Post-season bids- is Illinois State an NIT team?

[Da Coach]

The NVCC postseason bids for the MVC are a virtual lock- Wichita State and UNI will get NCAA bids, either automatic or at-large.
The only chance any other school has is by surprising everyone and winning the MVC Tournament, which is not likely, despite Kirk Wessler hyping ISU in today's PJ Star-

Illinois State has the look of a team that will be dangerous at Arch Madness, ...the Redbirds are the only team with the physical tools and skills necessary for someone other than Wichita State or UNI to win the tourney

But my question is: Will the MVC get any NIT bids? And who is deserving?

Here are the current RPI's-

http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2015/conference/Missouri%20Valley

Here is the current standings:

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/conferences/standings/_/id/18/year/2015/missouri-valley-conference

Indiana State is in 3rd place in the MVC with a 9-5 record, but their overall 13-13 record, and their terrible RPI of 161 means they will not be given a thought by the committee selecting NIT teams.

Evansville now sits in 4th place with a record of 8-6 and 18-8, but the RPI is 115, still way too high.

Some Illinois State fans think they have a good chance. Their RPI of 95 is the 3rd best in the MVC, though still a little low than the teams who usually get bids to the NIT. But they now sit in 5th place in the MVC at 7-7, 15-11, and have not had a quality win since they beat Old Dominion way back in November. Their record against the top 3 teams in the MVC is 0-6.

So could the MVC go without an NIT bid this year? I can't recall if that has ever happened before.

[SycamoreFanatic]

I can't see any NIT team this year. Evansville, Illinois State & Loyola can probably get in the "Buy-A-Game" tournaments. I don't think our Sycamores can even do that? They will struggle to finish .500 even if they hold on to finish 3rd & would likely have to win at least one game in St.Louis?

[Vent]

Illinois State would have to get to 20 wins to have a shot at the NIT, and then it's not a guarantee. The Valley is really weak after the first 2 teams, plus ISU does not draw very well and the NIT is as much about revenue as the tournament itself.

I would ban all buy-in tournaments. They are a joke. If you're not one of the top 100 teams at the end of the season, your season should be over.

[Da Coach]

Since the NCAA took over the NIT, they now base their bids on the same criteria they use for the NCAA at-large bids (with the exception of conference winners that don't get an NCAA bid- they are the only ones that get auto-bids to the NIT). So home attendance supposedly is no longer a factor in their bids or their seeding.

[LongTimeFan]

Personally, I hope they make it. It would show BU fans how quickly a team can be turned around given the proper circumstances.

[tornado]

Speaking of post-season bids - I keep reading where the Bracketologists keep putting Illinois into their picks...

I would love to see it happen, but Illini are 7-7 and 17-10 overall, sitting in 8-9th place in the Big Ten.
.. but they are the classic "fail the eye test" team - they seem to only beat the teams they are expected to beat to be in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten, RPI in the 50's, and very poor record against the Top 100 teams.
Then they play one of the better Big Ten teams and put up just 53 points.
Will 8 or 9 Big Ten teams get in? Wouldn't surprise me...

[Da Coach]

Getting back to the original topic- Illinois State has moved a little closer to a possible NIT at-large bid by winning their last 2 games, even though they were against Bradley and Loyola. Their final 2 games are against SIU and Evansville, so unless they upset one of the top 2 teams in the MVC Tournament, they will not have a single "quality win" on their resume'.
Right now ISU is the only MVC team with a prayer of an NIT at large bid, since no other MVC team has an RPI better than 109, and it is unheard of for a non-Power 6 team to get into the NIT with an RPI over 100.
Here are the RPI's for the MVC teams-

http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2015/conference/Missouri%20Valley

The highest RPI teams to get into last year's NIT without an autobid were 88, 83, and 80, but those were all Power 6 Conference teams. Realistically, ISU needs to get their RPI into the upper 60's or low-70's to have a good chance at the NIT.

