Perhaps the most interesting first round matchup in the NIT is a battle of Huskies with Connecticut taking on Northeastern. That’s because UConn coach Jim Calhoun began his coaching career at Northeastern, coaching there from 1972-1986. The public likes the underdog in this matchup, taking Northeastern down to a 7.5-point dog. All first round NIT games are played at campus sites and this game will be in Storrs.

These schools have not met since 2007 when UConn won 69-60 as 15-point favorites. In the three meetings prior, the favored Huskies won by a minimum of 28 points every time.

Playing in the NIT is not what Calhoun had in mind coming into the year. This will be just the eighth time that Connecticut has missed the NCAA Tournament during his tenure. His Huskies were up and down all year long and ended the season on a four-game losing streak. After starting the year at 11-3 SU, they lost 12 of their final 18 games.

Northeastern, meanwhile, had a lousy start to the season, a great middle and a bad finish. They started the year by losing seven of their first nine games. Then came the high point as they won 11 straight games and went 10-1 ATS to take the early lead in the CAA. After that though they won just seven of 12, and were a disaster at the betting window by failing to cover their final eight games. This is their first appearance in the NIT since 2004-05, which was also the last time they played in a postseason tournament of any kind.

Connecticut was just 6-15 ATS as a favorite this season.