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BYU Basketball Doesn’t Receive NIT Bid For 2023 Season
PROVO, Utah – There will be no NIT appearance for BYU basketball.
The field of 32 for the NIT was released on Sunday night, and BYU didn’t hear their name called. After BYU lost to Saint Mary’s in the WCC Tournament last week, it was unlikely that the Cougars would receive a bid.
#BYU did not receive a bid to the NIT. Time to focus on the Transfer Portal.#BYUHoops
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 13, 2023
Not hearing their name called in the NIT field made the belief a formality.
BYU finishes the 2022-23 season with a 19-15 record. It’s only the third time in the 21st century that BYU hasn’t qualified for the NCAA or NIT fields. In addition, this is the first time BYU hasn’t qualified for one of the top two postseason tournaments under head coach Mark Pope.
BYU entered the season with what Mark Pope called a “new and young” roster. Having so much youth on the roster led to an up-and-down season for BYU in their final year as a WCC team.
They had signature wins over Creighton and Utah and close calls against Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s. But the heartbreak was too much for BYU. Devastating losses to South Dakota and last-place Pepperdine hurt BYU’s resume of potentially earning an NIT bid.
Here are the #NIT2023 seeded teams! #NITMBB pic.twitter.com/63XhQMXQj7
— NITMBB (@NITMBB) March 13, 2023
BYU turned down additional postseason tournaments beyond the NIT, such as the CBI. Those are pay-for-play tournaments, and BYU wasn’t interested in such a setup.
So that brings BYU’s 2022-23 season to an end. The next game BYU will be playing in will be as a member of the Big 12 Conference. BYU joins the league on July 1, 2023.
The Big 12 this season put in a nation-best 70% of its league members into the 2023 NCAA Tournament and fielded Oklahoma State as a No. 1 seed in this year’s NIT. The Big 12 will also welcome the Houston Cougars next season, who received a 1-seed in the NCAA Tourney.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU moving to the Big 12 Conference on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
