The NCAA Tournament may be the big postseason tournament, but it is not the only one. The 2011 NIT bracket will be announced at 9 p.m. on Sunday night, and several local teams are in contention for bids to that tournament.
This remains the most likely landing spot for Maryland after a disappointing season ended in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. The Terps are not guaranteed of a spot, but are likely to land here after finishing one game shy of 20 wins. However, they are not guaranteed a spot in the field, because regular-season conference champions that do not win their conference tournament get automatic bids.
As of right now, there are 14 teams that will automatically be in the NIT. Those teams are as follows: Missouri State, Coastal Carolina, Murray State, Fairfield, Vermont, Florida Atlantic, Charleston, Saint Mary's, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Texas Southern, Bethune-Cookman, UAB (if they don't make the NCAA Tournament), Long Beach State and Kent State. That leaves 18 at-large spots to fill the 32-team field.