NIT has new criteria for 40-team field

[kardplayer]

All regular season winners are guaranteed spots in the event they lose in their conference tournament. Also, teams do not need to have a .500 record to qualify.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylt=AjpLYSxqmIx7a5XWYlTkFLXevbYF?slug=ap-nitchanges&prov=ap&type=lgns

Not 100% sure if this is good or bad for the mid-majors and other small conferences, but my hunch is its bad.

Looking at the Patriot League, last year was the first time we had an NIT invite since the early 90's I believe, so certainly in that time there would have been a few extra berths as regular season champions lost in the tourny.

That said, this makes it easier for the NCAA committee to leave a team like Bucknell out (if they lose in the tourny obviously) who was ranked during the season, since they are still getting to go to a tournament.

The part about sub-.500 schools getting in is also troubling. I doubt these will be mid-major schools. Its more likely they'll be the bottom of the Big East and other major conferences. The funny thing is, this could let in a school like St. John's or Notre Dame who could finish sub .500, miss the Big East tourny, but get an invite because they're expected to sell tickets.

The best quote is that allowing the regular season champions in "... formalizes what postseason basketball should be -- a reward for success throughout the regular season." but letting in sub .500's does the exact opposite.

[TexasTerror]

Sounds good to me. Basically guarantees that regular season champions from mid-major conferences who do not make it to the NCAAs will be going...

May hurt some conferences in some years, but for conferences like the SLC, it would help until we get our act together as a BKB conference...

[AppGuy04]

don't like the under-.500 stuff, if you can't have a winning record, you shouldn't be playing in the postseason

[Hansel]

I wonder if we can get an "autobid" for independents (we are the top Indie in RPI)

.... probably not :(

[dbackjon]

I am glad that they are taking regular season champs if they do not win the conference tournament - it is a good reward.

But making sub 500 teams is plain stupid.

[AppGuy04]

I doubt there will be many spots left for sub 500 teams

[kardplayer]

I think they should also go one step further and if the regular season champ wins the conference tourny, then the tourny runner up should get an NIT invite...

This would make the conference tourny semifinals from "one bid" conferences especially heated, since winning that game actually clinches something in most cases. It also ensures that every conference would have a rep in the NIT, and that gives them a better chance for the exciting upsets that made March Madness what it is today.

[AppGuy04]

The NIT doesn't want "sloppy seconds" but they may have to suck it up and do whatever it takes to get the best talent

Also, I believe that a team can turn down an invite to the NIT, whereas the NCAA tourney, you can't, not that anyone would, but they should change that to where you must go if you are invited

[Pard4Life]

All regular season winners are guaranteed spots in the event they lose in their conference tournament. Also, teams do not need to have a .500 record to qualify.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylt=AjpLYSxqmIx7a5XWYlTkFLXevbYF?slug=ap-nitchanges&prov=ap&type=lgns

Not 100% sure if this is good or bad for the mid-majors and other small conferences, but my hunch is its bad.

Looking at the Patriot League, last year was the first time we had an NIT invite since the early 90's I believe, so certainly in that time there would have been a few extra berths as regular season champions lost in the tourny.

That said, this makes it easier for the NCAA committee to leave a team like Bucknell out (if they lose in the tourny obviously) who was ranked during the season, since they are still getting to go to a tournament.

The part about sub-.500 schools getting in is also troubling. I doubt these will be mid-major schools. Its more likely they'll be the bottom of the Big East and other major conferences. The funny thing is, this could let in a school like St. John's or Notre Dame who could finish sub .500, miss the Big East tourny, but get an invite because they're expected to sell tickets.

The best quote is that allowing the regular season champions in "... formalizes what postseason basketball should be -- a reward for success throughout the regular season." but letting in sub .500's does the exact opposite.

Holy Cross was the first team ever from the Patriot League to get an NIT bid. I find the NIT just as exciting to watch as the NCAAs on non-tourney days. This is a very good idea to expand the tournament field, but the idea to include sub .500 teams in the NIT is ludicrous. A team is rewarded for a losing season? Not so sure about letting in conference tournament losers is a good idea. Sometimes, as mentioned above, you have really atrocious teams that make a cinderella run to the final. They sometimes win and get to the NCAAs with laughable 11-20 records and get bombed by a #1. NIT should be the best of the rest.

I really hope to see some smaller or mid-major schools make it to MSG, and let's hope 40 teams increase their chances. I always tune out at the NIT FF4 since mostly yawner big-conf. teams make it.

[TypicalTribe]

The only thing I really hope for is that if there are any teams that get in with losing records from power conferences, that they are forced to play on the road. It would be a disgrace if a team like that was allowed to host a game.

[kardplayer]

The only thing I really hope for is that if there are any teams that get in with losing records from power conferences, that they are forced to play on the road. It would be a disgrace if a team like that was allowed to host a game.

The reality is, the bigger conference school would likely have a higher RPI than a lot of the schools from the smallest conferences.

From an NIT perspective, they'd be better off letting the smaller schools host, because I can guarantee that Notre Dame at Bucknell would draw a lot higher than Bucknell at Notre Dame...

[Go...gate]

The sub-.500 thing is hogwash. It's absolutely a pandering to power-conference schools. I can see it now - some 29-3 mid-major playing at a 12-16 Big East school.