What do you think of this?

[NolePride]

You know what you could do to make it a bit interesting.

Let the NIT become the "loser's bracket" of the NCAA's.

Have the loser's go there and play for a final ranking in the Top 68.

Then those teams get to play a few more games. (The one's that win)

 

[CycleandJazz]

Waa debating on another thread about the NIT and i stated that the problem with the NIT is that, much like the regular season, it's pretty meaningless to most teams. Most leagues are always one bid leagues so the conference title is meaningless as only the conference tourney champ will advance. The NIT is meaningless as it's really just a consolation "prize " that no one cares about since it occurs at the same time as the NCAA so I was thinking of a way to correct both problems. Came up with this.

Get rid of conference tourneys for all leagues except for P12, SEC, B12, B10, ACC, BE, A10, MWC, WCC, MVC, AAC ( these are really the only leagues who get multiple bid a few times a decade or more ). Replace conference tourneys in the other leagues with the NIT which would run the week before the selection show. NIT teams are league champs and select at larges. Seed and pod the 32 teams so you create 8 4 team tournaments. The 8 champs receive auto bids to the NCAA with the rest going back into the at large pool. For example this year's 32 NIT teams would have been

VERMONT
FGCU
MONTANA
UNCA
CAL DAVIS
COFC
NORTGEASTERN
MID TENNESSEE
ODU
WKU
NO KENTUCKY
PENN
HARVARD
RIDER
CANISIUS
BUFFALO
TOLEDO
BETH COOKMAN
HAMPTON
SAVANNAH ST
WAGNER
MURRAY ST
BELMONT
BUCKNELL
UNCG
ETSU
NICHOLLS ST
SE LOUISIANA
GRAMBLING
SDSU
ULL
NMSU

This prioritizes regular season conference titles , makes the NIT important again, gets the best teams in the NCAA from the low majors and opens up 14 at large bids.

Thoughts??

I think if I was an alum of one of the schools you list above I would say something very unpleasant to you that might be considered rude in some circles. That is my thought.

 

[rmilia1]

I think if I was an alum of one of the schools you list above I would say something very unpleasant to you that might be considered rude in some circles. That is my thought.

Why? Winning 2 games to get in sounds better than 3

 

[JohnU]

It's clear the NIT isn't going away or the CBI or the CIT or any others that get created, so it's obvious there are plenty of teams that want to play for a tournament of some sort. It's a recruiting tool, they think. Exposure matters.

So since the NIT isn't going away and there will always be teams wanting to play in it, it would be better if it was absorbed by the main tournament and a revised method set up to make the post-season matter to more teams. There is no perfect solution but if the NIT is being treated as worthless, then it would seem useful to take a look at it and make it less worthless.

This is maybe not about Vermont or Oklahoma, but it's about the fan experience.

 

[JohnU]

As for CBB "worthless" talk, that came from the bullshit apologists in the ACC and the Big East when they were forced to play games against teams that would beat them in December. They'd say the games don't count because they all knew they'd be in the tournament. The so-called winning when it matters became the narrative. Winning a game in December IS still important but the NCAA and its talking heads have spent a lot of time selling its tournament. They have to take our eyes off the wheel where the hubcap is missing.

 

[PhilSimms11]

Waa debating on another thread about the NIT and i stated that the problem with the NIT is that, much like the regular season, it's pretty meaningless to most teams. Most leagues are always one bid leagues so the conference title is meaningless as only the conference tourney champ will advance. The NIT is meaningless as it's really just a consolation "prize " that no one cares about since it occurs at the same time as the NCAA so I was thinking of a way to correct both problems. Came up with this.

Get rid of conference tourneys for all leagues except for P12, SEC, B12, B10, ACC, BE, A10, MWC, WCC, MVC, AAC ( these are really the only leagues who get multiple bid a few times a decade or more ). Replace conference tourneys in the other leagues with the NIT which would run the week before the selection show. NIT teams are league champs and select at larges. Seed and pod the 32 teams so you create 8 4 team tournaments. The 8 champs receive auto bids to the NCAA with the rest going back into the at large pool.

-32 teams using the RPI. RPI isn't the end all be all, but I used it just for the hell of it. Maybe, a selection committee is the better option (?).
-Seeded them 1-32 and broke them down into the 4 seeds of 8 pods.
-All regular season champions are in and the remaining spots filled with at-larges (I only took Hampton out of the MEAC even though it was a 3-way tie).
-Win two games and you're headed to the 'Big Dance'.

This format prevents that 6-24 last place team from fluking their way into the dance. Teams that lose still have a chance to get in as an at-large, but your chances aren't good. I think this is a very good idea.

POD 1
(1)Buffalo (23-8) vs (4)Hampton (17-14)
(2)Bucknell (22-9) vs (3)Belmont (23-8)

POD 2
(1)Middle Tennessee (24-6) vs (4)Florida Gulf Coast (21-11)
(2)Montana (23-7) vs (3)Utah Valley (21-9)

POD 3
(1)New Mexico St (25-5) vs (4)SE Louisiana (21-10)
(2)ODU (24-6) vs (3)So Dakota (24-7)

POD 4
(1)So Dakota St (25-6) vs (4)Nicholls (21-10)
(2)Toledo (21-10) vs (3)Marshall (21-10)

POD 5
(1)Western Kentucky (22-9) vs (4)UNC-Asheville (20-11)
(2)Rider (22-8) vs (3)East Tennessee St (23-8)

POD 6
(1)Murray St (24-5) vs (4)Canisius (21-10)
(2)UNC-Greensboro (24-7) vs (3)UC Davis (21-9)

POD 7
(1)Northeastern (21-9) vs (4)Penn (22-8)
(2)Louisiana (26-5) vs (3)Wagner (21-8)

POD 8
(1)Charleston (23-7) vs (4)Harvard (17-12)
(2)Vermont (25-6) vs (3)No Kentucky (22-8)