Oklahoma, St Johns, Ole Miss, Indiana, Pitt, and Memphis all declined bids. Transfer portal opens I think today which is ridiculous with March Madness about to start so maybe that’s a factor as well.
Quite a few teams declined the NIT.
- Thread starter DesotoCountyDawg
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I hear a circus or monstertruck rally are already scheduled at their arenas for the dates when they would play at home, so they declined because they would have to play on the road.
So these teams claim to want to help their players get to the next level, but how does turning down a chance to showcase their talents on national tv help achieve that goal?
Speak for yourself….
It doesn't matter, like most bowl games. I'd do away with both, but apparently there are a lot of 'why have less football/basketball to watch' types out there. My retort is, hey I'm fine with as much sports as possible, but I want them to be meaningful.
Ever noticed how no one watches NFL games at the end where they sit starters? MiLB baseball playoffs? Summer league college baseball? It's because they don't matter.
Now - I will couch that with this - you COULD add an element of fan 'hope' in there, if it was some precursor to the next year. For example, people DO watch meaningless preseason NFL games, to catch a glimpse of what their team may be. So, maybe fans would watch something that led into their future hope, like a bowl game that didn't allow graduating seniors or NFL draft commitments or something. Similar to keeping up with summer baseball or a big time prospect in the MiLB, nobody really cares if they win, just what could possibly come of it in the future.
Ever noticed how no one watches NFL games at the end where they sit starters? MiLB baseball playoffs? Summer league college baseball? It's because they don't matter.
Now - I will couch that with this - you COULD add an element of fan 'hope' in there, if it was some precursor to the next year. For example, people DO watch meaningless preseason NFL games, to catch a glimpse of what their team may be. So, maybe fans would watch something that led into their future hope, like a bowl game that didn't allow graduating seniors or NFL draft commitments or something. Similar to keeping up with summer baseball or a big time prospect in the MiLB, nobody really cares if they win, just what could possibly come of it in the future.
I thought our NIT runs in 2018 & 2021 were kind of fun.
I remember nothing about them. Can't remember who we played, nothing. Different strokes I guess.
It’s spring cotillion season on the plantation. Priorities.
2018 had the buzzer beater to beat Baylor. Went to Madison Square Garden for the “Final Four”. Also beat the crap out of Louisville on their home court.
2021 made it all the way to the championship game and lost to Memphis.
I just went back and looked. I have zero recollection of those tournaments. To be fair, I was pretty checked out on basketball as the Howland Era dragged on.
Had we beat Penn st in 2018, I already had route planned from Columbus oh (women's final four) to NYC .
DJ Jeffries scored 15 points against us.
That was the last time he was ever a RAT**
Hmmm. Can't imagine Ole Miss not wanting the chance to hang another Banner.
I have said for years that the NIT is a huge opportunity for the right sponsor/promoter. As hungry as this country is for TV sports and as much money as the networks are spending on them, for a good promoter who can think outside the box it just seems like a large opportunity in there somewhere.
The NIT is definitely more interesting if your team is young. Not sure that matters as much now with the portal and transfers, but assuming you are getting your core back for the next year, seeing how they do is fun. Definitely not as fun to think about watching a team that won't be back for the most part play in the NIT.
But generally, as long as it doesn't lose the school money, I'm good with playing. If it's going to lose money, need it to be with a young team that will benefit from the experience.
Tom Crean had a good point: If a player wants to opt out, they have that option. When a program opts out, the players have no options. Players should have the option to play. And if the issue is recruiting, play with fewer coaches on the bench and send some on the road to recruit. You only get so many opportunities to play the game.
He also picked State to go to the Final Four.
He also picked State to go to the Final Four.
I was at that Baylor game in 2018. Couple of things stick out in my mind about that game:
1. The way Baylor has their student section positioned should be the blueprint for student sections. They were right behind the benches and they were rowdy. Their casual fans didn't necessarily show up to that game, but their students did.
2. Xavian Stapleton talked trash to Mario Kegler on Baylor's bench and the student section the entire game. He was having fun and even got a technical at one point.
3. Q's shot. It hit the front of the rim and everybody in the arena thought he missed it. The Baylor fans cheered and the State fans (which there were quite a few) groaned. Then time slowed down and the ball defied physics and went in. The air got sucked right out of the gym except for the 2-3 pods of us in the maroon shirts. Amazing.
4. There was a crowd of State fans behind the State bench and there was a group of us that gathered diagonally across the court from the bench and we started doing the Maroon... White chant after Q's shot. We didn't notice that Baylor was in the middle of the court in a prayer circle and that a lot of their fans had bowed their heads. Some of us on our side of the court noticed and stopped the chant. Then this snotty woman behind me scoffed and said something to the effect of "that's the difference between a secular school and a Christian school. We pray after games." My girlfriend at the time was with me and we looked at each other and smiled and blasted out "MAROOOOOOOOOOON" and kept the chant going. (Sorry, big guy. I'll put a little extra in the plate next week.)
lost to Memphis and kidnapped DJ as we were leaving
Why go through all that effort when your roster is probably turning over through the portal? I'd normally say an NIT experience would be great to help develop a young roster and get them more opportunity to gel as a team. But is that even a thing any longer? I'm sure the coaches would rather be working on next year's roster than actually coaching kids that aren't going to be there.
We're Mississippi State... We usually pray during games.
You don't remember beating Baylor and Louisville on their home courts, but you post 5,000 words a day here.
What does that say??
because NBA scouts are not watching TV to evaluate players. If a player hasn't been evaluated yet, then the NBA isn't interested.
I'd not even paused and asked if that prayer was done before or after the players pull guns on each other and start shooting.
They should play the NIT this week with the final 2 getting berths in the NCAA. Winner of the finals gets to pick which one of the two open 12/13 seeds openings they want. Or something like that to give it some stakes. I have about 4 ideas that would be interesting to me.
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