second round of this tournament, teams that stay close in the first half on the road aren’t necessarily figuring out how to remain close in the second half. The Seawolves were the latest victims.

Second Round NIT Bracket: Live NIT Games For Thursday, March 21st (3/21/13)
#3 Denver 52 @ #2 Maryland 62

It was never really all that much of a game between the Terps and the Pioneers, as the visitors looked just flat out tired from the get go. Denver had to be exhausted for this game, having to tip this one off less the 45 hours after their last win finished up in the first round of this tournament, especially after having been made to travel across the country to College Park. It wasn’t the prettiest offensive game in the world for the Terrapins, but they were able to ultimately get the job done without all that much in the way of difficulty.

First Round NIT Bracket: Live NIT Games For Wednesday, March 20th (3/20/13)
#6 Indiana State 52 @ #3 Iowa 68
#7 Stony Brook 71 @ #2 Massachusetts 58
#5 Charlotte 66 @ #4 Providence 75
#7 Mercer 75 @ #2 Tennessee 67
#7 Long Beach State 66 @ #2 Baylor 112
#8 Charleston Southern 71 @ #1 Southern Miss 78
#6 Detroit 68 @ #3 Arizona State 83

Every year we see some more of these first round surprises when teams feel like they got snubbed out of the NCAA Tournament. Stony Brook is a team that has gained a lot of postseason experience over the last few years, and the Seawolves had their day when they went to Amherst and knocked off the Minutemen on Wednesday night. Mercer was able to go on the road and take a scalp of the Volunteers, who really looked disinterested over the course of the whole opening game of the NIT. Meanwhile, Southern Miss, who was arguably one of the first two or three teams left out of the NCAA Tournament, badly looked out of sorts against a bad Charleston Southern team. The Golden Eagles got the job done to advance, but they were certainly not impressive.

More impressive were the Hawkeyes from Iowa, who put together a show against Indiana State in the second half. Providence also held serve at home thanks to 25 points from G Bryce Cotton to take care of the Charlotte 49ers. Arizona State ran out to a huge first half lead to dismiss Detroit in its game in Tuscon. The most impressive team though, was clearly Baylor. The Bears jumped out to a 59-34 lead against Long Beach State in the first half, and they came out with the same sense of gusto in the second half, outscoring the 49ers 53-32 to ultimately win 112-66.

First Round NIT Bracket: NIT Games On TV For Tuesday, March 19th (3/19/13)
#7 Niagara 70 @ #2 Maryland 86
#5 St. John’s 63 @ #4 Saint Joseph’s 61
#5 Louisiana Tech 71 @ #4 Florida State 66
#1 Kentucky 57 @ #8 Robert Morris 59
#8 Northeastern 43 @ #1 Alabama 62
#8 Norfolk State 56 @ #1 Virginia 67
#6 Ohio 57 @ #3 Denver 61
#6 Washington 79 @ #3 BYU 90
#5 Stephen F. Austin 57 @ #4 Stanford 58

The story of the first night of the NIT is how Robert Morris had its day in the sun. The Colonials not only hosted the defending national champs, but they won the game and against Kentucky and truly had their biggest day ever in their program’s history. That wasn’t nearly the only upset on the day, though. A disappointing Florida State team finished up its season in terrible fashion, losing to Louisiana Tech, who ultimately might be set to go on a run after its miserable end to the regular season. St. John’s also woke up and won its first game after five straight losses, sending St. Joe’s packing for the rest of the year.

The top seeds that got the chance to host games really didn’t have much in the way of problems. Virginia struggled for a bit in the first half against Norfolk State before ultimately putting the Spartans away. Alabama had similar problems with Northeast before turning on the jets and avoiding embarrassment in Tuscaloosa. Maryland had a huge score half, scoring 51 points to dispose of Niagara, the regular season MAAC champs.

The best games of the first night of the NIT all came in the nightcaps. Denver took the lead with just 21 seconds left in the game and ultimately set aside a very good Ohio team that nearly made it to the NCAA Tournament. BYU and Washington battled it out tooth and nail over the course of the first 25-30 mintues or so, but in the end, G Tyler Haws scored 37 points and helped the Cougs to a 90-79 triumph. Stephen F. Austin got a chance to play its game against Stanford for the full 40 minutes, but in the end, the Lumberjacks came up a point short at Maples Pavilion.

The 2013 NIT Bracket was just released here on Selection Sunday, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are going to be taking a quick look at the teams that are going to be playing in the NIT this year and what they need to do to beat the odds to win the NIT and make it to Madison Square Garden for the NIT Final Four!

We’re going to start over in the Kentucky region, where the Wildcats are actually going to have to go on the road for the opening game of this tournament. The top seed in the tourney is going to have to hit the road to go to Pittsburgh to face Robert Morris, the automatic qualifiers from the Northeast Conference. After taking on the Colonials, either Providence or Charlotte will be on deck in games that really shouldn’t prove to be all that difficult if the Wildcats are going to really play this tournament full out. Arizona State and Baylor are the highlight teams in the bottom of the bracket, but Detroit (arguably the last team that made it to the NIT) and Long Beach State, an automatic qualifier from the Big West are also in the bracket.

The winner of the Kentucky bracket will face the winner of the Southern Miss bracket at Madison Square Garden. Things really don’t setup all that well for the Golden Eagles, knowing that they didn’t beat a single RPI Top 50 team all season long. They don’t have many great RPI teams in this bracket, but Florida State and Louisiana Tech could be ready to pounce in Hattiesburg. BYU seems to be a bit of a paper tiger of a No. 3 seed, but the Cougars were clearly picked here due to the fact that they will fill up the Marriott Center on Tuesday against Washington. The Huskies are a great team that deserved to be in better shape than this for the NIT. The winner has to likely head East to Knoxville, where the Volunteers are going to hope to continue their solid play in the second season.

The opposite side of the 2013 NIT Bracket is going to be insane, as it is chock full of teams that have a ton to prove. The Alabama bracket is going to feature some teams that have to travel quite a long ways to get to each of their games. If the chalk holds up on Tuesday, Alabama will get to host Stanford, which has a tough draw in its own right against Stephen F. Austin. Ohio was probably one of the last teams that made it into the NIT, and it will take on a Denver team that many thought would have little chance to get into the tournament at all, let alone host a game. Maryland and Niagara should make for some exciting basketball as well. The Terrapins really hit their stride at the end of the season, and they have a couple major wins over Duke to their credit as well.

It might be a bit surprising to see Virginia as a No. 1 seed here in the NIT, but that’s bad news for the rest of the teams in its bracket. The Hoos were dominating at home at John Paul Jones Arena this year, and as long as they are over the disappointing of having to play in the NIT instead of the NCAAs, there is a good shot that they can win this tournament. Their first victim is a Norfolk State team that made some history last year when it came out of the No. 15 slot and beat No. 2 Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. St. Joe’s and St. John’s are going to face off in a regional game that should be a thrilled. Iowa and Indiana State both have to be really disappointed that they are so low on the NIT bracket. The Hawkeyes really could have been a top seed in our eyes, but they were relegated to a No. 3 and will likely only get one game at Carver Hawkeye Arena as a result. UMass is the No. 2 seed that will host the first two games in this region as long as it keeps winning, and it gets Stony Brook in its opening soiree.