The 2012 NIT tips off on Tuesday night, and the No. 6 seed Cleveland State Vikings will be on the West Coast to face the No. 3 seed Stanford Cardinal. Gary Waters and the Vikings earned a bid to the NIT with a 22-10 record after they were unceremoniously bounced in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament by eventual champion Detroit. The Vikings stumbled down the stretch losing a couple crucial games against fellow Horizon heavyweights Butler and Valparaiso, as well as their BracketBusters matchup with fellow NIT team Drexel.

Stanford finished the season at 21-11 and 10-8 in a historically weak Pac 12 conference. The Cardinal is favored by 6.5 points, but a road upset is certainly within the realm of possibility if Waters has his club ready to play - which is a safe bet. After you have taken in the First Round from Dayton, you can catch the Vikings in a nightcap with tip scheduled for 11:00 PM on ESPN2.

Region 1

No. 2 Dayton Flyers at No. 7 Iowa Hawkeyes, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

No. 4 Northwestern Wildcats vs. No. 5 Akron Zips, 9:00 p.m. (ESPN2)

No. 3 Oregon Ducks vs. No. 6 LSU Tigers, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)

No. 1 Washington Huskies vs. No. 8 Texas-Arlington Mavericks, 10 p.m. (ESPNU)

Region 2

No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers vs. No. 8 Savannah St. Tigers, 8:00 p.m. (ESPNU)

No. 4 Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders vs. No. 5 Marshall Thundering Herd, 9:15 p.m. (ESPN3)

Region 3

No. 4 Mississippi St. Bulldogs vs. No. 5 UMass Minutemen, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN2)

No. 1 Seton Hall Pirates vs. No. 8 Stony Brook Seawolves, 7:15 p.m. (ESPN3)

Region 4

No. 3 Stanford Cardinal vs. No. 6 Cleveland St. Vikings, 11:00 p.m. (ESPN2)

For more on the NIT, be sure to check out our NCAA basketball hub. Also be sure to check out our 2012 NCAA Tournament for more on the Big Dance.