Following Selection Sunday, several high major basketball teams across the country were left out of the NCAA Tournament -- what many consider to be the pinnacle of the sport. For those that aren't selected by the committee, the NIT is the next best thing.
Or at least that's normally the case.
As was officially shared following the NIT selection show, several teams have opted out of the NIT this year: Syracuse, St. John's, PItt, Indiana, Ole Miss, Memphis and Oklahoma chief among the "power conference" programs that chose not to participate this postseason.
To be frank, Fran McCaffery wouldn't be caught dead opting out of an opportunity for his team to keep playing basketball.
"I would never consider it," he said on Monday. "We want to keep playing. We want to keep coaching and the players want to keep playing, and that's what we're supposed to be doing now."
The main reasoning behind the opt-outs appears to be roster construction going into the coming season. Just a day after the NCAA Tournament field is determined, players are allowed to enter the transfer portal. Many coaching staffs appear to see the opportunity to continue to build their incoming roster as a better alternative to playing in the NIT.
McCaffery clearly doesn't see it that way.
"This is a ridiculous conversation," he said. "It's obvious what the value is. If people don't want to play, that's on them. We're playing. We want to play, and we're going to continue to play. We're going to get better."
Jerome Tang, the head coach of Kansas State, Iowa's opponent in the first game of the tournament, doesn't appear to feel quite as strongly about those opting out at McCaffery does.
"Coaches don't get contract extensions for NIT invitations," he said. "So, that's the nature of it. I understand -- I don't begrudge anybody for opting out, and I hope nobody begrudges us for staying in. It's where you're at with your program at this point in time and what you feel is the most important."
Tang did agree with McCaffery on the value of having more games, saying the chance to keep playing is always a blessing.
"Our thing is that we get to spend another day together as a team," he said. "We love being around each other and have a great time. It's exciting for us that we get to continue our season."
He also recognized the disappointment his players felt when they found out they wouldn't be playing in the Tournament.
"One of the pillars of our program is that 'Tough people do the next right thing,'" he said. "If we say that we are tough people, then we'll take advantage of this next opportunity that we have, and understand that it's a blessing. Only 100 teams are still playing. For 200+ teams, their seasons are done. It's a blessing to be where we're at."
Tang led the Wildcats to an appearance in the Elite Eight last season and was part of the coaching staff at Baylor that made it to the NIT championship game in 2009 and 2013. The Bears lost to Penn State in 2009 and defeated Iowa in the 2013 final, 74-54.
"The goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament, but when you get into the NIT, man, if you can get into that final four, it's a really special experience for everybody," he said. "The year we won it, we got on a roll. Our mantra that year was that we thought we were an NCAA Tournament team, we just didn't do what we needed to do."
"I've had some really great experiences in the NIT, and I'm hoping that we can help these seniors and the rest of the guys have a great experience also."
