Suddenly the NIT has some real value. All kinds of value.
Especially here within the borders of the Gate City.
Normally a nice consolation prize for teams not invited to the NCAA tournament, the venerable NIT took on added significance when its selection committee decided to send UNC-Greensboro to Syracuse for a first-round game at the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The game will come six days after Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, upon his team's first-game exit from the first ACC tournament in New York, uttered these words at his postgame news conference: ?There?s no value in playing in Greensboro. None.?
Greensboro has hosted 26 times, but Boeheim said the event belonged in ?media centers? such as New York, Washington and Atlanta.
Boeheim?s remarks set off a war of words across social media.
And the NIT selection committee obviously noticed. And, lo, a first-round pairing was born.
?What the NIT committee probably wanted here was to create this kind of dialogue,? UNCG coach Wes Miller said. ?It?s in the back of our minds, but we?re going to stay focused. We do feel like we represent the city of Greensboro every time we take the floor, and that won't change because we?re playing Syracuse.?
UNCG (25-9) won a share of the regular-season title in the Southern Conference and was the top seed in the SoCon tournament, losing to East Tennessee State in the championship game.
The SoCon has never sent more than one team to the NCAA tournament, so the Spartans knew the NIT awaited.
Syracuse (18-14), meanwhile, had hopes for an NCAA at-large berth. Those hopes were dashed on Selection Sunday.
?It is what it is,? Boeheim said, meeting with media before the NIT selections. ?And now we just have to get ready and try to play the best we can in the NIT.?
Statistically, this matchup is a snub for UNCG. The Spartans almost certainly deserved a higher seeding.
?All the stuff we had seen about the projected field in the NIT, with our RPI and all the other metrics, the projections were that we would be a sixth or seventh seed," UNCG?s Miller said. ?When we saw that Syracuse was the first No. 1 seed and we were the eighth seed in the same bracket ? we thought it was pretty obvious it was directly related to Coach Boeheim?s comments about the city of Greensboro.
?Our guys have felt disrespected all year long, whether it be in SoCon play or non-conference play. They have a lot of pride. They care a lot about not just our university but our city as well. They took (Boeheim's) comments to heart when they heard them this week.?
Boeheim?s remarks on Wednesday drew immediate responses, perhaps none more clever than the City of Greensboro?s on Twitter.
?We kindly disagree. But I guess you can lose in the 1st round anywhere. At least it?s a quick ride home,? the city?s tweet read.
The city followed up Sunday night on Twitter.
?Kudos #NIT on having a sense of humor. Well played!? the tweet read.
But there?s no humor for UNCG. The players gathered at Miller?s home Sunday night, watching the NIT selection show live on ESPNU in the coach?s living room.
They see this as a business trip.
?The guys are excited,? Miller said. ?They know about Syracuse?s history and tradition. They?ve certainly seen them on TV forever, seen them in the Carrier Dome their whole lives.
?I don?t know Syracuse?s team all that well yet, and you never know how a team will react (to an NCAA snub). All we can control is how we?re going to react. We gave our guys some time off after the conference tournament, but on Friday we started preparing for the NIT. Our guys are back in game mode.?
Syracuse went 16-3 at home this season, but just 2-11 outside the Carrier Dome. It?s part of the reason they didn?t receive an NCAA at-large berth.
?Nobody?s happy,? Boeheim said Sunday.
Can his team refocus? The NIT pairing with a team from Greensboro likely saw to that.
?All that is irrelevant,? Boeheim said. ?When you get ready to play a game, as a competitor you want to go out and win the game. Our players are going to want to win. They?re disappointed. Everybody is disappointed. But you have a game ... and you want to go out and play well.?
Especially here within the borders of the Gate City.
Normally a nice consolation prize for teams not invited to the NCAA tournament, the venerable NIT took on added significance when its selection committee decided to send UNC-Greensboro to Syracuse for a first-round game at the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The game will come six days after Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, upon his team's first-game exit from the first ACC tournament in New York, uttered these words at his postgame news conference: ?There?s no value in playing in Greensboro. None.?
Greensboro has hosted 26 times, but Boeheim said the event belonged in ?media centers? such as New York, Washington and Atlanta.
Boeheim?s remarks set off a war of words across social media.
And the NIT selection committee obviously noticed. And, lo, a first-round pairing was born.
?What the NIT committee probably wanted here was to create this kind of dialogue,? UNCG coach Wes Miller said. ?It?s in the back of our minds, but we?re going to stay focused. We do feel like we represent the city of Greensboro every time we take the floor, and that won't change because we?re playing Syracuse.?
UNCG (25-9) won a share of the regular-season title in the Southern Conference and was the top seed in the SoCon tournament, losing to East Tennessee State in the championship game.
The SoCon has never sent more than one team to the NCAA tournament, so the Spartans knew the NIT awaited.
Syracuse (18-14), meanwhile, had hopes for an NCAA at-large berth. Those hopes were dashed on Selection Sunday.
?It is what it is,? Boeheim said, meeting with media before the NIT selections. ?And now we just have to get ready and try to play the best we can in the NIT.?
Statistically, this matchup is a snub for UNCG. The Spartans almost certainly deserved a higher seeding.
?All the stuff we had seen about the projected field in the NIT, with our RPI and all the other metrics, the projections were that we would be a sixth or seventh seed," UNCG?s Miller said. ?When we saw that Syracuse was the first No. 1 seed and we were the eighth seed in the same bracket ? we thought it was pretty obvious it was directly related to Coach Boeheim?s comments about the city of Greensboro.
?Our guys have felt disrespected all year long, whether it be in SoCon play or non-conference play. They have a lot of pride. They care a lot about not just our university but our city as well. They took (Boeheim's) comments to heart when they heard them this week.?
Boeheim?s remarks on Wednesday drew immediate responses, perhaps none more clever than the City of Greensboro?s on Twitter.
?We kindly disagree. But I guess you can lose in the 1st round anywhere. At least it?s a quick ride home,? the city?s tweet read.
The city followed up Sunday night on Twitter.
?Kudos #NIT on having a sense of humor. Well played!? the tweet read.
But there?s no humor for UNCG. The players gathered at Miller?s home Sunday night, watching the NIT selection show live on ESPNU in the coach?s living room.
They see this as a business trip.
?The guys are excited,? Miller said. ?They know about Syracuse?s history and tradition. They?ve certainly seen them on TV forever, seen them in the Carrier Dome their whole lives.
?I don?t know Syracuse?s team all that well yet, and you never know how a team will react (to an NCAA snub). All we can control is how we?re going to react. We gave our guys some time off after the conference tournament, but on Friday we started preparing for the NIT. Our guys are back in game mode.?
Syracuse went 16-3 at home this season, but just 2-11 outside the Carrier Dome. It?s part of the reason they didn?t receive an NCAA at-large berth.
?Nobody?s happy,? Boeheim said Sunday.
Can his team refocus? The NIT pairing with a team from Greensboro likely saw to that.
?All that is irrelevant,? Boeheim said. ?When you get ready to play a game, as a competitor you want to go out and win the game. Our players are going to want to win. They?re disappointed. Everybody is disappointed. But you have a game ... and you want to go out and play well.?
