NIT bracket link

Some inside the numbers BS to help you out (especially if you want to pick IU to win this thing). All numbers are only reflective of the seeded era of the tournament - 2006 to present:

- The NIT has been seeded since 2006. #1 seeds have lost their opening game eight times since then.
- On average, only two #1 seeds make it through their second game each tournament. Only one has made it through to the third round two of the last three tournaments. No #1 seeds got to the third round in 2017.
- #1 seeds that make it to the third round have about a 50/50 chance of making it to the NIT final four - 57% actually.
- Only eight of the 52 #1 seeded teams in the NIT have made it to the final game. Only three have won.
- The 'happy to be there teams' who didn't spend selection Sunday thinking they could sneak into the NCAA field tend to do better in this tournament. 15 #2 seeds have made it to the final four. Another 15 came out of the 3 or 4 seeds. Only 5 teams seeded #5 or higher made it to MSG.
- Both #6 seeds that made it to the final four also played in the final game. The percentages on the other seeds: 47% of #1s, 40% of 2s, 71% of 3s, 63% of 4s, 0% of 5s and 8s.
- More winners in the seeded era have started as #4 seeds than any other seeding. Four #4s won the thing vs 3 each for 1s, 2s, and 3s.

This data should make your choices easy. Best of luck!