Drake in CIT

[uniguy]

FWIW, this actually isn't Grand Canyon's first postseason appearance. They've been in the CIT three times.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

The NIT shpud just absorb the CTI and CBI. Have the NCAA expand to 88 (top 32 teams get first round byes so 16 play in games instead of the current 2.) and the NIT will expand to 64. With the current 4 tournament format there are 132 postseason teams but several refuse to play so some 200+ teams are playing. With the new format the top 152 teams will actually be playing (and only adds 20 teams overall).

[uniguy]

The NIT shpud just absorb the CTI and CBI. Have the NCAA expand to 88 (top 32 teams get first round byes so 16 play in games instead of the current 2.) and the NIT will expand to 64. With the current 4 tournament format there are 132 postseason teams but several refuse to play so some 200+ teams are playing. With the new format the top 152 teams will actually be playing (and only adds 20 teams overall).

As much as we complain about the flawed selection system, the tournament is perfect from a size perspective in my opinion. A move to 96 teams would really dilute things. For one, to get to 96 you'd be talking about teams that didn't even make the NIT making it. Teams like Penn State, Colorado and Stanford. Pass. Secondly, you would end up with the top 32 teams getting byes and we would get extremely boring matchups in the first round. Like Marquette vs. Oregon or something. The tournament doesn't need that IMO.

I would be for the NIT expanding to 64. They should also have an automatic bid for every conference in the NIT for the top finisher that didn't make the dance. In our case this season SIU would have had an auto bid. It is how they do it on the women's side and it works well. Gives a lot of mid majors a chance. There are two women's MVC teams in the WNIT this year and the women's MVC was not as strong a league as the men's this year. In this format SIU, ISU Red and Bradley all would have had a very good chance of making it.

[uniguy]

That said, here is an outside-the-lines idea that I have always had bouncing around my head for the tournament if we did go to 96 teams. It would never, ever happen, but I think it would actually add a lot of spice to the tournament.

So we have 32 automatic bids, which lends itself perfectly to the 32 byes in a 96 team tournament. What if the tournament expanded to 96 teams. The 32 conference tournament winners would get the 32 "byes" into the standard 64 team field. They all earned their way in by winning.

Next the committee picks the 64 best teams that are left for 64 at-large spots and ranks them 1-64. The weekend after conference tournament, the top 32 teams host the bottom 32 teams 1 vs 64, 2 vs 63 3 vs 62, etc, etc over the course of the weekend. So for example this year, maybe the committee says Xavier is the #1 at-large, and they say Bradley is the last at-large, #64. So Bradley would play at Xavier the weekend after selection Sunday in the opening round of the tournament. The #2 team might be Duke and the #63 team might be, say, Wyoming. So Wyoming @ Duke.

After all of those games are done and you have your 32 winners, the committee takes the 32 winners of the at-large round and the 32 automatic qualifiers and then seeds out the tournament in the traditional 64-team model, which would begin the following weekend.

There are a few ways you could do this. You could start the season a week earlier, or you could extend it a week later. You could just condense it down and have everyone play their conference tournaments a week sooner like we already do with Arch Madness. You could play games starting Friday night, and play them all day Saturday and Sunday. You'd have home crowds getting into it. It would be a fantastic way to start off the tournament. You could also keep the current calendar and squeeze the at-large games into Tuesday and Wednesday night of the First Four.

The 32 losers of the at-large games could be put in the NIT.

I'm telling you, I'm onto something here.

[Bulldog2323]

Is there anyone there early on a Monday afternoon?

Radio says the lower bowl is full so however many that is. 3 to 3.5K?

This was Drake's 4th highest attended home game of 2017-2018. They asked fans to bring non-perishable food and lots was collected.

The free tickets has multiple local media jumping on the Drake should do that more often band waggon. It did help that all the local schools are on Spring Break right now.

[municup14]

I like uniguys idea
Only because its similar to my idea

[Majik45]

For sure the NCAA needs to change how the "First Four" games work. Honestly, who cares about two 16 seeds playing each other, and I have no interest in the Arizona State Syracuse game tonight.

What they should do for the play-in games is take the last 8 at large teams and choose 4 Power 5 schools and match them against 4 non-power 5 conference teams. Creates a lot more interest as it's an "underdawg" against a big boy and let's those teams play-in to see who the last 4 teams in are.

[Bulldog2323]

The WNIT has 64 teams. There are no CBI or CIT for the women.

Drake's next game will be at Northern Colorado Sunday at 4:00 PM CT. Game will be streamed on WatchCIT.com.

[BCPanther]

The WNIT has 64 teams. There are no CBI or CIT for the women.

Drake's next game will be at Northern Colorado Sunday at 4:00 PM CT. Game will be streamed on WatchCIT.com.

There is a CBI for the women. Called the WBI.