March is finally here and with it comes the madness of college basketball. 64 of the nations best teams all compete for a chance to hoist the national championship trophy and write their names in the record books forever. March Madness is the big dog of this month, but let us not forget about its younger brother. 

The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is a tournament filled with 32 teams that just fell short of March Madness. The NIT takes place at the exact same time as March Madness, so it is often forgotten about. It gives a chance for those teams who do not have as much publicity, or do not have as strong of a schedule, to keep their season going. 

For many Americans, the NIT is something swept under the fridge, but for junior Henry Lambert, it is quite the opposite. 

“Personally I think that the NIT tournament is so much better than March Madness. The teams in the NIT in a way have been disrespected by not getting a spot in the big tournament, so they have more to play for. I also think that The players in the NIT have more passion for the games they are playing, and as a basketball player, I love seeing this,” said Lambert. 

After two weeks of playing the number of the teams are starting to thin out, and there are only eight teams remaining. 

Students such as senior Landon Joines have started making predictions about who will win.

“I try to keep up with what is going on in the NIT, but I always seem to lose track of it. This year when it started I had a feeling that Wisconison was going to win it because I felt they were snubbed and should have made March Madness,” said Joines.

Make sure to tune in on March 28 to watch the final four, and March 30 for the NIT national championship.