NIT Selection Rule Changes

[boothlion]

Not a fan of the new rules:

For the 2024 NIT, conference regular season champions that do not win their conference tournament or are not otherwise selected to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship will not receive an automatic bid to the NIT. Instead, the NIT will guarantee two teams (based on the NET rankings) from each of six conferences (Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern). The top two teams in the NET rankings not qualifying for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament from each conference, regardless of won-loss record, will be selected. Additionally, the 12 teams automatically selected will be guaranteed the opportunity to host a game in the first round of the NIT.

Once the 12 automatic qualifying schools have been selected, the NIT Committee will select the 20 best teams available to complete the tournament’s 32-team field. Based on the NIT Committee’s evaluation, the best four teams of the 20 at-large teams selected will complete the 16 first round hosts, with deference given to the “first four teams out” of the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, as determined by the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball. Additional teams from the six conferences with AQs are eligible to be selected as at-large teams and can be selected as hosts.

www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2023-10-27/nit-board-announces-changes-nit-and-use-experimental-rules#:~:text=For%20the%202024%20NIT%2C%20conference,automatic%20bid%20to%20the%20NIT.

[thx4leavinjimlynam]

Yes this is too bad for the little guy who wins their conference but has one bad game in early March.

To me it reeks that the NIT is losing money and they figure getting 12 “big-name schools” into their tournament will fill their coffers.

[ALioninWinter]

It’s all about the money. All of the Power 5 teams have big fan bases, which leads to more income. Quality of play is a secondary consideration at best. The Power 5 teams are already over-represented in the Big Dance, to the exclusion of schools that deserve the shot. With these new rules, big 10, big 12 and SEC bottom feeders will get NIT bids because most of those conference teams will get invites to the Big Dance, leaving only the bottom feeders for the NIT to select. The whole NCAA “thing” is simply getting more and more slanted every year. At least in the past there’s been some semblance of an attempt to keep a level playing field. But that is no longer the case.