Should Michigan be in the NIT?
Hello Board!
I know this has been discussed a little bit already, and I know we finished with a losing record, but I feel Michigan is better than most teams in the NIT. Ken Pomeroy agrees with me, as he had Michigan at #60 in his most recent ratings (Above MANY teams in the NIT). Pomeroy's ratings of other teams in the NIT field:
(8) Stony Brook - #191
(4) Kent State - #83
(5) Tulsa - #79
(6) Illinois State - #90
(2) Cincinnati - #69
(7) Weber State - #109
(8) Jacksonville - #153
(4) Seton Hall - #62
(5) Texas Tech - #80
(6) St. John's - #65
(7) Troy State - #174
(8) Quinnipiac - #194
(5) Northeastern - #76
(3) Wichita State - #70
(6) Nevada - #96
(2) Rhode Island - #73
(7) Northwestern - #77
(8) Jackson State - #288(!!!)
(5) William & Mary - #113
(3) South Florida - #78
(2) UAB - #67
(7) Coastal Carolina - #147
Now I'm aware that KenPom's ratings are not the end-all-be-all of ranking a college basketball team, but it does give a good indication of the the overall quality of a team. It appears that the NIT selection committee puts alot of emphasis on candidates' win/loss records as opposed to quality wins. Anyways, I just thought I would point out that one can reasonably argue that U-M is better than over half the teams in the NIT.
Let me put it this way: If you were Illinois, would you rather play Michigan or Stony Brook? Exactly.
Thoughts?