The Indiana men's basketball team, which was once ranked No. 3 in the country, was relegated to the NIT after an 18-15 regular season.
Still, the Hoosiers received a No. 3 seed in the NIT — giving them the right to host a first-round game against sixth-seeded Georgia Tech.
Indiana accepted the bid but declined the home game, letting Georgia Tech host. The reason, per Hoosiers AD Fred Glass: "Assembly Hall is iconic. You've gotta be careful not to devalue it."
Now, the REAL reason to avoid a home game might have been that Indiana officials didn't want to give fans one more chance to yell at embattled head coach Tom Crean, who was fired Thursday after the Hoosiers' NIT defeat.
But you probably don't want to say that. Then again, you probably also don't want to say hosting an NIT game cheapens your arena when your women's basketball team is hosting an NIT game in that very arena Thursday night.
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.
