Did your team miss the 2007 March Madness bracket? The NIT tourney will take care of that.
Yep, you read it, NCAA College Basketball teams failing to get the March Madness bracket invite will still have the second best thing, the NIT.
Well, the NIT is more like a consolation prize for the 2007 March Madness bracket snubs. It seems like the NCAA put this tournament to avoid any bomb threats from teams who missed college basketball’s annual spectacle.
West Virginia, Clemson, Air Force and Mississippi State were seeded No.1 Sunday night in the revamped NIT. Yep, the Clemson Tigers went from a title contender during the first half of the NCAA College Basketball season to kings of obscurity in the NIT. Sad ain’t it?
How in the blazes do these guys come up with teams to participate in this second-rate, if you can call it that, tourney? Well, once the NCAA picked the 65-team field for its tournament, the NIT had the pick of the leftovers, which included the four No.1’s and others such as Syracuse, Drexel, Kansas State and Washington this year.
”No one mistakes this tournament for the NCAA championship,” NIT selection committee chairman C.M. Newton said. ”We have one championship, and that is the NCAA championship. But the NIT historically has been a very strong advocate for post-season basketball. Our job is to select the very best teams we can.”
Yeah right.
It’s like guys dating Ron Artest look-a-likes say, ”I’m dating her because she takes care of me.” And in case you didn’t get me, it’s the classic excuse to not go for the best.
At least the Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim is one of those who understands what went down. He doesn’t like the fact that the Orange missed the 2007 March Madness bracket tournament. And yeah, he doesn’t like the fact that his boys have to settle for the NIT either.
”I have no way of understanding why we’re not in the (NCAA) tournament,” Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim said. ”You look at the numbers and it’s hard to believe. But it’s done. There’s no use in talking about it. I’m very disappointed. It doesn’t do any good to get angry.”
Syracuse (22-10) was seeded second in the South of the NIT tournament and will open against South Alabama on Wednesday night.
Don’t give a rat’s ass about the NIT tourney? Who will win the NCAA College Basketball championship in the March Madness bracket tournament? Here are some odds from Bodog sportsbook.
Crazy about this year’s March Madness? Visit OddsHQ for NCAA College Basketball odds.
March Madness Bracket, NIT Tournament
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