By ADAM ZAGORIA
The NIT bracket is out and St. John’s isn’t in it.
Mike Anderson has been linked to the Tulsa job and it remains to be seen whether Anderson will return next season at St. John’s or move on after the team finished 17-15 this season. St. John’s AD Mike Cragg said the team won’t play in any other postseason events.
Dayton, SMU, Texas A&M and Oklahoma were installed as the No. 1 seeds in the NIT. Texas A&M was considered a major snub for the NCAA Tournament after Buzz Williams’ group won three games in the SEC Tournament before falling to Tennessee in the championship game Sunday.
Rick Pitino and Iona will play on Wednesday at Florida, which will be coached by interim coach Al Pinkins after Mike White left to take the Georgia job.
First round play is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, March 15 and 16, with the second round running March 19-20. Quarterfinals will be held on March 22 and 23 and four teams will advance to New York City for the semifinals on Tuesday, March 29. The NIT will conclude with the championship game on Thursday, March 31.
First round action on campus sites, features number one seeds, Dayton, Oklahoma, SMU and Texas A&M facing Toledo, Missouri State, Nicholls and Alcorn respectively.
Other first round games include Belmont at Vanderbilt, Iona at Florida, Cleveland State at Xavier, St. Bonaventure at Colorado, Mississippi State at Virginia, Texas State at North Texas, Santa Clara at Washington State, UNI at Saint Louis, Long Beach State at BYU, Alcorn at Texas A&M, Oregon at Utah State, Princeton at VCU, Towson at Wake Forest.
For the 2022 season, the NIT seeded only the top half of the 32-team field. The bottom 16 unseeded teams were placed into the bracket by the NIT Committee as close to their area of natural interest as possible.
Dayton is making its 27th appearance in the National Invitation Tournament, the most of any school in the 2022 field.
NIT games are being televised by ESPN and ESPN2. Additional NIT information can be found on www.NCAA.com/NIT.
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