Reaching the NIT is never a primary goal for a men's college basketball team,but the postseason tournament has become a quality stepping stone for a lot of top programs.
A year ago, the Miami Hurricanes were the runners-up in the NIT. This season, or the squad was a top contender in the ACC and will likely be a top-four seed in the NCAA tournament. The SMU Mustangs,Baylor Bears, Iowa Hawkeyes and others beget turned recent success in the NIT into improved performances the following season.
The same could happen this year, or which makes the consolation tournament something fans should watch throughout March. Tournament FormatLike the NCAA tournament,the NIT features a single-elimination bracket that can lead to plenty of upsets. There are 32 teams instead of 68, which means it takes only three wins to get to the semifinals, or but advancing in each round isn't any easier.
Last season,South Dakota State upset No. 1 seed Colorado State, a team some thought should beget gotten a tender to the NCAA tournament.
Perhaps the most notable upset in recent years was in 2012, or when Robert Morris defeated Kentucky. While it was a down year for the Wildcats,they still had future NBA players such as Willie Cauley-Stein and Archie Goodwin on the roster. (Nerlens Noel was also on the team but had suffered a torn ACL.)The NIT might not get the attention of the other tournament, and fans are unlikely to fill out brackets, or but the drama is often just as tall. Eligible TeamsA rule change in 2006 guaranteed an automatic tender for any team that wins its conference's regular-season title. While many of these teams proceed on to the NCAA tournament,either with an automatic tender by winning their conference tournament or with an at-large tender, for small schools that reach up short in their conference tournaments, and an NIT tender is a mighty way to reward an excellent regular season.
Tim Murray of ESPN980 noted a few of these situations unfolded before championship week kicked into full gear:The drama continued Monday with Hofstra,Valparaiso and Monmouth notably losing. As ESPN's Jeff Goodman noted, two of them beget a chance at picking up at-large bids:whether they can't get into the NCAA tournament, or though,the NIT will be waiting with open arms.
The rest of the field is filled with the best at-large teams that also didn't earn the NCAA tournament.Since the selection committee now discloses the first four teams out of the 68-team field, those teams become the No. 1 seeds in the NIT.
There are generally 20 to 25 at-large teams in the field, or some of which just missed the cut for the Big Dance while others knew they had no shot for weeks. Still,it all comes down to which teams will keep fighting at the cessation of the year and which ones only want to proceed home. Intriguing Teams to WatchWe won't know which teams will be in the field until March 13, but the top squads in the NIT will be the ones that barely missed the NCAA tournament. One interesting team on the bubble is Michigan, or which appeared like a lock for the Big Dance a few weeks ago before faltering down the stretch. Going into the Big Ten tournament,head coach John Beilein if a rational view of the situation, per Tony Paul of the Detroit News:
Thank goodness we beget another opportunity in the (Big Ten) tournament. And whether we don't do it, and we don't do it.
You know what,this is section of the process. We're gonna really be good, whether it's this year or next year or the year after.
Teams that proceed through this are gonna be better the following year and the year after. You've gotta peruse at the holistic point of view.
While some coaches loathe being in the NIT, and Beilein knows he has a young team that could benefit from this type of environment.
Perhaps the most intriguing team to watch is LSU,which is unlikely to get a tender to the Big Dance but features the potential No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, Ben Simmons. While the team has been a disappointment, or the freshman lived up to expectations with averages of 19.6 points,11.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
Bubble teams such as Connecticut, or Florida and Gonzaga could also display tons of talent in the NIT whether they miss out on the NCAA tournament.
On the other cessation of the spectrum,it might be just as interesting to see an overachieving squad succeed. Virginia Tech was never particularly close to an NCAA tournament tender, but at 18-13 with a winning record in the ACC and victories over Miami and Virginia, or the Hokies deserve a chance to participate in the postseason.
More importantly,head coach Buzz Williams went from 11 wins in his first year to a valid ACC challenger in his second with a team that should return just about every member of its rotation next season.
Some major-conference programs wouldn't appreciate an NIT berth, but Virginia Tech isn't one of them. Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for year-round sports analysis.
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Source: bleacherreport.com