*voice I will one day use to tell my kids something important*
I have been following the NIT closely for seven years.
Here are the four types of teams I’ve seen win it.
1. The Good Team
From 2017 through 2021, the NIT champion has consistently been one of the best teams in the field, as labeled by kenpom, entering the tournament. Rankings of the last six champions, entering the tournament:
- 2017 TCU: 39th
- 2018 Penn State: 29th
- 2019 Texas: 30th
- 2021 Memphis: 40th
- 2022 Xavier: 60th
- 2023 North Texas: 41st
It’s not too complicated. It helps to be good.
Teams who fit this bill this year (kenpom top 40): Wake Forest, Villanova, Cincinnati.
2. The Talented Team
I’d put 2019 Texas as the epitome of this archetype. They were a team loaded with ability who, once they got through the first round, started to compete. 2022 Xavier had shades of this as well, but 2019 Texas is the best example. Sometimes, you can get away with simply having the better players, even if they underachieved in the regular season.
Teams who fit this bill this year (by my perception): Villanova, Ohio State, Kansas State.
3. The Team Who Needed a Change
Xavier was so interesting in 2022 because of how they combined those first two traits: They were talented but not good. They are an outlier on our little kenpom list above.
What happened for Xavier, though, was that after finishing on a 2–8 stretch, they fired Travis Steele and made Jonas Hayes the interim. Hayes must have done something right. After a narrow escape from Cleveland State, the Muskies punked Florida, then worked their way through three tight games to win at the Garden. A shakeup can help.
Teams who fit this bill this year: Ohio State. Might have had Washington on this list, but they seem to have been unable to hold the roster together.
4. The Dogs
2023 North Texas epitomizes this one, but 2018 Penn State and 2019 Texas were both strong defensively, and people forget what that 2021 Memphis team looked like. They finished the year ranked first in the nation in kenpom’s adjusted defensive efficiency. They were top-30 in rebounding on both ends. DeAndre Williams was an absolute menace.
It’s kind of sad to see Memphis now, remembering that.
Teams who fit this bill this year: Villanova, Cincinnati, Providence, UCF. (You don’t often think of Villanova as a bunch of dogs but that is how they profile statistically. They just can’t figure out how to get good looks on offense.)
The WBIT & The WNIT
We have a competitor to the WNIT this year, and it’s a complicated story. What happened was this:
In 2021, Sedona Prince posted a TikTok video highlighting how differently the NCAA was treating men’s and women’s basketball players. This was part of what sparked a reexamination by the NCAA of how they were approaching women’s hoops. Part of that outcome? They realized they should have a women’s equivalent to the NIT. But. That already kind of existed. The WNIT is and was a thing.
The WNIT is run by Triple Crown Sports. It’s remarkably successful, often boasting bigger crowds than the NIT. It used to feature 64 teams, with an automatic bid to each conference. Kansas won it last year in a packed Allen Fieldhouse.
The WBIT is new, and it’s run by the NCAA. It’s the NCAA trying to create a women’s NIT, for the sake of equality. It’s a very close copy of the NIT. 32 teams. Similar schedule, similar format. It starts on Thursday and will hold its Final Four at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Monday and Wednesday of the NIT’s Final Four week.
How’s the WNIT responding? It’s hanging in there. They decided to downsize to 48 teams, and they filled all 48 spots. Its first games are tomorrow.
We always want to follow the WNIT closer than we do, and we now want that with the WBIT as well. We’ll keep an eye on them, especially as their fields narrow, but for people wondering what’s going on: This is what’s been going on.
Clemson Should Probably Thank the ACC
Clemson’s suing the ACC now, following Florida State’s lead. And as Joe pointed out earlier on Twitter, it’s kind of funny that a football program that’s been propped up the last four years by its ACC schedule thinks the ACC is its problem. Get Clemson to the SEC in 2020 and they’re Mississippi State again.
This isn’t anything against Clemson. They can do what they want to do, and if they can find a better home for themselves than the ACC, good for them. But there’s a funny phenomenon here where as recently as 2013, Clemson wasn’t anything more than a standard ACC football program, and now, as they recede back to that status, they’re trying to cut ties with the tugboat that’s been hauling their sinking ship.
Joe Kelly Season Preview Coming
Before 6:00 AM Eastern, we will have your Joe Kelly season preview. So, if you wake up to watch him pitch and need to know everything you need to know…We’ll have that on the site.
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Bona NIT, please join the NIT Bracket Challenge if you see this before 7:00 PM Eastern.
There is only one DOG left.. Cincy!!