Very sparse crowd during first half of LIpscomb vs Wichita State as I expected. Wichita State has a good full section and half. There is a kid on LIpscomb named Mathews who is a 3 point assassin. He killed nc state last week with 40 plus points and has 13 now. Range is unreal. Think our buddy earl Walton is one of the refs. Lol
So I’m at NIT Semis
- Thread starter BigEastPhil
- Start date
There’s a reason local teams used to/should be given the draw of good enough ranking. Anyone could have predicted sparse crowd. But instead of going back to the way it was when it worked, some NCAA business guy will just see it as a loss in money at some point and shut it down.
They probably got a good TV deal so that they're fine on the money end.
Just like the recruits that your LSU coach friend paid off!!
Watching this disaster of Texas vs TCU in the nightcap , I’d be shocked if Lipscomb does not cut the nets on Thursday
I have been saying this for years. Not getting a north east team in the quarter finals
Will almost always result in poor attendance
That might not be important because of tv money but it kills the experience of being there
It has been years since the NIT cared about a local making it
I attended all 5 NIT games when we made it to the finals in 2004. Three were at home when we defeated Temple, West Virginia and Villanova and the two at MSG were against Iowa State and Michigan. The Iowa State game was a coming our party for Quincy Douby and the Michigan game was electric. They had too much height and often doubled Quincy. We did though represent very well in an amazing atmosphere. All 5 teams were all very big names and good teams.
Then I watched a different game.
SHU-Nova game was a real good game decided on the last shot.
Not sure I understand all the complaints.
Isn't the NIT supposed to be a national tournament?
Why should they care about a local making it?
Are people saying the NIT should influence their tournament to favor certain areas/teams?
Do you want Rutgers/SHU/Nova and other locals to have automatic NIT #1 seeds regardless of their actual record?
Maybe.
I wouldn't call Coach Wade a friend. We know each other and are friendly when we run into each other. But since he left Chattanooga we didn't talk or text that much.
The tournament is more fair now and a real tournament with the seeding, but you will always run the risk of final fours like they have this year. I'm pulling for Lipscomb. It would be cool to see their name in the record book.
Another aside- I think someone forgot to tell Francesa that they seed this thing now. He was talking about Wichita State coach Greg Marshall (he's friendly with him) and said it was unfair that they had to go on the road to beat 1,2, and 3 seeds. Um, they are a 6 seed, that's sorta how it works.
Another aside- I think someone forgot to tell Francesa that they seed this thing now. He was talking about Wichita State coach Greg Marshall (he's friendly with him) and said it was unfair that they had to go on the road to beat 1,2, and 3 seeds. Um, they are a 6 seed, that's sorta how it works.
If they don’t care about poor attendance for the semis and final, then they are doing the right thing
I would think they would like a full house or near that for appearance purpose
Got it.
So the NIT shouldn't be a real basketball tournament?
Just invite regional teams to fill MSG?
2019 NIT should have just been:
Rutgers
NJIT
Albany
Stony Brook
Columbia
Army
No attendance issues FTW!
You don’t have it
What the NIT did in the past would be to invite maybe two local teams as long as the had a .500 record, and then the best teams from around the country, same as they try to bring in now
No where did I say that it should be just local
Years ago RU played Michigan in front of a full house as the final. They were thrilled with the turnout
The NCAA running it now, they don’t care if the final has 3,000 fans watching, which is fine if that is what they want
Last edited:
Yea because the NCAA seeding is totally fair and unbiased in anyway ... yea let’s put Duke or UNC as the #1 in the Greensboro/Charlotte/Winston Salem region every year ... and UConn women in the Albany/Providence/East hartford region ..... get outta here with the “NIT not fair with a local team” garbage
Few tourneys draw well. Look at many of the pre season tourneys and the fans disguised as open seats. It’s about tv dollars, tradition and corporate sponsorships
The NIT was a joke back then. Teams had no business getting the road paved with gold directly to MSG.
Sports is more TV show than event these days, and as a TV show the NIT is better now that it once was. Real seedings, brackets, auto bids for conference champs, etc., make it more than worthwhile. "When it worked" was a mockery. Besides, it's not like there was a local draw in it every year. Plenty of horrible crowds for the semis/final "when it worked."
Similar threads
