After being snubbed for the 2011 NCAA tournament, the St. Mary's Gaels will have to look toward winning the NIT and focus on finishing as the 69th best team in the country. Along with teams like Virginia Tech, Colorado and Alabama, they might be on their way to taking out their frustration on the other teams not ready to dance. St. Mary's is now updated to be a top seed in the National Invitation Tournament by Bracket Project (against Bethune-Cookman), which would mean they'd be guaranteed to play all of their games in Moraga before heading to Madison Square Garden for the Final Four.
The California Golden Bears might be on their way to playing in the NIT for quite awhile, although they might be just hovering near bubble territory, so they can't really take anything for granted. With a record of 17-14, Cal will probably have to go on the road to get to New York. Right now they're listed as a fifth seed against Oklahoma State, meaning they'd have to head to Stillwater. Safe to say the Bears will have a longer and harder road than the Gaels on their NIT journey.
The NIT Selection Show is at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT on ESPNU.