I've always wondered what is best for the team: Get a 15 or 16 seed in the dance and get blown out on National prime time to a top seed or go to the NIT and get possibly 5 games of experience and get 8-10 practices. We would also play teams we could actually beat.

Maybe have a winnable play-in game then play a top seed and get 2 games in?

I know it's more "Prestigious" to get the March Madness invite, but what is better for the team with future considerations?

And I get it: some of you are basing the success of the season on a March Madness Tournament bid and look at the NIT like a bracket for losers. Don't blame you a bit for that.

I personally see it both ways and I feel it's been an awesome season nobody saw coming with a promising future.


Edit: March Madness for Sweet 16. Sorry.

We gotta update this bit.

I think the 2026 version is "isn't the exposure of the College Basketball Crown actually better than playing in the NIT?"

NIT sucks

Tourney all the time

Works every time.

aggiebrad94 said:

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I don't think he means Sweet 16. I think he means 16 seed.

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Then why didn't the OP say that? The premise of the OP is silly anyway but for argument's sake, let's assume the OP was referring to just an invite to the NCAA Tournament versus a 5-game run through the NIT. First problem is OP assumes A&M would be a 16 seed, which it wouldn't. Aggies are an 11-seed looking at a play-in game. So, the second issue is that the OP's fear that A&M would play a 1-seed off the bat is also wrong. Finally, and the biggest issue, is that the exposure from being in the NCAA Tourney is exponentially better than anything the NIT can offer. At the end of the day, the NIT is a loser's tournament. Nobody cares, nobody watches, and nobody remembers anyone who won it.

carl spacklers hat said:

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aggiebrad94 said:

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I don't think he means Sweet 16. I think he means 16 seed.

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Then why didn't the OP say that? The premise of the OP is silly anyway but for argument's sake, let's assume the OP was referring to just an invite to the NCAA Tournament versus a 5-game run through the NIT. First problem is OP assumes A&M would be a 16 seed, which it wouldn't. Aggies are an 11-seed looking at a play-in game. So, the second issue is that the OP's fear that A&M would play a 1-seed off the bat is also wrong. Finally, and the biggest issue, is that the exposure from being in the NCAA Tourney is exponentially better than anything the NIT can offer. At the end of the day, the NIT is a loser's tournament. Nobody cares, nobody watches, and nobody remembers anyone who won it.

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But we DO remember ALMOST winning it

It's edited. I did mean, March Madness Tournament Bid as some of you figured out against a top tiered team vs. NIT games. And as a few of you pointed out - as did I,a March Madness bid is more prestigious.

I did say I saw it both ways.

I do remember we had a good run under Gillespie in the NIT his first year which was followed by a very good season.

the only reason why the NIT is memorably mentioned is because people remember our first one with BCG that led to a tournament appearance the following year

and

the one when we went to the finals under Buzz (which was also memorable one bc we should have made the dance that year).

Other than that, it's meh. The final four isn't even in NYC anymore so it's really lost its luster in that way.

Haven't we already asked this to be stickied to the top of the page?

It's not like the NIT is a guaranteed 5 games and championship. In fact, not even close. Those are all still decent teams, they're not chumps. So a lot of 60-75% type win% games, at best. The chance of winning 5 straight games with a 75% chance each (which is very generous) is only 24%.

Squeaking into the NCAA tournament field for a Power 5 team means you're probably a 10 seed, not a 16 seed. You have about a ~40% chance to win against a 7 seed in a high visibility game (that single game has higher exposure than winning the NIT championship). Certainly you could have to play the play-in game as an 11 seed, but still arguably higher exposure than the NIT. And the upside for making a run is astronomically higher.

1. March Madness
2. 3 games in Vegas and players get $300K



6. nit

I don't think OP has the slightest idea what he is talking about

GrayMatter said:

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the only reason why the NIT is memorably mentioned is because people remember our first one with BCG that led to a tournament appearance the following year

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and the shirts!

Clearly winning the CBI is the best choice

No NIT...not watching NIT

Can't believe we're doing this again… but you pick whatever is in the Big Dance every time- zero debate. I say that as someone who really enjoyed the NIT run (but these days you don't even get to play in MSG).

Especially in our situation where we will be turning over a majority of our roster next season, you want to be able to market your program success as a squad that went dancing.

What do the Kansas boards say?

A 16 seed? Perhaps you meant to post this on the Florida A&M boards?

aggiebrad94 said:

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I don't think he means Sweet 16. I think he means 16 seed.

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The post title vs the post is a little confusing. Either way you take the NCAA over NIT.

And I say this is as someone who enjoys and watches the NIT (what else are you going to do on a Tuesday in March?).

No doubt the NIT can be helpful to teams in certain scenarios. Our NIT run in 2005 was great. We were coming off the 0-16 season and hadn't been in the post season for 10 years.

At the beginning of this season, I would have been happy with any post season as I wasn't convinced we would even have a winning record. But the hope is always to get in the dance and make a run.

MarcAg said:

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I messaged Bobinator and Method Man after the loss to Texas on Saturday and said "Today was a good day for the 'Would you rather make a run in the NIT or lose in the first round of the ncaa tournament?"" crowd.


So I am glad TexAgs was able to come through for me on this topic.

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After all, it is an Aggie tradition.

Didn't people start opting out of the nit last year?

I think it's over and everyone's getting ready for portal season. Games changed way too much to care about a few pointless games.

We covered this before never do you want to play in in the ****ty NIT.
Please do not say for experience as most of this team will be gone.
Never ever "the NCAA Tournament"is the best event in sports.

I loved the NIT run we made to the finals in NYC under Buzz after getting robbed of our deserved invitation to the NCAAT because they DON'T count conference tournament games in their assessment - even though "all game results are (supposedly) equally weighted".

That being said, I think such experience in the NIT and extra practices is best for a young team that will come back the following year more or less intact.

In our case, it would seem that many of the portal players that Bucky brought in for this year are essentially "one and done" for the Aggies - primarily due to running out of eligibility. Thus, I don't think NIT is as beneficial for this year's Aggie men's basketball team - though one could argue that it IS beneficial for our new coaching staff.

Bottom line - I would definitely prefer and will gladly accept the play-in game in Dayton over a NIT bid.

Whats the goal when these questions are asked? To expand the fanbase?

Doubt many bandwagon fans will watch a single NIT game. They will watch an NCAA game. Will a big loss drive away these same fans? Is that better or worse then continued apathy?

Southlake said:

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I've always wondered what is best for the team: Get a 15 or 16 seed in the dance and get blown out on National prime time to a top seed or go to the NIT and get possibly 5 games of experience and get 8-10 practices. We would also play teams we could actually beat.

Maybe have a winnable play-in game then play a top seed and get 2 games in?

I know it's more "Prestigious" to get the March Madness invite, but what is better for the team with future considerations?

And I get it: some of you are basing the success of the season on a March Madness Tournament bid and look at the NIT like a bracket for losers. Don't blame you a bit for that.

I personally see it both ways and I feel it's been an awesome season nobody saw coming with a promising future.


Edit: March Madness for Sweet 16. Sorry.

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The NIT is trash

Just look at the amount of fail in this photo for your answer. Only thing to make it better would be the hillbilly mascot coming out of his trailer and yelling "Where's the virgina at?"