Indiana is a long shot to make the NCAA Tournament this season, with another NIT bid possible, should they host an NIT game?
After Indiana’s disappointing 2016-2017 season, they were chosen to host an NIT game, in which they declined. They chose to let the game be played in Atlanta, in what was essentially a home game for their opponent Georgia Tech. Their reason was, they didn’t want to “devalue” their home court. Can you really devalue something that hasn’t won in many years? Let’s be real, that was an awful excuse. If the Hoosiers get selected for a second consecutive NIT should they host the game this year?
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For the casual fan, where the games are played in the NIT seem to not matter. As fans do not typically care about NIT wins, especially at a school with such storied history as Indiana does. They will just watch the game hoping their team wins, and if they don’t, so be it, there’s always next year.
After last year ended, Indiana made the decision to part ways with longtime coach Tom Crean. In replacing Crean, Archie Miller was hired in part to bring the Hoosiers back to their glory days, something that Crean failed to do despite being a tremendous coach.
Indiana headed into the 2017 season with a recruiting class that ranked 32nd nationally, and third in the Big Ten conference. Archie had his work cut out for him, and despite the 16-14 record, he has impressed in his first season as a head coach at a big time college.
Yes, they have had their fair share of horrible, and I mean horrible losses, in Indiana State and IPFW(again). But they also have wins against Wisconsin, Penn State, and Notre Dame, so this season was not a total loss.
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Hosting an NIT game would give fans the opportunity to root for their team, even if it is not the tournament they had hoped to be playing in. Students would undoubtedly show up to support their college, and fans would tune in all across the country. So this time, if the NIT comes calling, Indiana should absolutely host an NIT game this season.