Way To Make The NIT Better

#1

MAD

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#1
I’ve heard a lot of people complain about how meaningless the NIT is. It doesn't mean anything, it’s more of a hassle than a reward. People say the champion can brag that they are the 69th best team etc.

What if the winner of the NIT received an automatic bid to the Big Dance the following year?
I think it would bring excitement for the fans and motivation to the coaches and players.
The tournament would mean something.
 
#2
#2
I’ve heard a lot of people complain about how meaningless the NIT is. It doesn't mean anything, it’s more of a hassle than a reward. People say the champion can brag that they are the 69th best team etc.

What if the winner of the NIT received an automatic bid to the Big Dance the following year?
I think it would bring excitement for the fans and motivation to the coaches and players.
The tournament would mean something.

I like the idea in general. But college teams are so transitory, particularly in men's basketball, that the team that won the NIT this year may look vastly different the next.
 
#4
#4
I like the idea in general. But college teams are so transitory, particularly in men's basketball, that the team that won the NIT this year may look vastly different the next.
That’s a good point, on the other hand, it could convince some to transfer to that school knowing they will be guaranteed a spot in the tournament.
 
#6
#6
I’ve heard a lot of people complain about how meaningless the NIT is. It doesn't mean anything, it’s more of a hassle than a reward. People say the champion can brag that they are the 69th best team etc.

What if the winner of the NIT received an automatic bid to the Big Dance the following year?
I think it would bring excitement for the fans and motivation to the coaches and players.
The tournament would mean something.
I like the NIT as it is and i hate the idea of a guaranteed spot in the NCAA Tournament for the NIT Tournament winner.
 
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#8
#8
The NIT = Not In Tournament

Agree that it would be nice for the NIT to find a way to market itself to be relevant, whether that is by playing its quarterfinals, semi-finals, or finals in a unique location. Perhaps play it on an aircraft carrier like Michigan State and North Carolina did back in 2011 (USS Carl Vinson). Do something to grab some attention.
 
#10
#10
I’ve heard a lot of people complain about how meaningless the NIT is. It doesn't mean anything, it’s more of a hassle than a reward. People say the champion can brag that they are the 69th best team etc.

What if the winner of the NIT received an automatic bid to the Big Dance the following year?
I think it would bring excitement for the fans and motivation to the coaches and players.
The tournament would mean something.

I like the idea a lot, actually. Essentially, all you're really doing is shifting the 5th-to-last team in down to the play-in game and booting the last-team-in to the NIT if the previous season's NIT winner wouldn't have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in their own right. A few AQ programs are going to be pushed up one slot on the S-curve to accommodate for this move if the team in question isn't on the bubble (very little is affected if they're in contention for the play-in games, but if team X is relatively woeful you'd have to make them a 15 seed and one AQ 15 will get lucky enough to be a 14), but overall it isn't as if this undermines the legitimacy of the tournament since the two programs affected (by virtue of going from lock to play-in and play-in to NIT) could have had better resumes if they wanted to secure a spot.
 
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#11
#11
What if the winner of the NIT won the NIT because they went on a run with some mediocre upperclassmen who then graduated? The following year they’re breaking in a brand new starting 5 and fail to win a conference game, yet they get a seed in the tournament. I don’t think that would be well received.
 
#13
#13
What if the winner of the NIT won the NIT because they went on a run with some mediocre upperclassmen who then graduated? The following year they’re breaking in a brand new starting 5 and fail to win a conference game, yet they get a seed in the tournament. I don’t think that would be well received.
That’s one of the exciting things about NCAA basketball. Every team, even if they have a losing record still has a chance to get in with a conference tournament win. It would give that same excitement to the NIT.
 
#14
#14
That’s one of the exciting things about NCAA basketball. Every team, even if they have a losing record still has a chance to get in with a conference tournament win. It would give that same excitement to the NIT.
It would definitely add some excitement for the NIT, at the same time it would add an extra level of pissed off to a bubble team. Can you imagine if we were a couple games above .500 and we were playing well to end the season and then don’t get in because a Duquesne team that goes 0-16 in conference play gets automatic bid because of something they did last year? People would lose their mind.
 
#15
#15
That’s one of the exciting things about NCAA basketball. Every team, even if they have a losing record still has a chance to get in with a conference tournament win. It would give that same excitement to the NIT.
That is a different scenario than an NIT winner automatically qualifying for the NCAAT the next year, no?

If an 0-16 team wins their conference tournament, at least they earned an automatic bid for a tournament occurring during that same season. Having an NIT-winning team gain an automatic bid to an NCAAT that will occur during the next season, and with a roster that might have entirely turned over, doesn't make much sense.

As @RDU VOL#14 said eventually you'd have an instance where an awful team with very little roster continuity from the previous season gets an auto bid over a team that is much more deserving, and it is all based on something that team did last year.
 
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#16
#16
It would definitely add some excitement for the NIT, at the same time it would add an extra level of pissed off to a bubble team. Can you imagine if we were a couple games above .500 and we were playing well to end the season and then don’t get in because a Duquesne team that goes 0-16 in conference play gets automatic bid because of something they did last year? People would lose their mind.
What if you added one more play in game changing the field to 70 from 68. Winner of both NCAA and NIT get automatic bids?
 
#19
#19
What if you added one more play in game changing the field to 70 from 68. Winner of both NCAA and NIT get automatic bids?
I feel like this is turning into golf . Haha. I don’t know man. I think in general I like the idea of teams being rewarded for their performance during the current season. I guess some of those things could add some intrigue. Although I don’t think March basketball lacks much intrigue .
 
#20
#20
I would like if they could implement it into the “Last 4 In”. Have like an 8 or 16 team tournament and the semifinals will be the “Last 4 In” and they are just playing for seeding and Region at that point. All 4 of the semifinalists make it into the NCAAT.
 
#21
#21
Why spend anytime worrying about ways to make the NIT better? It's a **** tourney for below average teams. Why reward poor play?
 
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#22
#22
Why spend anytime worrying about ways to make the NIT better? It's a **** tourney for below average teams. Why reward poor play?
Once upon a time the NIT was the must see tournament with better teams and was actually made before the NCAA decided to do a postseason tournament. Many teams played in both tournaments but the NCAA was, and always will be, a control freak (big surprise) and eventually prohibited teams from playing in both tournaments. In 1970, Marquette was the 8th ranked team in the country but the NCAA wanted to put them in Texas instead of Ohio. So they declined their invitation and went on to win the NIT. The following year, the NCAA prohibited teams from postseason play if they decline a NCAAT bid. Then the NCAA expanded the tournament to essentially put an end to the NIT.
 
#25
#25
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned yet as a reason not to have a guaranteed spot in the NCAA would be the portal as a positive. Duke, UK, and UNC are all blue blood elite schools who haven’t made the tournament the past 2 years. Imagine if they went to the NIT and won. Those schools already recruit at a high level so they will already have a very good recruiting class, throw in some guys from the portal and you have a top 5 team that’s already a guaranteed spot. Once that is established you can start coaching your guys differently throughout the course of the season because you have a guaranteed spot in March. In theory you can go the load management route if your best players need a rest for Boston College or Vandy and have completely fresh squad ready to go for the Tournament.
 

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