Georgia basketball: Fans shouldn’t groan at another NIT birth

Georgia basketball likely eliminated itself from NCAA Tournament contention with its loss to South Carolina on Wednesday.

The National Invitational Tournament. It’s mention draws the groans of college basketball fans from around the country. The Georgia basketball fan base is no exception.

In fact, Georgia basketball echoes that sentiment as much as any program in the country. The Bulldogs have competed in the NIT 14 times and the list of schools with more NIT appearances is miniscule. Out of the 13 other SEC schools, only Alabama (16) has been in more NITs.

The dissatisfaction fans have with the NIT is understandable. Georgia fans want more out of the basketball team, and rightfully so. Seeing Florida win back-to-back national titles was painful. Watching programs like South Carolina, Tennessee and Auburn pass them by has been excruciating.

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The Georgia basketball fans have become an envious fan base, and no one can blame them. They have grown to not care about the NIT, and why should they? Well, there are a few reasons to care about the NIT, especially this year.

Tom Crean is only in his second year as head coach with a roster of 11 freshmen and sophomores. Fans got so caught up in the Anthony Edwards hype that it was easy to forget that Crean is building the program from the ground up. Edwards is a fantastic player, and if the team around him had contributed more often, Georgia basketball wouldn’t be thinking about the NIT right now.

There is no excuse for missing the NCAA Tournament, but that ship has likely sailed. Georgia basketball should start moving on from the 2019-20 season by playing the basketball it can play for the rest of the season, that includes the NIT.

If the team enters that tournament with the right attitude and goes on to win a few games, that success can springboard Georgia basketball to even greater success in the future. It has happened to many programs around the nation. Admittedly, these instances are rare, but it has happened. Florida, Memphis and UConn are all programs that turned NIT success into NCAA Tournament success.

Georgia can very well do the same. The roster is young, but improving. The pieces are there for a solid run next season. The 11 underclassmen (nine freshmen) might turn a good run in the NIT, or maybe even a championship, into the start of a great run for Georgia basketball. Isn’t that worth at least a little excitement?