[scorecard]

The goal is ALWAYS to go to the big dance.  

Imagine we achieve the best case scenario and even as the NCAA champion we're left to wonder how far we would have gotten in the real deal.  It matters to us as fans but it matters even more to the players.

I'm with Leftcoast on this, and I guarantee every single one of the players is too.  No player dreams of playing or winning the NIT.  Even winning one game in the NCAA tourney is a much bigger deal.

And if we get in to the Big Dance, we're not playing Kansas in the first round.  We'd get in as an 10-11 seed due to automatic bids, so we'd likely play a 6-7 seed in the first round.  With our defense, I'd give our team a chance against any 6-7 seeds.  In some ways, it would be better to be a 11 seed, because the next round most likely faces a 3 seed (whereas the 10 seed faces a 2 seed).  With the dilution of college basketball from one-and-dones, beating a 2 or 3 seed isn't as daunting as it used to be.  And there's not even a guarantee that the 2 or 3 seed wins their first round anymore.  In the history of the tournament, 2 vs 15 upsets have happened 8 times (5%) and 3 vs 14 upsets have happened 21 times (15%).  In 2015, two 3 vs 14 upsets happened in the same tourney.

We still have a lot of work to do to get to the Big Dance, but for the momentum of the program, that has to be the goal.  And once you get there, then crazy things can happen.

[scorecard]

The goal is ALWAYS to go to the big dance.  

Imagine we achieve the best case scenario and even as the NCAA champion we're left to wonder how far we would have gotten in the real deal.  It matters to us as fans but it matters even more to the players.

I'm with Leftcoast on this, and I guarantee every single one of the players is too.  No player dreams of playing or winning the NIT.  Even winning one game in the NCAA tourney is a much bigger deal.

And if we get in to the Big Dance, we're not playing Kansas in the first round.  We'd get in as an 10-11 seed due to automatic bids, so we'd likely play a 6-7 seed in the first round.  With our defense, I'd give our team a chance against any 6-7 seeds.  In some ways, it would be better to be a 11 seed, because the next round most likely faces a 3 seed (whereas the 10 seed faces a 2 seed).  With the dilution of college basketball from one-and-dones, beating a 2 or 3 seed isn't as daunting as it used to be.  And there's not even a guarantee that the 2 or 3 seed wins their first round anymore.  In the history of the tournament, 2 vs 15 upsets have happened 8 times (5%) and 3 vs 14 upsets have happened 21 times (15%).  In 2015, two 3 vs 14 upsets happened in the same tourney.

We still have a lot of work to do to get to the Big Dance, but for the momentum of the program, that has to be the goal.  And once you get there, then crazy things can happen.