Which is better?

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GopherMarchMadness

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I'm sure this question has been brought up somewhere on this feed, but I figured I would make it its own thread to hear what some of your thoughts are!

Would it be better to have made the NCAA tourney and lost in the first round, or to instead make the NIT and make a run at winning it?
 

To those who think that NIT stands for "Not Interesting Tournament", they will say NCAA.

To those of us who think our young team can use more of any kind of additional post-season play, we will say...

GO GOPHERS!!!
 

That's the direction I tend to lean also, Dr. Don! As great as it would be to make the NCAA tournament, I have a little difficulty seeing us win our first game as a 12-ish seed (although as shown already in the tourny, it can very easily happen). So, for the group of young guys that we have right now, I am totally alright with the NIT. Fairly good and hostile environments, great teams, and tournament experience. And if they are able to run the table this year in the NIT, that will give them a great amount of momentum heading into next season.
 

Not even close the NCAA is 100x better than going to the NIT.

Alabama, Texas are younger than Minnesota and Memphis, Gonzaga, Vermont are just about as young. Do you think the 4 teams that went 1 and done would have said if we had to do it all over again we would rather have went to the NIT because of the chance to play more games?
 

I can definitely see that side of the argument, scools12, which is why I'm torn! But as of right now, I think the opportunity to win the 2nd best tournament is good experience for our young guys. Don't get me wrong, I would have been stoked if they made the NCAA tournament, but as of right now, running the table at the NIT is great too.
 


It makes no never mind! We are NIT and verylucky to be there.

Playing at this time of the year is always better than not playing.
 

I know it's the NIT but I find it humorous that we are still playing basketball and Duke is done for he year!!
 

Depends on where we would be seeded. I'd probably rather play a few NIT games than lose in the play-in game like California. But I'd rather be a 7 or 8 seed in the tourney, even if we lose the first game. That would have meant more success during the regular season.
 

This is exactly why Tubby Smith came to Minnesota. No expectations. When a fanbase even considers this debate, that tells you a lot.

Playing in the NIT in front of 3,000-4,000 people does nothing for the development of young players. I wish people would quit throwing that cliche out there. These young players have already played 30+ games this season. Playing 2-3 more games won't hurt - but it's not really beneficial either.

Do you think Tyus Jones wants to play in the NCAA Tournament or make a run in the NIT that nobody remembers? He is as good as gone because big time programs like MSU and Duke that are recruiting him hard aren't OK with NIT appearances.
 





I would rather lose to Lehigh in the 1st round of the real tournament 10 years in a row than win a JV tournament of mediocrity 10 years in a row.
 

This same question came by two weeks ago. NCAA every time. Play for it all.
 



Art Vandelay said:
I would rather lose to Lehigh in the 1st round of the real tournament 10 years in a row than win a JV tournament of mediocrity 10 years in a row.
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Now your pushing it.
 

Art Vandelay said:
Playing in the NIT in front of 3,000-4,000 people does nothing for the development of young players.
Click to expand...

I'd argue that it is beneficial for the younger players to be in a win or be done for the season environment at the end of the season. To say playing extra games does nothing for the development of young players is a pretty bold statement, especially when there is an NIT championship riding on it.
 

You bring up some good points, Art! It definitely makes sense that they have already played 30+ so there really will be no benefit to a couple more, but I don't think it is a cliche. They started off the season seeking a birth in the NCAA tournament (plus a few victories in it), and they failed in reaching that goal. But they are still striving to win the next best thing, which is an extremely beneficial thing in a win-or-go-home environment. Tournaments offer a mindset that regular season games often do not (although in the long run, they should).

Also, I would say this question more applies to this year's Minnesota group in particular, and not an every year type of thing.
 

Nort73 said:
I'd argue that it is beneficial for the younger players to be in a win or be done for the season environment at the end of the season.
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Exactly. That's why you strive to play in the big boy tournament - not the glorified high school tournament.
 

GopherMarchMadness said:
Also, I would say this question more applies to this year's Minnesota group in particular, and not an every year type of thing.
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These players want to tell their grandkids they played in the NCAA Tournament - not the NIT.

If you were to ask every player and coach on the roster, every single one of them would say they would rather lose by 50 in the 1st round of the real tournament than make a run in the NIT where you play true road games at places like LaSalle.
 

Yes, but...........

No question, the NCAA is the more prestigious tournament.

But, chew on this for a moment. Again, we are talking about this year's Gopher team, not some hypothetical future team.

Let's say the Gophs squeaked into the NCAA as a low seed, and lost in the 1st round. I think it's fair to surmise that the heat on Tubby and the program would have been turned up a notch. Reusse, Souhan et al would have been screaming about "no NCAA tournament wins" for Tubby, and the players would have gone into the off-season with a bad (losing) taste in their mouths.

For this year's team, and this year's team only, I think the NIT may prove to be a positive......IF they can win a few games and use the experience as a stepping stone to next season.

Now, next year, I will likely have a different viewpoint. Next season, I think the NCAA is a must to show positive momentum in the program.
 

Art Vandelay said:
These players want to tell their grandkids they played in the NCAA Tournament - not the NIT.

