NIT Starts Progressive Evolution: The NIT will receive a makeover this season in an attempt to make the post-season tournament more competitive and appealing to fans, coaches and players. In recent years, the NIT has been considered the consolation tournament for bubble teams that don’t make the NCAA Tournament and the home of successful schools from lower conferences that few people know about outside their region. Led by a a committee that includes basketball Hall of Fame members Dean Smith and C.M. Newton, the NIT will include a couple of changes this year. First, the NIT will automatically extend an invitation to all regular-season conference champions that don’t make the NCAA Tournament. Second, the NIT will consider teams that don’t finish with a record above .500.
The NIT offers bids to 40 teams each year, and its final four teams play in New York’s Madison Square Garden. By extending invitations to regular-season conference champions, the NIT rewards season-long success even if a team stumbles in one conference tournament game. That’s a solid improvement. So a team like Delaware State, which is clearly the best team in the MEAC right now, will appear in the post-season regardless of whether another team stuns the Hornets in the MEAC tournament. In the past, the NIT has been reluctant to offer bids to MEAC squads because the conference is perennially one of the worst in the NCAA.
The other change means that no team is officially eliminated from post-season play. That’s another excellent change because teams that play tough schedules and don’t fare too well can still have motivation to play hard through the end of the season. For example, Saint Joseph’s is 10-12 right now, clearly on the outside of the NCAA Tournament and likely to finish below .500. But the Hawks are ranked No. 53 in the RPI. Saint Joseph’s deserves a post-season appearance, and the NIT change will give them an opportunity to play. The same is true for Providence, which is 11-11 but ranked No. 70 in the RPI. [2/17/06]
