Some references to Cornell Basketball in the news today...There was a possible Steve Donahue spotting at the Final Four by Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia Daily News:
I did notice the Greektown Casino Hotel just a few blocks from Ford. I had heard rumors that the Vinman, a k a Vince Curran, and Cornell coach Steve Donahue were holed up in the Greektown and were spotted in the casino somewhere near dawn yesterday. This could not be verified by press time.
Penn State just won the NIT! Yayyyy!
In case you missed it, the Nittany Lions of Pennsylvania State rallied in the second half of the NIT Championship game against the Baylor Bears Thursday night to claim the title. Amongst the Penn State fans that showed up at Madison Square Garden was Joe Pa, who was able to make the 200 mile journey from Happy Valley to Manhattan.
The sad thing is… you probably did miss it. I had forgotten all about this game until I was scrolling through the channels at around 6:30 and saw “NCAA Basketball” on the ESPN guide.
Let’s be honest though, who the hell cares about the NIT? Penn State’s championship win technically means they are the 66th best team in college basketball. I can probably name the past 20 college basketball champions but I honestly couldn’t tell you who won the NIT last year (I just looked it up and it was Ohio State, the Big Ten is clearly dominating the NIT right now). I could probably name more AVN Award winners than NIT champions.
This is sad because I love college basketball and all of its postseason games should matter to me. Someone like me should be interested in something like the NIT. If a hardcore sports fan can’t enjoy a postseason tournament in one of his favorite sports, there’s got to be a serious flaw in the system.
So, as I tend to do because I’m a sports progressive, I thought of a way to fix the NIT and make it much more interesting.
All the teams that lost in the 1st round of the NCAA tournament should automatically be entered into the NIT.
Since the NIT already has 32 teams, the committee could just select the teams it normally would have, and add in the other 33 teams after the first weekend of NCAAs have taken place and make their own version of a 65-team tournament. Only this time, the play-in game would be between the two best teams to lose in the first round of the NCAAs.
Had this system been in place this year, teams like Morehead State, Alabama State, North Dakota State, Robert Morris, Chattanooga, Northern Iowa, Utah State, Cornell, CS Northridge, East Tennessee State, Portland State, VCU, American, Binghamton, Radford, Butler, Akron, Temple, Stephen F. Austin and Morgan State all would have had a chance to actually compete in the postseason. They still get rewarded for winning their conferences by entering into the Big Dance and taking a shot at Goliath, but they are also allowed to participate in a tournament that they have a much better chance of being successful in.
Since the casual fan isn’t watching the NIT anyway, they might as well gear it towards schools that are not used to having postseason sporting events to root for. Cornell making the tournament is a big deal for me and my friends who went there, and if I knew their season wouldn’t always have to end with them getting trounced in the first round of the tourney, I would have been much more excited about the NIT. I’m sure many alums and fans of smaller schools feel the same way. I’m sure the players would also welcome this change. I think that it’s unfair that the reward for most of these teams who busted their asses all year to win their conference is to be a sacrificial lamb for UConn or UNC.
This would be like slaving away at acting school to graduate at the top of your class, and having to play an extra in a blockbuster “The Dark Knight” when you could have been the lead role in a small film like “The Hammer” or an indie film like “Chop Shop.”
And as for the 64 v. 65 play-in game, that should be between the two highest seeds who got upset in NCAAs since they have no business being in the NIT in the first place. This year’s honors would have gone to Wake Forest and Utah. I would love this game every year because the loser of this game is the unanimous winner of the “Underachiever of the Year” award.
This new NIT format will allow teams that actually give a crap a chance to play a few extra games. I wouldn’t even be opposed to barring BCS conference teams and just making the NIT the mid-major national championship. That way the players will be into it, the fans will be into it, and we’ll give small schools something to look forward to.
No offense Penn State, but schools with National Championships and Rose Bowl victories should not be also hanging up NIT banners.
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