Whereas so many of college basketball’s 16-team preseason events automatically advance the four host schools to the semifinals whether they win their opening-round games or not, the NIT Season Tip-Off thankfully continues to embrace the tournament format. As a result, the release of the NIT’s preseason brackets on Wednesday are actually relevant to fans of the schools involved. Syracuse , Oklahoma State , Stanford and Virginia Tech are the four host schools as was previously reported in May. Of those four, the Hokies have by far the most treacherous road to Madison Square Garden since in the second round they may face a talent-laden George Mason squad that won its opening-round game in the NCAA tournament last season. The potential matchup between Virginia Tech and George Mason would be especially intriguing because the Hokies have shied away from facing in-state mid-major powers in recent years. The Hokies and Patriots have faced one another only twice before, splitting a pair of games during the 1991-92 season. Perhaps because tournament organizers need Syracuse to make the semifinals in order to sell tickets and guarantee TV viewers a marquee team, the Orange have the easiest path to Madison Square Garden by far. Only Manhattan and then the winner of a matchup between Albany and Brown stand between Syracuse and the semifinals. The NIT Season Tip-Off lacks the star power of this year’s loaded Maui Invitational, but there are still plenty of storylines of note. How will George Mason’s talented upperclassmen adjust to Paul Hewitt’s coaching style? Is Stanford’s promising sophomore class good enough to lead a revival? Can Virginia Tech replace Malcolm Delaney’s scoring and finally land on the right side of the bubble in March? And will Syracuse have a productive enough frontcourt to live up to its preseason hype? It will take a full season to truly answer those questions, but the NIT Season Tip-Off should at least provide some preliminary hints.