NIT win or NCAA first round loss?

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The Goofy Gopher

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It's been a disappointing season this year, and we're (most likely) NIT bound...with that being said...Some buddies and I were discussing last night whether it would be better for a team to make the NCAA tournament and lose in the first round (like we've done recently), or not make the NCAA tournament and win the NIT. What do you guys think?

I'm not saying that I think the Gophers will win the NIT, but considering that we've made it to the tourney the last two years and lost in the first round, I feel like it would be more refreshing to end the season on a pseudo-high note like a NIT win...However, I also know that not a lot of people care about the NIT at all, so I was just wondering what peoples thoughts were.
 

lars2809 said:
It's been a disappointing season this year, and we're (most likely) NIT bound...with that being said...Some buddies and I were discussing last night whether it would be better for a team to make the NCAA tournament and lose in the first round (like we've done recently), or not make the NCAA tournament and win the NIT. What do you guys think?

I'm not saying that I think the Gophers will win the NIT, but considering that we've made it to the tourney the last two years and lost in the first round, I feel like it would be more refreshing to end the season on a pseudo-high note like a NIT win...However, I also know that not a lot of people care about the NIT at all, so I was just wondering what peoples thoughts were.
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Always better to make NCAA.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
Always better to make NCAA.
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I'd have to agree.

When PSU won the NIT or whoever wins the NIT, I am almost always happier to be in the tourney. Even if it is one and done.

The NIT champion is essentially the 69th best team in college basketball. I'd rather be ahead of that.

BUT, if the Gophers do end up in the NIT. I absolutely hope we win it.
 




scher215 said:
I'd have to agree.

When PSU won the NIT or whoever wins the NIT, I am almost always happier to be in the tourney. Even if it is one and done.

The NIT champion is essentially the 69th best team in college basketball. I'd rather be ahead of that.

BUT, if the Gophers do end up in the NIT. I absolutely hope we win it.
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Gophers won NIT twice under Clem Haskins, I think.
 

Clem was always a great NIT coach!!! I think he won a couple of them while he was at the U! I sill remember the team in the late 70's that lost to Virginia when Ralph Sampson II was a freshmen. They had Jeff Lamp on that team also who was born in Prior Lake I think. He would have ended up playing on a Prior Lake team that already had two 7-0 Peterson brothers who played DI basketball, a Heise who was about 6-9 and played DII probably and a guy named Giester i think who was about 6'4 and was an outstanding football player. If I remember correctly he had NFL tryouts. That team lost to Jefferson in the first round when the older Peterson got into early foul trouble. Jefferson had a player named Lingenfelter who played for the gophers and they ended up winning the state tournament, beating a Hibbing team with Kevin McHale in the championship game. McHale, Tucker, Brewer, Mitchell, Holmes, Howell and Mark Hall were on that Gopher team. Most of those gophers (minus McHale) were on the team that a few years later won the Big Ten title and lost to Louisville in the tournament. That Louisville team had two brothers who were their stars, Scooter and Rodney McCray i think. Anyway, fun gopher memories.
 

lars2809 said:
It's been a disappointing season this year, and we're (most likely) NIT bound...with that being said...Some buddies and I were discussing last night whether it would be better for a team to make the NCAA tournament and lose in the first round (like we've done recently), or not make the NCAA tournament and win the NIT. What do you guys think?

I'm not saying that I think the Gophers will win the NIT, but considering that we've made it to the tourney the last two years and lost in the first round, I feel like it would be more refreshing to end the season on a pseudo-high note like a NIT win...However, I also know that not a lot of people care about the NIT at all, so I was just wondering what peoples thoughts were.
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I would rather win the NIT than lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Anything short of a NIT title though and I'd take a first round loss.
 




Is this topic supposed to be tongue in cheek?

Shirley, you can't be serious?

When showing a recruit around campus, how many coaches point to the rafters and thump their chest about NIT Championship banners?
 

mattw1067 said:
I would rather win the NIT than lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Anything short of a NIT title though and I'd take a first round loss.
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This is kind of what I was thinking for this year as well. I think it would depend on the team, how the year has gone, etc. For teams like NW or PSU, it's way better to make the NCAA and lose because they never seem to make it. However, we've been there the last 2 years and lost both times in the first round. I feel like if that happened again this year, people would start grumbling about how we never make it out of the 1st round, and be generally disappointed. Obviously you'd have to win the NIT though, otherwise the NIT is horrible to go to.
 

Art Vandelay said:
Is this topic supposed to be tongue in cheek?

Shirley, you can't be serious?

When showing a recruit around campus, how many coaches point to the rafters and thump their chest about NIT Championship banners?
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Whoever the Northwestern coach is - they only have NIT banners.
 

Art Vandelay said:
Is this topic supposed to be tongue in cheek?

Shirley, you can't be serious?

