Running 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Thread

If it makes you feel any better, Tulsa in 1981 (?) is the first NIT champ I remember.

UConn absolutely parlayed its 1988 title into the Elite Eight run in 1990, which in turn set the foundation for everything thereafter. Just not sure that's possible anymore b/c of power schools looking down on the NIT and the portal making continuity almost impossible.

 

FIFY.

The columnists are giving us good coverage. Our best beat writer, Steve Irvine, has covered UAB for years and he's really solid. Unfortunately, he's writing for a whackadoo right wing Alabama web site. Several of the Al.com guys do write about UAB, with varying degrees of insight and competence.

 

This thread hasn’t been updated in a while so I guess North Texas won?

 

Yep. I've made this argument before. Scrap the NIT. Go to 96. Outright regular season and tournament champs get in from every league. Non-majors who would have earned entry this way this year were: Eastern Washington, Youngstown State, Toledo, Bradley, Morehead State, Southern Miss and Utah Valley. That's only seven out of a potential 28 bids. Still plenty of room for mediocre major-conference teams as well. I'd be happy with that.

 

They did and they deserved to. But woof, Don Daily’s crew was a disgrace. Twice in the second half they missed that a North Texas shot at the rim should have been a shot clock violation. If they had scored directly on the shots it could have been reviewed and reversed, but because they were only rebounds leading to scores, the Mean Green got gifted five points. Would have been a one-possession game in the closing seconds otherwise.

 

Toledo not having made the tournament since 1979 is amazing given how good the program has been over the last 15 years.

 

U-N-T! U-N-T! U-N-T!

 

First NIT I remember: Future Boston mayor Raymond Flynn was the MVP and Providence beat Canisius in 1963. Man, I'm old.

The field was essentially a Catholic school invitational: Canisius, DePaul, Fordham, La Salle, Marquette, Memphis, Miami (Fla.), Providence, St. Louis, St. Francis (NY), Villanova, Wichita State.

 

I remember Rich Yunkus and Georgia Tech turning down an NCAA bid to play in the NIT in 1971. Lost in the final to North Carolina.

 

Didn't Marquette also do that in 1970 or 1972?

 

Marquette

1970 -- they won the NIT.

Looking Back: When Marquette Turned Down an NCAA Bid

Al McGuire was mad because the NCAA was going to put Marquette in the Midwest Regional instead of the nearby Mideast. So he said FU and took his team to New York instead.

 

As was duly noted by the UAB fans. That's a very solid North Texas team, good on defense and slowing the game down to their pace. It was the fourth game between them this season, and it showed.

Got to tip the hat to them.