Updated NIT Bracketology - March 13

[UPitt '89]

Bold = guaranteed bid for winning conference regular season title

1-seeds: Tulsa, UCLA, Texas A&M, Illinois
2-seeds: Murray St, Old Dominion, Stanford, Miami
3-seeds: Richmond, Green Bay, Buffalo, UConn
4-seeds: G. Washington, Rhode Island, Pitt, Illinois St.
5-seeds: Alabama, Harvard, Minnesota, St. Mary's
6-seeds: Michigan, Toledo, UTEP, Iona
7-seeds: Memphis, Florida, Wyoming, William&Mary
8-seeds: St. Francis NY, S. Dakota St, Charleston Southern, Bucknell

Bubble:

Vanderbilt
E. Washington
Sam Houston St
High Point
Santa Barbara
UMass
Kent St
PSU
TCU
St. Bonaventure
Tennessee
Kansas St
Clemson
Seton Hall
Arizona St
California




Right now, they have Pitt hosting Minnesota, with the winner playing at Texas A&M likely.


http://www.nycbuckets.com/2015/03/nit-bracketology-march-13-murray-state/

 

[PITTLAW]

Reply

Thanks for your work on this...and on the previous bubble chatter that Pitt fans really cared about! Serious question. Why is it that everyone assumes Pitt will get a home game? Do people really think Pitt will sell more than a few thousand tickets [4-5K] for a home NIT game? Based upon the attendance trends and people that actually show up for ACC home Pitt games...I just do not see a big crowd--short of some team like PSU. Perhaps comparatively speaking 4-5K would be good for an NIT first round game? Would be interested in hearing what people think? Hail to Pitt!

 

[levance2]

Re: Reply

Originally posted by PITTLAW:
Thanks for your work on this...and on the previous bubble chatter that Pitt fans really cared about! Serious question. Why is it that everyone assumes Pitt will get a home game? Do people really think Pitt will sell more than a few thousand tickets [4-5K] for a home NIT game?

As you've stated numerous times about football bowl games, very few schools are going to refuse an NIT home game based on financials. Pitt has the resume to host, as of today, and so they are highly probable to do so.

Additionally, Pitt has already made the email communications to ticket holders about NIT tickets, so I'm not sure on what basis you are suggesting they would refuse it.

 

[Pittrick1]

Re: Reply

Just received my ticket email, good luck trying to sell those tickets. This season needs to mercifully end for everyone, coaches, players and fans.

 

[PITTLAW]

Reply

Huh? Reading comprehension is obviously not your strength. Where did I suggest Pitt should turn down a home NIT game if offered? I said no such thing, nor did I imply such. My question was...in light of the lack luster attendance this season, and the generally lackluster finish to the season for this team...do people think Pitt will actually be able to sell many tickets for a home NIT game? The other part of the question was why people thought the NIT would offer Pitt a home game, premised upon the other points I made in the first question. I'm a basketball season ticket holder...and I did not receive the email which you claim was transmitted. Hail to Pitt!

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Re: Reply

Originally posted by PITTLAW:
Huh? Reading comprehension is obviously not your strength. Where did I suggest Pitt should turn down a home NIT game if offered? I said no such thing, nor did I imply such. My question was...in light of the lack luster attendance this season, and the generally lackluster finish to the season for this team...do people think Pitt will actually be able to sell many tickets for a home NIT game? The other part of the question was why people thought the NIT would offer Pitt a home game, premised upon the other points I made in the first question. I'm a basketball season ticket holder...and I did not receive the email which you claim was transmitted. Hail to Pitt!

Ticket sales will suck, period. Probably 2,000-3,000 if they're lucky.

Oh by the way..........the NITtany Lions are up 6 in the 2nd half and if they keep this up, they may very well be making the 2.5 hour trip east next Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

[Pitt79]

Re: Reply

Originally posted by Pittrick1:
Just received my ticket email, good luck trying to sell those tickets. This season needs to mercifully end for everyone, coaches, players and fans.

