Way To Make The NIT Better

#26
#26
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.
Those are good points. But it just shows that winning the NIT would even be important for a blue blood elite school to win. I would think it’s not just about getting in for them, they also want to win their conference and get a high seed.
 
#27
#27
Those are good points. But it just shows that winning the NIT would even be important for a blue blood elite school to win. I would think it’s not just about getting in for them, they also want to win their conference and get a high seed.
I agree to an extent, there is some pride taken in those achievements because one usually helps lead to another. That being said, the season is failure for Duke and UNC if you don’t beat the other at least once and if you don’t cut down nets and raise banners. The Big Banners. UK I’m sure feels the same about beating Louisville and winning titles. The reality is that I pointed a very rare hypothetical where you stack a blue blood team because they went to the NIT. However, the game is changing and players want to be on the biggest stage possible and that stage for college basketball is in March on CBS. A guaranteed spot would help stack that deck unless you’re like UTEP or some other miserable place.
 
#28
#28
I agree to an extent, there is some pride taken in those achievements because one usually helps lead to another. That being said, the season is failure for Duke and UNC if you don’t beat the other at least once and if you don’t cut down nets and raise banners. The Big Banners. UK I’m sure feels the same about beating Louisville and winning titles. The reality is that I pointed a very rare hypothetical where you stack a blue blood team because they went to the NIT. However, the game is changing and players want to be on the biggest stage possible and that stage for college basketball is in March on CBS. A guaranteed spot would help stack that deck unless you’re like UTEP or some other miserable place.
Good points. By the way, did any of them end up with losing records? If that is the case, they don’t get into the NIT.
 
#29
#29
Good points. By the way, did any of them end up with losing records? If that is the case, they don’t get into the NIT.
I think UK did. I was just using them as an example as a potential issue with the NIT champ getting an automatic bid.

I think the only way that any change would ever happen anyway would be influenced by ESPN. And I doubt ESPN feels like spending any extra $ trying to gain casual college basketball fans to watch the NIT.
 
#30
#30
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.
I understand the history of the NIT. I also understand why it was killed.
 
#33
#33
Expand the ncaa to 128 and kill the NIT
That just makes the regular season even more irrelevant than it already is. On the way to work this morning I heard Dan Wetzel say that only 5 regular season basketball games had better ratings than the lower tier bowl games. That tells me several things

1) The bowls aren’t going anywhere. Not even the WGAF.org bowls. Which I’m completely fine with bc I love more football around the holidays.

2) College basketball needs to be fixed badly. The one and done rule needs to be done with. Make it like baseball and let the kids go pro or force them to stay for at least 2 seasons.
 
#34
#34
That just makes the regular season even more irrelevant than it already is. On the way to work this morning I heard Dan Wetzel say that only 5 regular season basketball games had better ratings than the lower tier bowl games. That tells me several things

1) The bowls aren’t going anywhere. Not even the WGAF.org bowls. Which I’m completely fine with bc I love more football around the holidays.

2) College basketball needs to be fixed badly. The one and done rule needs to be done away with. Let them go pro out of High School or force them to stay for at least 3 seasons.
FYP
 
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#36
#36
I’d love that, but I think that’s probably a bit ambitious. I don’t think players would go for that, but the quality of college basketball would be outstanding .
They would probably all go pro out of High School lol:rolleyes:
 
#38
#38
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.

I actually think that's one of the worst things about college basketball, especially one bid leagues. The regular season champion should get the autobid and conference tournaments are generally a waste of time. People complain about the regular season of college basketball not mattering that much and conference tournaments are a reason.

The Ivy League used to have the right idea; they had no tournament and the regular season champion got the bid. If there was a tie, they'd have a 1 game playoff.
 
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#41
#41
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.
Yep, reduce ncaa field to A lower number would make the nit somewhat more important.. I like the idea of playing the nit over the Christmas/new year holidays. Winner gets a good seed in ncaa.
 
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#42
#42
Yep, reduce ncaa field to A lower number would make the nit somewhat more important.. I like the idea of playing the nit over the Christmas/new year holidays. Winner gets a good seed in ncaa.
That’s a good idea
 

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