When showing a recruit around campus, how many coaches point to the rafters and thump their chest about NIT Championship banners?
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I was thinking more from a fan's perspective, whether people would think winning the NIT is better than losing in the first round again. I don't think either are particularly great for recruiting
 



NCAA all the way. I'd rather lose by 30 in the first round of the NCAA than win the NIT.
 

Winning the NIT, you go out on a high note by winning the 4 or 5 (?) games necessary to win that tournament, but that's a tournament that probably no one wishes to be a part of, as given a choice, obviously all of those teams would choose to participate in the NCAA tournament. The NIT is a historical tournament though, and is actually older than the NCAA tourney. A lot of it has to deal with perception too. If a team that's struggled or been down in the dumpster for awhile gets invited to the NIT, that might offer a reason for optimism for fans of that program. But for anyone else, probably not so much. David Thompson called the NIT a 'loser's tournament' back in the mid 70's when he was starring for NC State, and NC State actually refused to play in the NIT the year after they won their national championship in 1974. Other teams have turned down NIT invites over the years, but many if not most coaches would rather go if invited, as they appreciate that additional development time for their young players.

I do like the idea of us winning that many games to close out a season and win a tournament, and we'd most likely get several home games out of that, which means more revenue for the athletic department.

I don't know. It's kind a tough call to make. I certainly don't particularly enjoy seeing us be one and done in the NCAA tournament, however you can't win games in the Big Dance unless you get there, and the NIT is clearly far secondary in importance to its counterpart.
 

NCAA and it isn't even close, i would rather get blown out by 50 in the first round than win the NIT title.
 

I'd much prefer the NIT than a first round NCAA exit provided the frosh get A LOT of PT to get on with next year.
 


you seriously can't make this stuff up. now a successful season will be defined by a run in the NIT over a first round loss in the NCAA.
 

NCAA without question. No recruit or fan cares about the NIT whether you go all the way or not.
 

lars2809 said:
I was thinking more from a fan's perspective, whether people would think winning the NIT is better than losing in the first round again. I don't think either are particularly great for recruiting
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For Armelin, Ahamisi, and Hollins the NIT is better. For anyone else the NCAA is prefered.
 

NCAA all the way. No recruit ever wants to go the NIT, they could care less if you won an NIT championship.
NIT is basically a place for the perenial losers aka Penn St., NW's of the world to go and get a few extra games. I don't want anything to do with the NIT. The only thing it is good for would be more games for the young players.
 

It really depends on how much you like to watch your team play.
If you want to watch them play a few more games then the NIT may
be the better way to go. Not much fun only getting to watch them lose
in the 1st game of the NCAA. If they go to the NIT and win then it stretches
your season a couple of weeks longer. The NIT can also give good tournament
experience to returning players.
 

I suggest asking Talor Battle

Ask Talor Battle if he'd like a repeat of the Nittany Lions' NIT title two seasons ago or a berth in the NCAA Tournament?
 

nuggett said:
It really depends on how much you like to watch your team play.
If you want to watch them play a few more games then the NIT may
be the better way to go. Not much fun only getting to watch them lose
in the 1st game of the NCAA. If they go to the NIT and win then it stretches
your season a couple of weeks longer. The NIT can also give good tournament
experience to returning players.
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I slightly can see this point, but for a fan, I don't see losing in the 1st round of the NCAAs as less fun than an NIT run. I mean, the experience is good for the young guys to get more games in, but I think NCAA experience is far more important, and by that, I mean just the hoopla surrounding the event, going to the site, the extra media attention, etc. At this point, they will have played like 32, 33 games. I don't think pushing that to 37 is gonna be a major factor over only playing 34 games.
 

I'm not sure how this is even a question. Just the excitement of being part of the tournament is worth so much more than a deep NIT run.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Ask Talor Battle if he'd like a repeat of the Nittany Lions' NIT title two seasons ago or a berth in the NCAA Tournament?
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or Jacob Pullen at Kansas State. He said publicly he wouldn't play if KSU ended up in the NIT.

Those NIT office pools are pretty popular these days aren't they? :cool02:

Playing in the NIT does not give younger players "tournament experience". That's utter complete bull pucky. How is playing a home game in front of 6,000 people against another mediocre team considered "tournament experience"? Even getting to MSG is a snoozefest....
 

The best answer is neither. A CBI Championship is the way to go. Maybe even a CIT, since you have to win a best of three series to win the whole thing.
 

Art Vandelay said:
or Jacob Pullen at Kansas State. He said publicly he wouldn't play if KSU ended up in the NIT.

Those NIT office pools are pretty popular these days aren't they? :cool02:

Playing in the NIT does not give younger players "tournament experience". That's utter complete bull pucky. How is playing a home game in front of 6,000 people against another mediocre team considered "tournament experience"? Even getting to MSG is a snoozefest....
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Plus 3/4 of the teams there don't want to be there so they don't play hard. Effort level is usually on par with the team's excitement to be there.
NCAA and getting run by 20 is better than being a final four of the NIT.
 

without cheating and looking it up, who can name the final four NIT teams last year, I honestly can not name a single one and have no idea who even won it.
 

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