NIT Changes

[Pat]

My biggest issue with 96 teams is it gets to be too much of a good thing. When it was 64 teams it played perfectly into three consecutive weekends. Then they added the extra game to account for the WAC/MWC split. Then they added another game to “showcase small schools”. Then they added another pair of games and had the last four teams in play them. And it’s just stretching further and further away from what was already almost perfect.

If there was one issue with 64, it’s there are teams in it that don’t belong there. By expanding to 68 more of those teams naturally get included. Going to 96 means there would be a lot of bad basketball in the NCAA Tournament

I say this every year, but… there are currently 352 D1 teams. Invite everyone. Add a week with an extra set (Tues/Weds) of games. Top 64 teams host, and 1-40 seeds (this year) get a bye, with 41-88 playing the first round game.

If would be carnage. 64 games each day on Thursday/Fri of week 1. Who says no? Who is the first 1-seed to lose to an 88-seed? Sign me up.

 

[jdoggivjc]

I say this every year, but… there are currently 352 D1 teams. Invite everyone. Add a week with an extra set (Tues/Weds) of games. Top 64 teams host, and 1-40 seeds (this year) get a bye, with 41-88 playing the first round game.

If would be carnage. 64 games each day on Thursday/Fri of week 1. Who says no? Who is the first 1-seed to lose to an 88-seed? Sign me up.

We already have that - it's called "the conference tournaments". We don't need a +300 team NCAA Tournament full of really, really bad basketball.

 

[Pat]

We already have that - it's called "the conference tournaments". We don't need a +300 team NCAA Tournament full of really, really bad basketball.

Nah, conference tournaments are pretty evenly matched and, in major and mid-major conferences, I’d argue it’s a better product start-to-finish than the NCAAs. But Iowa losing to Rutgers isn’t nearly as satisfying as Le Moyne.

(You are 100% correct).