Here were the teams in last year's NIT (2014) along with the RPI of the at-large invitees-
2014 N.I.T. : At-Large participants and RPI

SMU Bracket

1 SMU American 23??“9 At-large ............................. 53
2 California Pac-12 19??“13 At-large ....................... 63
3 Arkansas SEC 21??“11 At-large ............................ 77
4 San Francisco West Coast 21??“11 At-large ................ 68
5 LSU SEC 19??“13 At-large ................................. 83
6 Indiana State MVC 23??“10 At-large ....................... 71
7 Utah Valley WAC 20??“11 Automatic
8 UC Irvine Big West 23??“11 Automatic

St. John's Bracket

1 St. John's Big East 20??“12 At-large ..................... 67
2 Illinois Big Ten 19??“14 At-large ........................ 70
3 Clemson ACC 20??“12 At-large ............................. 79
4 Green Bay Horizon 24??“6 Automatic
5 Belmont Ohio Valley 24??“9 Automatic
6 Georgia State Sun Belt 25??“8 Automatic
7 Boston University Patriot 24??“10 Automatic
8 Robert Morris Northeast 21??“13 Automatic

Florida State Bracket

1 Florida State ACC 19??“13 At-large ...................... 54
2 Georgia SEC 19??“13 At-large ............................ 74
3 Louisiana Tech C-USA 27??“7 Automatic
4 Georgetown Big East 17??“14 At-large .................... 69
5 West Virginia Big 12 17??“15 At-large ................... 88
6 Iona MAAC 22??“10 Automatic
7 Vermont America East 22??“10 Automatic
8 Florida Gulf Coast Atlantic Sun 22??“12 Automatic

Minnesota Bracket

1 Minnesota Big Ten 20??“13 At-large ...................... 50
2 Missouri SEC 22??“11 At-large ........................... 49
3 Southern Miss C-USA 27??“6 At-large ..................... 33
4 Saint Mary's West Coast 22??“11 At-large ................ 61
5 Utah Pac-12 21??“11 At-large ............................ 80
6 Toledo MAC 27??“6 At-large .............................. 38
7 Davidson Southern 20??“12 Automatic
8 High Point Big South 16??“14 Automatic

So right now with an RPI of 74, and no quality wins all year, I think they are on the outside looking-in unless their RPI improves, or if they beat UNI or WSU in the tournament.

[Vent]

I think Illinois State would have to get to the championship game of the Valley tournament to get into the N.I.T.

As for the buy-in tournaments or alphabet soup tournaments, I am totally against them. Many teams thump their chest when reach 20 wins, after participating in post season tournaments that you must pay to enter.

In my opinion, that is a cheap way of getting 20 wins. I guess if you play enough games you'll win 20 eventually. I think if you aren't good enough to play in the NCAA or NIT, your season should be over.

[ollienanyes]

I too think that ISU would have to win out and then win a couple of MVC tournament games (which would mean beating either Wichita or Northern Iowa) to go to the NIT.

As far as the buy-in games: I hear what you are saying but....I've enjoyed the ones I've watched. It means more basketball for the fans and more practice for the players.

[tornado]

...
As far as the buy-in games: I hear what you are saying but....I've enjoyed the ones I've watched. It means more basketball for the fans and more practice for the players.

I agree - despite criticisms from some fans - basketball in Tournament time is better then no basketball...

[Chico]

I agree - despite criticisms from some fans - basketball in Tournament time is better then no basketball...

The ones who were critical before would no doubt be happy with an invite now.

[tornado]

The ones who were critical before would no doubt be happy with an invite now.

they pretty much hyped & clung to the CIT tourney in 2013 as the highlight of the new era..

[Da Coach]

they pretty much hyped & clung to the CIT tourney in 2013 as the highlight of the new era..

You mean the CIT that drew about 1,800 to each of the home games?
And that figure even included a ton of no-shows among those who bought tickets, and extremely few students, despite being on campus.

[Chico]

You mean the CIT that drew about 1,800 to each of the home games?
And that figure even included a ton of no-shows among those who bought tickets, and extremely few students, despite being on campus.

No matter where the games are played, the student turnout is usually disappointing. Need more like the Red Sea.

[Vent]

There are around 100 teams that play in the NCAA and NIT combined. I believe if you are not one of the top 100 teams in the country your season should be over. One of the rewards for being a better team is to play in a post season tournament (NCAA or NIT). When you have to start paying to continue your season, they might just as well throw more letters together and have tournaments for everybody. That way everyone gets a ribbon.

A few extra practices and a game or two, after a season consisting of four to five months of practices and games is not going to amount to a hill of beans.