Sunday's Daily Briefing: Would FAU have made the 96-team tournament?
By Marcus Nelson
Remember last spring when the NCAA was discussing the idea of a 96-team basketball tournament, an idea that was universally mocked? Well, we know the NCAA instead decided to expand from 65 to 68 teams this year.
I wasn’t in favor of the 96-team field (was anybody?) but the last thing on my mind when the idea was floated was would it enable FAU make the tournament with an at large bid this season.
But after going 21-10 and winning the Sun Belt regular-season title, FAU would make a 96-team field right?
Well, it looks like FAU would still miss the tournament. According to the web site, RealTimeRPI,which updates its mock RPI ratings on Saturday,
FAU has an RPI rating of 112 – not nearly high enough to make the field.
And if the field would have expanded to 96, the NIT was going to be shut down so the Owls’ season would have been over. Instead we’ll find out today who FAU will play in the NIT and there could be three more weeks of basketball for Owls fans.
Possible NIT Matchup of the Day: Harvard vs. FAU
The Crimson lost a heartbreaker to Princeton in a playoff game on Saturday and actually won’t receive an automatic bid to the NIT. However, Harvard is likely to be picked anyway and, since Owls coach Mike Jarvis was an assistant there from 1973-79, one doesn’t have to be a Harvard graduate to see why this matchup would be great.
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