Jsnhbe1Birds wrote:The NIT shpud just absorb the CTI and CBI. Have the NCAA expand to 88 (top 32 teams get first round byes so 16 play in games instead of the current 2.) and the NIT will expand to 64. With the current 4 tournament format there are 132 postseason teams but several refuse to play so some 200+ teams are playing. With the new format the top 152 teams will actually be playing (and only adds 20 teams overall).
As much as we complain about the flawed selection system, the tournament is perfect from a size perspective in my opinion. A move to 96 teams would really dilute things. For one, to get to 96 you'd be talking about teams that didn't even make the NIT making it. Teams like Penn State, Colorado and Stanford. Pass. Secondly, you would end up with the top 32 teams getting byes and we would get extremely boring matchups in the first round. Like Marquette vs. Oregon or something. The tournament doesn't need that IMO.
I would be for the NIT expanding to 64. They should also have an automatic bid for every conference in the NIT for the top finisher that didn't make the dance. In our case this season SIU would have had an auto bid. It is how they do it on the women's side and it works well. Gives a lot of mid majors a chance. There are two women's MVC teams in the WNIT this year and the women's MVC was not as strong a league as the men's this year. In this format SIU, ISU Red and Bradley all would have had a very good chance of making it.