Indiana Basketball: What Does History Tell Us About NIT No. 1 Seeds?

With Indiana’s NIT success, it is worth looking back at previous teams who went from being a No. 1 seed in the NIT to finding NCAA tournament success.

I don’t know about you, but aside from the Wichita State game, Indiana’s performance in the NIT gave me a lot of confidence about next season. Even with the departure of Juwan Morgan and likely departure of Romeo Langford, there is hope.

Devonte Green, De’ron Davis, and Rob Phinisee all played well together and showed potential as the glue of the team. The additions of Indiana Mr. Basketball Trayce Jackson-Davis, combo guard Armaan Franklin, and hopefully Jerome Hunter, will bolster the roster with extra talent.

My optimism for next season influenced me to take a look back at how NIT No. 1 seeds have fared in the following year. My findings gave me cause for both skepticism and hope.

Since 2010, only 13 of 36 NIT No. 1 seeds have made the NCAA tournament in the season following their NIT berth.

Getting to the NCAA Tournament is no simple task, but you would expect more than just 36 percent of first four teams out to make the tournament in the next season. This makes the waters for Indiana’s success next year seem murkier.

The teams that do make the tourney in the following season, however, have had a decent amount of success.

Out of the 13 teams mentioned above, nine of them made it past the First Round, five of them made it past the Second Round, and two of them made it to the Final Four.

The two teams with the most success are the South Carolina Gamecocks from two years ago, and the Kentucky Wildcats in 2014.

But perhaps the most important takeaway is that in 2013, Arizona went to the Sweet Sixteen following their NIT No. 1 seed season. Archie Miller was still an assistant to his brother, Sean, at this time. This should provide Indiana fans with confidence; Archie Miller knows what it takes to turn a team from the NIT into a successful NCAA Tournament team.

Hopefully he finds that kind of stride with next year’s Hoosiers. If he doesn’t, he could be on the hot seat.