OT: Penn State wins NIT.
Now when Michigan wins the NCAA the BIG will have two champions.
March 29th, 2018 at 10:52 PM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 11:16 PM ^
69th
March 29th, 2018 at 11:41 PM ^
March 30th, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
PSU is #19 in KenPom & #18 on Torvik. They are better than probably half the teams in the tournament (I'm looking at you, LIU-Brooklyn...)
Is that current NIT-adjusted or end of regular season?
March 29th, 2018 at 10:54 PM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 11:02 PM ^
We have banners commemorating our 1984 and '04 NIT titles (and used to have one for the '97 title before it was vacated). It is a postseason championship, even if not the big one.
March 29th, 2018 at 11:21 PM ^
March 30th, 2018 at 12:35 AM ^
I remember those. And even though it was the NIT, winning an entire tournament is fun.
i remember being so pumped for that '04 NIT title -- I was 16. Lester Abram, Graham Brown(!), Bernard Robinson Jr, Dion Harris. How times have changed.
Yes. That was a great win for the program, at the time. And this win is great for PSU. Even if I don't care one bit for them!
Ha, me too. I went to all the home games (Mizzou, Oklahoma, Hawaii). BRJ played well that tournament. It felt like the program had turned a corner. And but for some injuries in '05 (Lester Abram, e.g.), I think it would have.
I was a student during the Fab-Five years and only went to one home game at Crisler. I know, I know, don't start on me.
I went to all the football games, just forgot to order the BB tickets on the student account and then was either too drunk or too stupid by game time to realize until ending up at Skeeps or Rick's and finding a game on the set. One of the big WHOOPS of my lifetime. Wasn't a home game but still recall where I was for Webber's infamous time-out....packed in the middle of Rick's that went from a mild roar to a wave of "Oh Shit!'s"
I still think the NC was vacated because of my gaffe. I'll be on my headstone.
Maybe this was the start of the "rivalry" with Rutgers.
March 29th, 2018 at 11:03 PM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 11:24 PM ^
in 2009, which built their program up to where they could win their next NIT trip, this year.
So, on a 10 game NIT win streak.
Still good for Big Ten, methinks.
March 30th, 2018 at 11:03 AM ^
The question is whether you care about what's good for the big ten...
Personally, I do, unless it's MSU or OSU (or in some cases some of the more easily hated teams from year to year, like Wisconsin w/ Darnold, Purdue w/ Kramer, etc...) who I will only root for if a win would directly benefit us (e.g. if one beating the others locks us in as out-right B1G champs)..
When the Big Ten has a strong reputation, it makes it easier for us to get higher seeds, more bubble teams in the tourney, etc... (at least in theory).
Even Penn State winning the NIT impacts their KenPom/Torvik ratings, which (IIRC) impact the kenpom/torvik ratings for next year, and every little thing that the big ten can win OOC enhances quality of each conference game, win or loss. This can lead to higher seeds, more quality wins/losses, etc... Basically, if the B1G can get itself to the point of SEC football, where a 6-4 team can be ranked in the top 15, that benefits Michigan.
Just my take. I know a lot of people disagree on the whole conference loyalty thing, I just don't really dislike most of the schools in the conference and have no need to root against them.
March 29th, 2018 at 10:54 PM ^
Ugh Penn State should never win anything ever again.
Also, I feel like the NIT should probably advertise better. I had no idea the championship was tonight. I also had no idea when any of the games leading up to the championship were but I feel like that supports my point.
March 29th, 2018 at 11:36 PM ^
I'm just glad I didn't know the championship was tonight. Back in the day I was all too aware of when the NIT games were.
March 29th, 2018 at 11:45 PM ^
I, for one, am glad that the NIT Championship escapes our notice because we're looking ahead to bigger games. It's a great feeling.
March 29th, 2018 at 10:55 PM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 11:00 PM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 11:22 PM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 11:46 PM ^
March 30th, 2018 at 12:25 AM ^
Hey, you're Rodrigo Borgia--being Pope doesn't mean you can't still get your freak on, or lead an army of Swiss mercenaries to crush your enemies.
March 29th, 2018 at 11:01 PM ^
look out for them next year. i could see them finishing in the top 3 of the BIG.
March 29th, 2018 at 11:33 PM ^
which is definitely not a given. He's projected as a high 2nd rounder right now.
But yeah, if he comes back they could easily be top 3. We should probably be favored to win it, then....PSU might be second best? Nebraska? MSU? Wisconsin?
If people thought this was a down year in the B1G, next year is probably going to be worse, at least in terms of top end contenders. It would actually be a pretty big shock if we didn't run away with the title, right?
March 29th, 2018 at 11:38 PM ^
Tony Carr goes to the NBA and they're mediocre as always
March 29th, 2018 at 11:17 PM ^
The Big Ten may not win the NCAA title much, but we come to play in the NIT.
Look at this list full of Big Ten teams.
The good news is the Big Ten has a lot of NIT titles.
The bad news is the Big Ten has a lot of NIT titles.
March 29th, 2018 at 11:20 PM ^
Congrats this means you still need another 5 years and a different coaching staff to get to the NCAA tourney. The NIT is so meaningless but im sure the players still enjoy it
March 29th, 2018 at 11:21 PM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 11:24 PM ^
How does one upvote around here? (asking for a friend)
March 30th, 2018 at 12:00 AM ^
BTW - is your name related to something specific, Sonar Tech 3rd Class, or Triple Shot- Taker, or Shoot The Three, or ?
March 29th, 2018 at 11:26 PM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 11:37 PM ^
I wouldn't say any team is better off in the NIT than NCAAs. Those really bad NCAA teams are ones that won their conference tournaments, so they're used to single-elimination already. And being in the NCAAs is just cooler.
But I do think an NIT championship is a respectable accomplishment. It shows that a team kept competing in spite of the NCAA snub, and won five straight tournament games, no simple thing.
March 29th, 2018 at 11:26 PM ^
Forgot to fill out my NIT bracket...
March 29th, 2018 at 11:27 PM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 11:32 PM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 11:41 PM ^
Their rating has gone up a bunch because of the NIT. They definitely got better as the year went on but did not have an NCAA résumé.
Believe it or not their loss to Rider was only a Q3 loss. Yeah, it's not great to lose to a low-major at home but Rider ended up 22-10 with an RPI of 76. Now, their home loss to a shorthanded Minnesota...yeah, that was bad (and thank goodness Michigan pulled out their own Minny game!).