Why? Every game is a new beginning, a stand alone event! New hope, and just a night out on the town. If I lived in Pgh I'd go for sure. I'm in Baltimore though, so tonight I'm taking my daughter out, we're going to go see the Baltimore Blast play in the Eastern Conference Final of the MASL. Talk about sports nobody cares about

! Lol! But it's great in a way, $22 for field level seats 10 rows back. Enjoy the NIT, why not? It's a sports event, have fun. Nothing I hate more than "sports snobs" who only watch the "big games" that "matter", rather than ENJOY the sport, just for the sport.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Well the NIT....

doesn't really "offer" home games anymore. Since the NCAA took over the tournament the field is supposed to be seeded based on the quality of the teams and the highest seeded teams automatically get home games, unless for some reason their gym is not available. So if we get a top four seed we will get at least one home game.

The email that they sent out about NIT tickets came at least a week or two ago. The first part of the email was about NCAA tickets before it got to the link for NIT tickets (which was really just a link to your Pitt ticket account). I wonder how many people saw years NCAA stuff at the beginning of the email and assumed there was no new information there so they completely missed the part about the NIT.

By the way, tickets for a potential 1st round game costs $20.

 

[NTOP]

I got another E-mail today about the NIT...

I must be special!!

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I guess......

I didn't need another email since I bought mine last night. Of course I had a question about something so I called the ticket office today to ask and wouldn't you know, they are closed all week for spring break.

Add that to the already lengthy list of stupid things the Pitt ticket office does.

 

[NTOP]

I'm not sure what to do.....was looking forward to storming the court!

That was such a thrill after winning the almost-coveted CBI trophy. But this would be in MSG. Where Pitt used to run wild.

 

[levance2]

Re: Reply

Originally posted by PITTLAW:
Huh? Reading comprehension is obviously not your strength. Where did I suggest Pitt should turn down a home NIT game if offered? I said no such thing, nor did I imply such.

Originally posted by PITTLAW:
Serious question. Why is it that everyone assumes Pitt
will get a home game? Do people really think Pitt will sell more than a
few thousand tickets [4-5K] for a home NIT game?

Unless you posed two completely unrelated questions in series, that seems like you are suggesting Pitt will not have a home game based on projected attendance.

As Joe stated, if Pitt is a 1-4 seed, they will have a home game, and as I said, they have already started the ticketing process. From the mock brackets I have seen (and been watching for weeks), Pitt is still in line for a 3-4 seed. They could certainly fall to a 5 and possibly get zero home games, but that's not the way it looks as of today.

 

[Pittrick1]

Re: Reply

Pitt79...first, this is a Pitt blog to discuss the Panthers...the day I login to the Baltimore Blast Lair regarding their season, please put me out of my misery. As for this being a stand-alone event and new hope-if I pretend this is the first time I see Cameron Wright play and watch him pull the ball back behind his head on his jump shot, I may truly call for Jamie Dixon to not only be fired, but committed to an insane asylum......good luck and have fun at the Blast game, the NIT of Futbol.

 

[Pitt69]

From the Cheap Seats; if we play a game in Florida, I will be

there.

H2P

 

[PittEngineer]

Re: Reply

To be accurate, according to the NCAA website, the higher seeded team has the option to host campus games:

"The first three rounds of the NIT are hosted at the campus site of one of the participating teams. For each game, the higher-seeded team will have the first option host unless logistical circumstances preclude such an opportunity."
http://www.ncaa.com/championships/basketball-men/nit/postseason-nit

Thus, the NCAA doesn't require the higher seed to host, but they generally will have the option to host.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Pitt has already.....

told the NCAA that they want to host games. So any game that we are the higher seed in we will host. Simple as that. Expect a home game either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. After that, if we win it will depend on the other results.

 

[PITTLAW]

Reply

Seems likely technically Joe...you blew the answer. Always fun to see you screw up an answer when you love jumping on others for doing so. But my original question was really asking how many tickets do people really think Pitt will sell? Hail to Pitt!

 

[PITTLAW]

Reply

Uh read it again. Obviously you are assuming Pitt will be a 1-4 seed and elect to host the home game. I'm okay with that assumption [and you could have just said so from the get go]...although this team is certainly on a slide as the season ended. Great, now that we have that out of the way, perhaps you can answer the real question about how many tickets you think Pitt is going to sell? Keep in mind the lackluster home ACC attendance this season other than for the ACC big names. Hail to Pitt!

