Hogs to Play in Preseason NIT

[Philip Seaton]

According to Cleveland.com ...

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/index.ssf/2015/04/akron_zips_basketball_to_be_in.html

Good field.

[popcornhog]

According to Cleveland.com ...

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/index.ssf/2015/04/akron_zips_basketball_to_be_in.html

Good field.

Nice field. We'll be throwing Whitt and Kapita to the wolves early. Nova, Stanford, and Akron will all be projected to be better than us so it certainly presents an opportunity.

[jry04]

Nice field. We'll be throwing Whitt and Kapita to the wolves early. Nova, Stanford, and Akron will all be projected to be better than us so it certainly presents an opportunity.

Debatable...

Stanford loses their top 3 scorers from a NIT team. They were the only guys who averaged more than 7 ppg. Out of that field, I would want GT or Stanford in our first game, personally.

[Hawg Red]

Solid field indeed. Will really help the RPI.

[jry04]

Solid field indeed. Will really help the RPI.

Plus @ Dayton and the home Big 12 opponent. Already quite a few quality games.

[WorfHog]

Pre-season and post-season since most of you guys have us penciled in already. 

[-Blu]

Debatable...

Stanford loses their top 3 scorers from a NIT team. They were the only guys who averaged more than 7 ppg. Out of that field, I would want GT or Stanford in our first game, personally.

Yea I looked at that field we should be better than everyone but Nova.  Akron will be decent, I'm assuming GT will be decent, Stanford will be alright, but unless they add another really good team, I like our chances against everyone but Nova.

[yraciv]

Should I go ahead and book my flight to New York City?

[ErieHog]

This is the kind of field that you hope you do well in, to get these guys some early in-the-fire experience.  We may learn a lot about what these guys are made of, very fast.

[Adam Stokes]

I'm not sure if next year is necessarily when we want to have a stacked SOS.  That being said, the teams in this tourney are the kind of teams that will be good resume builders and still good chances at wins, aside from Villanova, so it looks like a good scheduling move.

[Deep Shoat]

Well, making the NIT will be the standard next season, so I guess we are good to go there...

[jry04]

I'm not sure if next year is necessarily when we want to have a stacked SOS.  That being said, the teams in this tourney are the kind of teams that will be good resume builders and still good chances at wins, aside from Villanova, so it looks like a good scheduling move.

Teams like UW-Green Bay, GT, Stanford, and Akron are teams we can beat, but will have decent RPIs. Who knows, we could be one of those teams next year that play a good schedule, only win 20 games, but have a top 50 RPI and top 50 SOS and sneak in. I do not think we will, but you never know. The SEC is going to have 4 or 5 top 25 teams, and it appears we will have 3-5 quality non-conference opponents, too.

UCLA was 20-13 with a RPI of 48 and SOS of 29. OK ST 17-13 barely in the top 50. Sometimes those sub 20 win teams get the benefit of the doubt for the schedule they played.

[razorhead94]

I imagine this has been in the works for a while.  Great to play in a preseason tourney like this one to get exposure.

Wish Portis and Qualls were back.  Would have a great chance to win it.  I imagine the coaches were looking at that as well.

Gotta move forward and just play hog ball.

[Breems]

Pre-season NCAAT or bust.

[Thepigdoctor]

Pre-season NCAAT or bust.

Nice!

UW-GB is an underrated squad. Personally, I think given our success last year, they'll set this up hoping for a Nova/Arkansas final, depending on the quality of the last unknown team that gets in.

Great exposure for the program, MSG, prime time early season games and a chance to prove we can reload, that Portis/Qualls were not the only reason for our success.

I've got low expectations for next season but what I do believe we will see is a much improved defensive team and an all around better "team game." By this I mean we won't be viewed as one dimensional, reliant solely on how far Portis could take us.

I might be in the minority, but I am excited for next year. I believe it'll be a real chance for CMA to prove himself as a coach here, not just someone who had two really good players. This season will likely be one of his most challenging years, as he either proves he truly has a foundation built for success, much like his short run at UAB.

[HotlantaHog]

It's a good accomplishment to make the preseason NIT.

The consistently good teams make a lot of tourneys that give them good TV exposure and good opportunities to impress early on -- like the Maui Classic, the Great Alaskan Shootout, some others. As MA builds a program, the Hogs need to be on a big stage early in the year every year.

[ricepig]

@matthewojones:Arkansas might play in 2015 Preseason NIT, but hasn't signed a contract to do so. @ThePlainDealer reported the Razorbacks are in the field.

[yraciv]

It's a good accomplishment to make the preseason NIT.

The consistently good teams make a lot of tourneys that give them good TV exposure and good opportunities to impress early on -- like the Maui Classic, the Great Alaskan Shootout, some others. As MA builds a program, the Hogs need to be on a big stage early in the year every year.

I remember when the Great Alaskan Shootout used to be a big deal.  It has greatly fallen off in marquee terms with the last 4 champs being Harvard, Miurray State, Colorado State, & Charlotte.

[HotlantaHog]

I remember when the Great Alaskan Shootout used to be a big deal.  It has greatly fallen off in marquee terms with the last 4 champs being Harvard, Miurray State, Colorado State, & Charlotte.

Yeah other than Maui and the NIT, maybe the Vegas or Orlando tourneys are better exposure ... I would love to see the Hogs in some kind of big tourney almost every year .... it's a great reward for the players, good national exposure, good chance for nonconference, neutral-site, good RPI wins ...

[HawgAdvocate]

I remember when the Great Alaskan Shootout used to be a big deal.  It has greatly fallen off in marquee terms with the last 4 champs being Harvard, Miurray State, Colorado State, & Charlotte.

Those were the days when Duke had just landed Alaskan Trajan Langdon and was recruiting fellow Alaskan Carlos Boozer. Coach K knew what he was doing going up to that tourney two times in four years. Kentucky, Kansas, Cincinnati, and UNC were involved those same years.

[yraciv]

Those were the days when Duke had just landed Alaskan Trajan Langdon and was recruiting fellow Alaskan Carlos Boozer. Coach K knew what he was doing going up to that tourney two times in four years. Kentucky, Kansas, Cincinnati, and UNC were involved those same years.

The Alaskan Assassin! One of my favorite college basketball players, behind a ton of Hogs of course.

[razCzar]

4/22 UPDATE: 
http://www.arkansasfight.com/2015/4/22/8471315/arkansas-reportedly-will-play-preseason-nit-razorbacks

While yet to be finalized, looks like the Hogs would play 3 games in the NIT Season Tip-Off:
- Game 1 at The Bud the week before against either Akron, Wis-GB, or one of two yet-to-be-announced teams.
- Game 2 at MSG/NYC presumably Wed, Nov 25 vs GT, Nova, or Stanford.
- Game 3 at MSG/NYC presumably Fri, Nov 27 vs GT, Nova, or Stanford.

[razCzar]

While yet to be finalized, looks like the Hogs would play 3 games in the NIT Season Tip-Off:
- Game 1 at The Bud the week before vs Akron, Wis-GB, or 1 of 2 yet-to-be-announced teams.
- Game 2 at MSG/NYC presumably Wed, Nov 25 vs GT, Nova, or Stanford.
- Game 3 at MSG/NYC presumably Fri, Nov 27 vs GT, Nova, or Stanford.

[razCzar]

Sorry for multi-posts / tried to modify