MBB Heading To NIT; Another Step Forward For The Program
It ultimately wasn't what everyone wanted when the season started, but BC took a big step forward on Sunday night.
Boston College will be participating in the NIT after accepting an invite following the NCAA selection show. While the end goal is always the NCAA tournament - a place BC hasn't been since 2009 - the team hasn't had a postseason game of any kind in six years until now. Luckily for fans, the first round matchup is close to home too, with the Eagles playing Providence in Rhode Island on Tuesday night.
The winner of that game will face either LSU or North Texas in the second round on Saturday.
BC has been in the NIT 12 times: '65, '66, '69, '74, '80, '84, '88, '92, '93, '03, '11 and 2018. The last time the Eagles won a postseason game was the 2011 NIT, beating McNeese State before losing to Northwestern in the second round. A win over Providence would also give the program 20 wins in a season for the first time since that 2011 season (21-13).
Needless to say, while some can be critical of the NIT and how much worth it has, for a program still in the middle of building the next era, postseason basketball of any kind matters immensely. A player like Quinten Post - who will play professionally somewhere in the world - wanting to keep this team together for as long as possible speaks volumes about its importance as well.
On Monday, Earl Grant met with the media via Zoom to talk about the opportunity.
"The only thing it means is that our labor hasn't gone in vain," he said. "Something has been produced from the labor. It's the fruits of our labor. Everything we've done the last 100,000 days, we've been doing it for a reason. I think that's rewarding to know that hard work works. We want the program to be a proud program and respected.
"To have an opportunity to continue to move forward was what we wanted to see in year three."
Grant also explained that while the NIT isn''t the Big Dance, playing in it sure beats the alternative.
"I'd rather be playing than to be sitting at home," Grant said. "That's what I'll tell you. If you're playing, that means we're one of the Top 90 teams...Top 100 in the NET, Top 90 team still playing, so that's better than sitting at home watching these games."