BleacherCoaches.com

Took care of Rhode Island tonight, thank God.

One thing that bugs me about the NIT is the "home court" advantage that teams have. For example, Penn State has been back in State College since their loss to Purdue on Friday. Meanwhile, Rhode Island, which found out Sunday Night around 9 PM it was in the NIT and where they were going to play, traveled Monday to Niagara for a round 1 game on Tuesday, and then straight to State College for it's game tonight. And from what I hear, PSU might even have a home game in the quarterfinals if Miami wins this week. And all because "someone" declared them a 2 seed. Talk about a real advantage.

According to WPIAL it isnt even a home court advantage for the Nittany Lions, as they dont bring enough fans into the seats for basketball games at the Bryce Jordan Center.

If PSU had that win the regular season, they may have made the real tournament. The Big 10 isn't doing too bad, though. Michigan and Purdue came through. Minnesota got embarrassed by a Big 12 school. Not a shocker. Also, Illinois lost to the powerhouse of Western Kentucky.

For the Nits last night, it wasn't so much the "fans in the seats' that was the advantage, but the traveling and playing in a familiar atmosphere. I remember a few weeks ago how you PSU fans griped and moaned about how soon PSU had to play at Iowa AFTER the Illinios game. In fact, it was one of your excuses for their loss.

So a team who was "thisclose" to making it to the 64 gets named a 2 seed in the NIT and you think that's unfair? What should they have been seated? 8th?

Florida won tonight. PSU will play their next game at Florida's home court, where the Gators are 18-1 at home this year.

Although a little upset at first, the NIT seems to really be helping the Nit's in the future. Jones, Brooks, and Babb have all posted career highs and they are winning without Cornley. Realistically, if PSU was to make the Big Dance they would have probably been eliminated already. Instead, Penn State has already won 2 games against relatively decent opponents and have a shot at winning a third against Florida. What would have a 1st round loss or a 2nd round blowout done to build on next year? If Penn State can get to NYC for the semi's of the NIT, that would mean about 2 more weeks of basketball than they would have had in the NCAA's.

abpk2903 wrote: the NIT seems to really be helping the Nit's in the future. Jones, Brooks, and Babb have all posted career highs and they are winning without Cornley.

Yea but are any of them experienced in waxing their weasels in the non-fiction section of Abington Library?