The Big Dance did the NIT a few favors this year.Prestige, the almighty dollar or something else helped teams such as Indiana and UCLA into the fold. This stinks for the teams left on the outside looking in, but for fans, the NIT just became a whole lot more interesting than usual.Not only does this year's bracket feature a shortened shot clock to improve the pace of games, it now features teams worthy of the Big Dance and plenty of upset-minded programs between.CBS Sports' Matt Norlander provides a look at the initial bracket:The tournament itself takes place on ESPN's family of networks. The second round begins on March 20, and the quarterfinals start on March 25. Of course, the semifinals head to the fabled Madison Square Garden on March 31 with the final taking place on April 2.2015 NIT First-Round SchedulePrintable NIT bracket is also available on NCAA.com. All NIT games will be available to live stream at Watch ESPN.Highlighting Top Contenders Colorado State (27-6)Look, it's not healthy to dwell on the past, but Colorado State got robbed.Ranked 28th in ESPN's RPI rankings, the Rams went 5-5 against the RPI Top 100 with wins against fellow Top 50 teams such as San Diego State and Boise State.Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post offered one possible explanation:Regardless, here are the Rams, a team averaging 72.1 points per game. Leading the show is senior forward J.J. Avila, who leads the team in points (16.6) and rebounds (7.3). The McAllen, Texas, native is enough to take down fellow NIT teams on his own, not to mention he's flanked by a team shooting .441 from the field.With a chip on their shoulder and more time than ever to pour on the points thanks to a reduced shot clock, the Rams are going to make a deep run to Madison Square Garden.Old Dominion (24-7)Anger is right to emancipate from Norfolk, Virginia, too.The Old Dominion Monarchs come in 45th place in the RPI rankings, ahead of other tournament attendees such as Oklahoma State, Wofford, UCLA and Valparaiso. A win against an RPI Top 50 team (Virginia Commonwealth) and a 6-2 mark against the RPI Top 100 just weren't enough.NBA.com's David Aldridge puts it best:Like Colorado State, there is something to gain from a long-term perspective by a strong showing in the NIT.Jeff Jones' team is special, and the nation needs to know it if it will ever stand a chance of making the Big Dance so skewed toward big names.Led by junior Trey Freeman (19.7 points per game), the Monarchs are a tempo team potent enough to pour it on against top opposition, hence 70 or more points in upsets of LSU and VCU this season.Expect to see the Monarchs in New York.Temple (23-10)It's easier to not name the tournament-bound teams ranked below the Temple Owls in the RPI rankings.It's just a slight exaggeration, too, as coach Fran Dunphy's team ranks 34th, although a 1-5 mark against the RPI Top 25 and a 2-8 tally against the RPI Top 50 didn't do the Owls any favors.To be fair, much of the high rank pertains to an odd blowout of Kansas back in December, 77-52. The committee decided it wasn't enough to sneak the Owls in based on Cinderella potential, which is validalthough many will argue a win over and higher placement than Cincinnati, which made the Big Dance with ease, is impossible to contend with."It's an agonizing situation to wonder what's going to happen all throughout this day," Dunphy told The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "Now the angst is over, the disappointment reigns, but hope is still out there that we can finish this season strong with another tournament."Chip meet shoulder, because the Owls are coming for the NIT crown.Few teams in the bracket will have an answer for the combo of Will Cummings (14.2 points per game) and Quenton DeCosey (12.4), nor will many be able to bang down low with a unit averaging the nation's 28th-best rebounding average at 37.9 a game.Murray State (27-5)Despite one of the nation's most explosive offenses and a 25-game winning streak before a heartbreaking one-point loss to Belmont on March 7, the committee denied Murray State's Cinderella aspirations.The rest of the NIT must deal with the aftermatha frightening thought if they come out as angry as Dick Vitale, as Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead captures:The Racers rank 64th in RPI with an 0-2 mark against the RPI Top 50, but don't be fooledit's going to be a while before they bow out of the bracket.Sophomore Cameron Payne is a national treasure who will see the Big Dance at some point in his career. He averages 20.3 points to help the Racers rank 11th in the nation at 79.1 points scored per game. The team as a whole shoots an incredible .484 from the field, ranking 15th.Now add in more possessions because of a shortened shot clock and, well, the Racers are off to the races.Stats and info are courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.
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