Since its inception in 1938, the NIT (National Invitation Tournament) has gone from prestigious postseason tournament to consolation prize to fodder for student sections taunting struggling opponents. Next Monday, someone will notice that ESPN is airing college basketball games and say, “Hey! I didn’t think basketball was on again till Thursday.” A friend will respond, “That’s not real basketball. That’s the NIT.” “What does ‘NIT’ stand for?” “It stands for ‘Not Invited Tournament.’ ”
The last five years have seen the establishment of two postseason tournaments that are a tier below even the Not Invited Tournament. The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) populate their 16- and 24-team fields with teams that fail to secure an NCAA or NIT invitation. Why do we need two tournaments for teams that aren’t accomplished enough to earn one of 100 bids to play for either a national championship or an NIT title? I don’t know. We don’t, really.
But, this year, I’m glad we have the CBI.
Going into this season, my Evansville Purple Aces were picked to finish last in the Missouri Valley Conference. I was more optimistic. The Aces were returning CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Freshman of the Year Colt Ryan and the core of a young team that (despite winning only 9 games) showed promise toward the end of last season. Still, Evansville has spent much of the last decade in the MVC cellar, so picking them to finish another season in tenth place wasn’t really a stretch.
Evansville struggled early, blowing halftime leads and losing road games at Indiana and Middle Tennessee. Then the Aces beat Butler, at Butler, in overtime. It was the program’s biggest win in more than a decade. Then they beat Indiana State, twice; then MVC regular-season champ Missouri State; then a Northern Iowa team one year removed from the Sweet Sixteen. All told the Aces are 4-2 against NCAA Tournament teams (beating Butler, UTSA, and Indiana State twice and losing to North Carolina and Indiana State) and .500 for the season. Not bad for a team picked to finish last.
Five years ago a 15-15 team that didn’t win its conference tournament would be done. This year, Evansville gets to keep playing. They host Hofstra Tuesday night in the opening round of the CBI. (They’ll play the game across town at the University of Southern Indiana because Disney on Ice has Roberts Stadium booked for the evening.) I don’t expect them to win—Hofstra is 21-11 and finished third in the Colonial—but I’m glad they have the opportunity. The Aces overachieved and beat several good teams. Now they not only get to host a game against quality opponent, but they also get a nice pat on the back heading into next season: “Good job, Purple Aces. Sure, you’re not one of the nation’s 100 best teams, but you had a season that was decidedly not awful. Stick around and keep playing.”
I know that not all fans of CBI and CIT participants are excited about their teams’ inclusion in these third-tier tournaments. Six weeks ago, Duquesne was on track to win the Atlantic 10 and go to the Big Dance. Now they’re getting ready for a Wednesday night road game against Montana. Two years ago, I thought Evansville had a good shot to play in the NIT or make a run in Arch Madness and nab an NCAA bid. But after beating Miami (OH!) in a nationally televised BracketBusters game, the Aces stumbled, dropped to 8-10 in the MVC, and had to settle for the CIT. It was a disappointing end to what could have been Evansville’s best season since I was a student there, and I wasn’t interested in seeing how Evansville would perform agaisnt other middle-of-the-pack mid-major teams. (They lost in the first round to Belmont.)
This year I’m as excited about the CBI as I am about the NCAA Tournament. (Rhode Island, UCF, and Davidson join Evansville in this year’s CBI. The field also includes both Creighton and Oregon. Could be awkward for Dana Altman.)
Tuesday at 7:05 CST, I’ll be watching some version of the Evansville-Hofstra game on the Internet. (CBI games aren’t broadcast on any channel included in a cable package I can afford. If my seven-year-old weren’t leaving the country with his grandparents on Wednesday morning, I’d make the two-hour trip to Evansville to watch the game live.) I’m proud of my .500 team, and I’m glad their season isn’t over yet.
Go Purple Aces! Let’s win the CBI . . . or at least have a good showing against Hofstra.
About Josh Tinley
