NIT Preview and a little rant

It is time to get right back to it.

The Cats face off with Middle Tennessee in a battle of top mid-major programs. It should be a really fun game and a great consolation prize after Saturday's heartbreak. But before we get into game I have to talk a little bit about the inequity that currently exists in the NCAA tournament selection process as both of the teams in this matchup were affected by it. There is no way for a mid-major program to realistically get an at large bid. The NCAA tells mid-majors they need to "schedule strong" and that will solve all of their problems. That is easier said than done and both of these teams found that out. Vermont struggled to find teams to play them and Middle Tennessee even played Florida Gulf Coast twice just to get some good games on their schedule. The real challenge is that it is impossible to get the so called "good teams" to play at a mid-major. This means there are no chances for teams like Vermont or Middle Tennessee to get quality home wins. Syracuse on the other hand is able to make an entire non-conference schedule where they scarcely leave the state of New York. That inherent inequity in scheduling was never clearer than this season when Middle Tennessee had the 13th toughest non-conference schedule (according to KenPom) in the country and then went 16-2 in their conference but was not deserving of an at large bid. What a joke. The Power 5 schools are able to play virtually no one in the non-conference, have mediocre to poor conference records, and still get in. There is no solution. Middle Tennessee did exactly what the committee told mid-majors to do and was still not rewarded. Go ahead and look at some of the major conference at large teams on KenPom and check out the non-conference strength of schedule (Virginia Tech 344 out of 351? please). Now the consequence of this is that mid-major programs are basically being asked to schedule hard and then never lose. That is an impossible amount of pressure. Power 5 teams are allowed to have off nights or take bad losses with very little consequence. Teams like Vermont schedule hard and are asked never to have an off night, never run into a hot team. Vermont had an incredible two year run, clinched a spot in the NIT, played one bad game and it feels like their entire world has come crashing down. That is unfair to the players. It takes the fun out of the game if everything is nitpicked and over analyzed. Life is not perfect. Sometimes things don't go your way and learning to recover from that is part of why playing sports is so rewarding. Losing is part of the game and that is why it feels so good to win.  It great for a program to win a regular season title. Playing in the NIT is a great honor that only 32 teams each season get to do. Kansas has won at least a share of the regular season title for 14 straight seasons. They have lost 3 out of the last 5 conference tourneys. Imagine if their NCAA participation was dependent on winning the conference tourney each season? The complexion of their program would change significantly. This is further exacerbated by the fact that mid-major programs can't maintain the kind of coaching continuity that all of the great programs across the country have. Most of the widely respected, big time programs have had incredible consistency at their head coaching position. The solution for all of this is not to get rid of the conference tournament as so many people seem to suggest. I love conference tournaments and it keeps every team engaged until the final buzzer because everyone still has a shot no matter how tough your season may have been. For me as a fan this year it was heartbreaking but that doesn't mean I don't love conference tournaments. I watched some incredible and exciting tournament games this past week. Four out of Vermont's six NCAA tournament berths came as the 2nd seed. Anyway, I could go on and on and I already said more then I wanted to. For Vermont, the bottom line is that there is nothing to hang their heads about. They are an incredible team and they earned their spot in the NIT. One bad game does not erase years of progress and excitement. This group has meant so much to this program on and off the court. Playing basketball is fun and that shouldn't be crushed under the weight of expectations. Life is bigger than one game and Vermont has a chance to go out there are play another exciting opponent. I think this game is going to be all kinds of fun. Middle Tennessee is another strong mid-major program. This game is a great time to showcase two strong programs who go out and schedule tough road games year in and year out. There are some exciting rule changes that are being tested out in the NIT as well. A list of those changes can be found here. I love the quarters and am very excited to see how the wider lane opens things up for drives to the rim. It will be nice for the Cats to play as underdogs again and to get to watch this team play again is a treat. Watch tomorrow night at 8 o'clock on ESPNU.