If you were to ask every player and coach on the roster, every single one of them would say they would rather lose by 50 in the 1st round of the real tournament than make a run in the NIT where you play true road games at places like LaSalle.
Click to expand...

How do you know this, oh Great One?
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Yes, but...........

No question, the NCAA is the more prestigious tournament.

But, chew on this for a moment. Again, we are talking about this year's Gopher team, not some hypothetical future team.

Let's say the Gophs squeaked into the NCAA as a low seed, and lost in the 1st round. I think it's fair to surmise that the heat on Tubby and the program would have been turned up a notch. Reusse, Souhan et al would have been screaming about "no NCAA tournament wins" for Tubby, and the players would have gone into the off-season with a bad (losing) taste in their mouths.

For this year's team, and this year's team only, I think the NIT may prove to be a positive......IF they can win a few games and use the experience as a stepping stone to next season.

Now, next year, I will likely have a different viewpoint. Next season, I think the NCAA is a must to show positive momentum in the program.
Click to expand...

This is ridiculous. You honestly think Tubby will get less heat by making a run in the NIT versus a 1st round loss in the NCAA Tournament?

Wow.
 

I am in complete agreement with Art on this one, and I can't imagine there are many fan bases that would give this much discussion to this topic. I also can't imagine a single recruit hoping for a deep NIT run over an early NCAA Tournament exit, nor can I imagine an AD with vision who would agree with the desire for a deep NIT run.

We're in the NIT so the longer we play the better and I'll be cheering on Monday and hopefully later in the week as well, but give me an early NCAA exit any year.

Go Gophers!!
 

Is this really a question? The NCAA tournament was created for the best teams, the NIT was created for the 2nd tier teams that could not make the tournament. I do not understand anybody who says the NIT run would be better than a 1 and done in the tournament (even for a younger team like the gophs).
 

I think there are two issues.. What do I want, and likely, what do all players want? A first round exit from the NCAA tourney is better than any NIT run. However, in reality, a NIT final four run would likely be much more beneficial to our team than a first round exit. So, I guess the silver lining in the season thus far is that we can still salvage this thing. Now, there is the little issue that we may likely not get past the second round of the NIT as Miami is not a slouch.

Bottom line, our fan base is not used to expectations. But that is because no coach/administration at this school ever has established them. If folks think Clem years were the golden age, then, we never really had a golden age. Hopefully Tubby can gain traction before he is done and get us back to the tourney next year, followed by several years of sustained Gopher Nation loving... But, as of now, we're still the gophers...
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Yes, but...........

No question, the NCAA is the more prestigious tournament.

But, chew on this for a moment. Again, we are talking about this year's Gopher team, not some hypothetical future team.

Let's say the Gophs squeaked into the NCAA as a low seed, and lost in the 1st round. I think it's fair to surmise that the heat on Tubby and the program would have been turned up a notch. Reusse, Souhan et al would have been screaming about "no NCAA tournament wins" for Tubby, and the players would have gone into the off-season with a bad (losing) taste in their mouths.

For this year's team, and this year's team only, I think the NIT may prove to be a positive......IF they can win a few games and use the experience as a stepping stone to next season.

Now, next year, I will likely have a different viewpoint. Next season, I think the NCAA is a must to show positive momentum in the program.
Click to expand...

+1
 

Rouser said:
I think there are two issues.. What do I want, and likely, what do all players want? A first round exit from the NCAA tourney is better than any NIT run. However, in reality, a NIT final four run would likely be much more beneficial to our team than a first round exit. So, I guess the silver lining in the season thus far is that we can still salvage this thing. Now, there is the little issue that we may likely not get past the second round of the NIT as Miami is not a slouch.

Bottom line, our fan base is not used to expectations. But that is because no coach/administration at this school ever has established them. If folks think Clem years were the golden age, then, we never really had a golden age. Hopefully Tubby can gain traction before he is done and get us back to the tourney next year, followed by several years of sustained Gopher Nation loving... But, as of now, we're still the gophers...
Click to expand...

+1
 


Dr.Don said:
To those who think that NIT stands for "Not Interesting Tournament", they will say NCAA.

To those of us who think our young team can use more of any kind of additional post-season play, we will say...

GO GOPHERS!!!
Click to expand...

If the extent of the conversation is "Go Gophers", noted. We all agree on that.
 

That young UK team should have opted out for the NIT.
 

The other night, after watching them finish off LaSalle, I decided that you have to walk before you can run. They had a dickens of a time finishing off teams this year, obviously. If the experience of holding off a lesser team is a step in the direction of learning how to win against the good teams, then it's been worth playing in the NIT.

The debate is virtually pointless, though. If they'd qualified for the NCAA, they'd be playing in the NCAA. That's where they'd be in terms of their development, too. For better or worse, they're right where they should be. The NIT serves a purpose. Just ask the teams that played in it and enjoyed NCAA Tournament success the following season, win or lose. The 1996 Gophers are an example - they got their clocks cleaned in the '96 NIT against Tulane, which gave them both humility and motivation going into 1997.
 

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