stark omission

It begins in an hour.

The NIT begins with my Northeastern Huskies playing the Connecticut Huskies. The game, in the vernacular, is a lock. No pun intended, but despite my allegiance, you don't want to bet the dog in this one. Seven and a half is not a lot of lumber to lay.

Perhaps I am a bit rusty with the parlance of the sports book. I assure you however, that the thousands who are preparing to travel to Las Vegas, or are already there, can not wait to spew the bettors' rhetoric.

One team that will not be participating in the Big Dance is Mississippi State. A disclaimer here: I have been to Starkville and have a colleague who teaches at Mississippi State. Yet even if I had never been to the school and knew not a soul in the state, I would be startled at the injustice of Mississippi State not being invited to dance.

Let's see now. With one tenth of a second left in the game, Mississippi State was ahead of Kentucky, the number 2 team in the nation. In what can only be described as a fluke Kentucky tied the game with one tenth of a second left. Kentucky went on to win by a single point in overtime. If Mississippi State wins that game they win the Southeast Conference one of the strongest conferences in the country, one of the Big 6 power conferences. But Mississippi State loses, still has 23 wins for the season, and they don't get invited. Florida on the other hand, lost to Mississippi State in the first round of the tournament, has 21 wins and they DO get to go. I need someone to explain this logic to me. Not only does Florida go, but Minnesota? Minnesota lost by 20 points to Ohio State in the finals of the Big Ten conference. Mississippi State lost by one point to a much stronger than Ohio State Kentucky, and they don't go.

In Starkville their heads are spinning.

No matter. Time to fill out your brackets.

In 38 minutes the NIT begins