What does it take to play in the NIT?

Question

According to this Wikipedia article, the selection process was changed in 2006. According to the article, teams are no longer required to have a .500 record and conference champions will receive an automatic bid. However, I am still unclear on if there are still any other restrictions to a team's record for them to be eligible and how the other teams are selected.

• Is it still based on number of wins/win percentage?
• Can a team play in both the NCAA tournament and the NIT?

Also I know that, unlike the NCAA tournament, the NIT holds games at the home courts of teams instead of at predetermined regional sites. The article notes that prior to 2006 home court advantage was based (in part) on a team's expected attendance in the tournament. Is it still based on this, or the team's seed or something else?

Answer 1

No team selected for the NCAA tournament can play in the NIT. The only teams that receive automatic bids are any regular season, conference champions not selected for the NCAA tournament. All other teams are chosen, via secret ballot, by the selection committee. The selection process is rather complicated and can be read about here (warning: pdf).

As far as venue selection goes, the semifinals and finals are being played at Madison Square Garden this year. All other games are played in the better-seed's home court, unless there is a conflict, at which point it will be played in the worse-seed's home court. If both are in conflict, I presume that they choose an available, nearby neutral venue.