There’s a rumor going around, first shared by John Feinstein on Twitter, that the NIT will be happening as a 16-team tournament this year, all in New York. My thoughts are as follows (and this is mostly a regurgitation of what I said last night on Twitter myself):
Feinstein’s bio says he does UMBC basketball on the radio. Ryan Odom—UMBC’s head coach—is the son of NIT legend and committee member (I assume he’s still on it, I haven’t heard otherwise) Dave Odom. There’s a chance this is where the news is coming through, but everyone on that committee has second-degree connections in the college basketball ecosystem, so this doesn’t necessarily make the rumor true.
If this is true, it’s great. Any NIT this year is great. We are all about any NIT we can get at this point, and this plan seems like a relatively manageable one—cut down on travel, shorten the thing so there’s less time for something to go wrong (a positive test), make it a bit of a festival for the few people in the arena (hopefully I could get myself a spot—we’ll see). The fact they’re still talking towards this is a wonderful sign.
My best guess is that this is the tentative plan, but that it’s subject to change. Probably not in the direction of a broader NIT, but possibly. More likely only in the direction of further consolidating it. And, of course, more teams than normal might opt out.
For right now, we’re going to keep operating as though the NIT is operating in its normal form, until either official word comes out or the rumor is confirmed by wider sources.
But wanted to keep you all posted.
Other notes for today:
- Before I published yesterday’s notes, but also before I noticed them release it, the Horizon League released its weekly standings update, and Cleveland State is still in first place. We aren’t out of the woods yet, of course—Cleveland State plays Purdue-Fort Wayne this weekend, and Purdue-Fort Wayne’s worse than Northern Kentucky, and strength of schedule is allegedly a factor in this formula, and also Cleveland State could lose one or both while Wright State could win both or one—but we’re in a better place than we were (assuming, you know, that automatic bids are even a thing).
- Big night in the Big East: Xavier visits St. John’s. Providence visits UConn. Dayton visits Rhode Island and I know that’s A-10 but it feels like the Big East.
- Michigan State’s on the court, visiting Purdue. If this 16-team NIT is real, MSU’s gotta get a few more wins. Narrower needle. As though that were possible.
- Mizzou visits Georgia. Has either team given up hope yet?
- Penn State tried losing to Nebraska to minimize their loss count while also dragging down their résumé. Will Maryland try the same? And how many teams have to try this before Nebraska makes the NIT themselves?
- Bracketology update tomorrow, and just as a heads up: Joe found a glitch in the way the model’s treating NET. Something that should have been changed in the rollover from the early-season proxy to the late-season proxy wasn’t changed. From what we can tell, Colgate’s going to be the most significantly affected, and will likely rise, which could cost them their projected NIT berth. We’ll see what all happens, though. Just wanted you, the most loyal of NIT fans, to know the situation.
Bona NIT.
