The National Invitation Tournament: A Deep Dive into Bracketology and Evolution
The madness of March is not solely confined to the NCAA Tournament. There are other postseason tournaments that can serve up nearly as many nail-biters, with the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) being perhaps the best known. Historically, this has been where the best non-Big Dance teams have gone to close out their campaigns. While its standing has evolved, the NIT continues to be a significant event in college basketball, offering a platform for talented teams to showcase their skills and vie for a championship. Understanding the NIT bracketology, its selection criteria, and its place in the postseason landscape is crucial for any serious college basketball enthusiast.
A Storied Past: From Glamour to "Consolation"
Founded in 1938 by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association, the National Invitation Tournament holds a distinguished place in college basketball history. One year after the NAIA tournament was created by basketball's inventor, Dr. James Naismith, and one year before the NCAA tournament, the NIT emerged as a premier postseason event. In its early decades, particularly during the 1930s and 1940s, when national media coverage of college basketball was limited, playing all games in New York City provided teams with greater media exposure and access to a rich recruiting territory. The NIT, held at the iconic Madison Square Garden, was often considered the most glamorous of the postseason tournaments and generally featured the better teams, even surpassing the nascent NCAA tournament in prestige at times. Several teams even played in both tournaments in the same year, a testament to the NIT's standing. For instance, in 1944, Utah lost its first game in the NIT but went on to win the NCAA tournament and a subsequent benefit game against NIT champion St. John's. The champions of both tournaments even played each other for three seasons during World War II. The Helms Athletic Foundation retrospectively selected the NIT champion as its national champion for 1938 and once chose the NIT champion over the NCAA champion in 1939.
However, as the NCAA tournament expanded its field and gained more television prominence, the NIT's reputation began to shift. The move of televised coverage of the NCAA championship to prime-time by NBC in 1973 provided the NCAA Tournament with an advantage the NIT struggled to match. Further compounding this, the NIT moved its early rounds out of Madison Square Garden in 1977 to cut costs, playing games at home sites until the later rounds. This decentralization, coupled with the NCAA's expanding tournament, led to the NIT being perceived by some as a "consolation" prize. This perception has manifested in fan taunts and a reluctance from some high-profile programs to participate. For example, David Thompson, an All-American player from North Carolina State, famously called the NIT "a loser's tournament" in 1975, with his team refusing an invitation. In succeeding years, other prominent teams have also declined NIT bids.
Evolution of the NIT: Adapting to a Changing Landscape
Despite the perceived stigma, the NIT has undergone significant transformations to remain relevant and competitive. In 2005, the NCAA purchased the rights to the NIT from the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA) for $56.5 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit. This acquisition brought the NIT under the NCAA's administration, leading to further adjustments in its structure and selection process. The tournament field has fluctuated over the years, expanding and contracting to accommodate various strategic decisions. From 1980 to 2001, the field comprised 32 teams, a number that was expanded and then reduced before settling back to 32 teams for a significant period.
The NIT's selection process has been a focal point of its evolution. Historically, teams were selected in consultation with ESPN, the tournament's television partner, with a focus on major conference teams with near-.500 records that possessed large television fan bases and could draw respectable home attendance. This often meant teams like the University of New Mexico, who frequently had winning seasons but failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament, were invited virtually every year. Seeding considerations and home court advantage played a significant role, with the number of fans willing to show up to each game being a key factor.
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A major overhaul of the selection process began with the 2017 tournament, with ESPN no longer having a hand in team selection. The committee makeup was restructured to include a mix of current athletics administrators and former head college basketball coaches, aiming to create a more robust and experienced selection body. These changes were intended to encourage participation by good college teams that might have otherwise opted out, aiming to make it a more respected event.
The 2025 NIT: New Criteria and Emerging Competition
The 2025 NIT continues this trend of adaptation, with significant revisions to its qualification criteria and the emergence of new postseason tournaments that directly compete for participants. For the 2024 tournament, automatic bids for regular-season conference champions who did not make the NCAA Tournament were eliminated, and the field guaranteed berths to 12 teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Pac-12, and SEC, regardless of their records. This move was criticized for hindering the path for low- and mid-major champions.
The 2025 NIT's selection process has shifted again, aiming for a more balanced approach. The ACC and SEC will now receive two automatic NIT bids each, while other conferences will receive one. A key development is the introduction of the College Basketball Crown (CBC), a new 16-team tournament sponsored by FOX, set to be played in Las Vegas from March 31 to April 6, 2025. The CBC has partnerships with the Big Ten, Big 12, and Big East, granting them automatic qualifiers and directly challenging the NIT for teams that miss out on the NCAA Tournament. This new competition has prompted further adjustments from the NIT to remain attractive.
For the 2025 NIT, "exempt" bids will be given to the top two teams not selected for the NCAA Tournament from both the ACC and SEC. Additionally, one team each from the top twelve conferences, as rated by KenPom, will receive an exempt bid. These exempt teams are guaranteed the opportunity to host a first-round game. The top teams from each conference are determined by an average of various ranking systems, including ESPN's Basketball Power Index (BPI), Kevin Pauga Index (KPI), NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), Ken Pomeroy Rating (KenPom), Strength of Record (SOR), Torvik ranking, and Wins Above Bubble (WAB) ranking.
Regular-season conference champions not selected for the NCAA Tournament can earn an automatic bid to the NIT if they have an average ranking of 125 or better across these ranking systems. The remaining spots in the 32-team field will be filled by at-large selections made by the NIT's committee, which comprises former coaches and athletic administrators.
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Bracketology and Selection Insights
Understanding NIT bracketology involves deciphering the selection committee's priorities. While the NCAA tournament relies heavily on automatic bids from conference tournament champions and at-large selections based on a complex resume evaluation, the NIT's criteria have evolved. In recent years, there's been a noticeable emphasis on metrics like the NCAA's NET rankings. For instance, in the 2022 NIT, the committee appeared to heavily favor teams highly rated by the NET metric, even using it for seeding. This approach aims to create a more objective evaluation, balancing a team's record with their performance margin and strength of schedule.
The selection committee's process involves a meticulous review of team resumes, considering factors like non-conference strength, road wins, and overall performance in conference play. For mid-major teams, securing an at-large bid often requires a dominant regular season performance and potentially a strong showing in their conference tournament, even if they don't win it. The NIT's updated criteria, with its emphasis on conference champions and top-ranked teams from various conferences, provides more opportunities for these teams to gain postseason experience.
The introduction of the College Basketball Crown adds another layer of complexity to bracketology. Teams on the fringe of the NCAA Tournament bubble will now have to weigh the prestige and historical significance of the NIT against the allure of a new, potentially lucrative tournament in Las Vegas. This competition may lead to more opt-outs from the NIT, creating more at-large opportunities for teams that might not have been considered previously.
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