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Selection Sunday: The Indiana Hoosiers receive bid to National Invitation Tournament

By Jordan Maly

Mar 9, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Indiana Hoosiers center Thomas Bryant (31) dunks the ball against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the second half during the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Verizon Center. The Hoosiers won 95-73. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Indiana Hoosiers center Thomas Bryant (31) dunks the ball against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the second half during the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Verizon Center. The Hoosiers won 95-73. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Indiana Hoosiers missed a bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon but received the No. 3 seed in the National Invitation Tournament.

It should not have come as a shock that Indiana was not extended a bid to the NCAA Tournament this year. The Hoosiers knew their tournament fate was held only to the Big Ten Tournament this weekend. They exited the tournament on the third day after falling to Wisconsin, 70-60.

Indiana showed the rest of the conference on Thursday what the team is certainly capable of. Dropping 96 points on an Iowa team that was among the “first four out” of the NCAA Tournament. They received a No. 1 overall bid in the National Invitation Tournament. The Hoosiers were unable to repeat Thursday night’s performance. They were left with the realization that they would not be dancing in 2017.

The Indiana Hoosiers receive the No. 3 seed in the NIT and will take on the No. 6 seed Georgia Tech on Tuesday. Normally the team with the highest seed receives home court advantage, but the Hoosiers will be playing on the road. Indiana declined to host the first game because of the majority of students – season ticket holders – are on spring break according to Mike Miller of The Herald-Times. Indiana will host games moving forward if the Hoosiers are still alive. The Hoosiers will travel to Atlanta, Georgia to play instead of playing at home in Bloomington.

The last time the Hoosiers were in the NIT was 2005 in which they lost in the first round to Vanderbilt. The Hoosiers won the NIT in 1979 (before the NCAA Tournament took over as the dominant tournament) and have an 8-3 record all time.

New Rules for 2017 NIT…

The National Invitation Tournament approved a few new rules for 2017. The rule changes are an experiment that was approved by the board at the NIT and will be implemented during this year’s tournament. Here is a list of some of those rules provided by the NCAA:

  • Two 10-minute segments each half (four 10-minute quarters).

  • Team fouls will reset to 0 at the end of each ‘segment’ (quarter).

  • Teams limited to 4 personal/technical fouls per segment (each additional foul is two free throw attempts, no bonus).

  • Overtime: Teams limited to 3 personal/technical fouls (each additional foul is two free throw attempts, no bonus).

  • 20-second shot clock will be set when the ball is inbounded from the front court).

The new NIT rules show that the NCAA is looking into the possibility of migrating to more of the NBA style philosophy. One of those rules particularly is allowing for essentially four quarters of play. The NIT has focused more on the fouls that will be allowed during each ‘segment’ and allow for a reset after each quarter. The transition of new rules for players in the tournament will probably not impact them all that much. Many have played in plenty of other leagues with similar rules, so the adjustment will be minimal.

Next: Indiana Hoosiers miss bid to NCAA Tournament

The Indiana Hoosiers will take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Georgia Tech at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The game will be available on ESPN.

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