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Actually, it seems like technically....

you completely missed the fact that I wasn't responding to your post. I was responding to PittEngineer's post that the higher seeded team has the "option" to host but that it is not a requirement and I pointed out that while that was true it was also moot, as Pitt has already exercised their option, so to speak, that if they are the higher seeded team they will host. Always fun to see you screw up an answer when you love pretending like you've never screwed anything up in your entire life. I won't hold my breath waiting for your apology.

As to your original question, I didn't respond to it because, quite frankly, I don't really care all that much. Sure, it would be great if we hosted a game if the building was mostly full. Makes for a better game atmosphere and looks better on television (not that there will be all that many people watching on television) and all that. But I'll be there whether there are 8,000 people there or 12,000 people there or 1,000 people there. I can't control whether other people go or not, so I don't feel the need to spend much time worrying about it.

However since I know how much you value my opinion (

), I think it probably depends at least somewhat on the opponent. If we host some mid-major with no "name value" there aren't going to be many people there at all. If we were to happen to get someone like UConn (and, bold prediction, we aren't getting them because they are winning their conference tournament and making the NCAA) or maybe one of the Big Ten teams then that will help sell at least some tickets. But in any event I doubt there are many more than 3,000 - 4,000 people actually there. And the fact that it appears that their ticket selling effort, with many people either not getting or not realizing that they got an email about buying tickets follow by the ticket office actually being closed all week so that they couldn't be selling any tickets other than on line anyway, seems to be a typical Pitt ticket office clusterfrack surely isn't going to help any.

Quite frankly it boggles my mind that the Pitt ticket office closes completely for spring break. Especially when spring break comes just days before the football season ticket holder renewal deadline and the need to be selling tickets to a potential NIT game. I mean they didn't even have a skeleton crew there to answer the phone. Or maybe like shortened hours where they could direct people to call them only in the afternoons or in the mornings for that week. Nope. Closed. Completely. For a full week. Dumb.

 

[PITTLAW]

Reply

No need for an apology, since you put your response under my post. Another error...tsk, tsk, tsk. Actually, I do value your opinion. Other than being a bit arrogant, [which I actually respect], I enjoy your posts and they are nearly always factually correct. You still may look at your response to the other poster...as it needs tightening up a bit. I happen to agree on your attendance/ticket sales comments. If Pitt manages to actually win a few and make it to MSG....I'll show up. With airfare now in excess of $600 roundtrip between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia...just not going to waste any more time or resources on this particular Pitt team [although I will certainly be watching]. Hail to Pitt!

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I am not sure....

what you are looking at but my response is directly under PittEngineers post, and that is the one I replied to. Maybe look at thread view instead of topic view?

Anyhow, I would never complain about someone who doesn't come out from Philly for a mid-week basketball game. I am sure that were I in your situation I wouldn't be coming out either. (And $600? Yikes! And the airlines can't figure out why they have such a hard time making money.) The good news (if you want to call it that) is that the NIT actually has pretty good television coverage from ESPN this year, so I can't imagine we won't be on one of the ESPN channels whether we are at home or on the road. There are two games on ESPN on Tuesday, two more on ESPNU and a triple header on ESPN2. Wednesday there are two games on ESPN2 and ESPNU (ESPN has the NBA on Wednesday). So that's 11 of the 16 first round games on one of the ESPN channels. And I believe the other 5 will all be available on ESPN3. It looks like all the second round games are on one of the ESPN channels, one on Friday, one on Saturday, two on Sunday and four on Monday. The quarterfinals are all on as well, on Tuesday and Wednesday of that week. Let's hope we need to worry about which of those time slots we get.

 

[IamHeisenberg]

Re: Reply

Hard to find one solid answer on NIT attendance but saw a couple of articles where an attendance of 4000 at a game was in the top 3. Lots of 1200 to 2500 attendance venues.

Frankly, might expect a Pete attendance to be much like a Woman's regular season game.