Read the opposing argument from Babe Ruthless.
Let’s take a trip back in time to April 2, 2009, shall we?
On this date, who would you rather be – Wake Forest (seeded fourth in the NCAA Midwest Region), Utah (seeded fifth in the NCAA Midwest Region), or Penn State (seeded second in the NIT)?
When April 2, 2009 rolled around there were only six teams in all of college basketball that were still alive and competing – the national championship field had been narrowed down to the Final Four, and two teams were still alive in the NIT.
Both Wake Forest and Utah, who had been given the glory of being invited to March Madness, were sitting at home on their couches after being bumped out in the first round, while the “snubbed” Penn State team was getting ready for their NIT championship matchup against Baylor.
There is no question – I would rather be with Penn State!
I understand the excitement and drama around being selected to compete for the National Championship. If this were a debate about whether it is better to be selected for the NCAA Tournament, or instead selected for the NIT, there is no doubt that the NCAA Tournament is the clear preference. But that is not the subject of the debate today.
We are instead asking the question of which is better – NIT success or NCAA Tournament first-round failure. There will invariably be 33 losers after the first round of the NCAA Tournament games are completed, and every single one of those losers would trade places IN A HEARTBEAT with a team that was still alive in the NIT. Why? Because the NIT kids still get to play!
Let me put the question another way. Would you rather own a losing PowerBall lottery ticket, or winning $500 scratch-off ticket? With PowerBall, you had the POTENTIAL to win a better prize, but came away empty handed. With the scratch-off ticket, you may not have had the opportunity to win a prize as impressive as the PowerBall, but you actually have a real prize in your hands that is worth celebrating.
I’ll take the cash!
Penn State, who went on to win the NIT last season, had a more successful postseason than Wake Forest, Utah, and many other so-called favorites who were given the opportunity to compete for a spot in the Final Four. Does that mean the Nittany Lions were happy to have been selected for the NIT instead of March Madness? No, but only a fool would trade their NIT Championship for Utah’s first-round ouster.
When the 2009 season was completed, Penn State had a postseason championship. Wake Forest and Utah did not.
Looking ahead to the 2010 brackets, the University of Illinois serves as another example to illustrate what I am talking about. Would the Illini prefer a shot at the national championship over a shot at the NIT crown? Of course they would. However, if they go on to play deep into the NIT, they will be much happier with their postseason than are the Winthrop Eagles, who last night were defeated by Arkansas Pine-Bluff during the play-in Game of the National Tournament.
By the end of March, the two teams still vying for the NIT crown will have had a more successful postseason than MOST of the teams which played in March Madness. They will have accomplished something worthy of celebration, and would not trade that experience for a first-round loss in the national championship tournament.
Winning the NIT is completely meaningless! What title do you get? “King of the Losers’ Bracket”.
Your whole premise about teams like Wake Forest and Utah wanting to keep playing despite being bounced from the Big Dance early is skewed logic. Of course they want to keep playing. Any real athlete wants to keep playing because they have a drive to be the best. Would they trade their shot at the national title for a few more games in the NIT? Dream on. You can pretend that winning games in the NIT means something, but they don’t.
Its like saying, “Our football team didn’t make it into the state tournament but we won a local post-season jamboree and that’s even better.” Its loser talk anyway you look at it.
Teams like Winthrop will still get to say they competed for the National Championship and teams in the NIT can say nothing at all.