2018 NIT: Marquette vs. Penn State preview

How to watch or stream

Time: 6 p.m CT

TV: ESPN

Stream: WatchESPN

The NIT is obviously not the NCAA Tournament.

I’m sure everyone who has read the other two Marquette NIT previews loves the fact that I opened with that statement yet again.

The point, though, is that even though it’s not the NCAA Tournament, it still matters. Look at last year, for example. A young TCU team won the NIT and were able to carry that success over to a perfect nonconference slate this year and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

While it’s probably a little different for a Marquette team that found themselves in the Big Dance last year, they still have looked incredibly motivated. Their opponents, Harvard and Oregon, have not.

To Marquette’s benefit, they haven’t had to travel yet for any games. Harvard and Oregon both had to come halfway across the country. Tuesday’s opponents, the Penn State Nittany Lions, also have to come halfway across the country!

Penn State guard Tony Carr is the best player Marquette has faced so far in this Tournament, and he’ll likely be a thorn in their side all night. What it comes down to is, can Andrew Rowsey and Markus Howard light up the scoreboard and lead Marquette to a win? The past two games have showed us that the answer will likely be yes.