Sports: Mid-major items over at ESPN.com

Whelliston breaks down the first of the post-season tournaments in the mid-majors.

Vitale praises the new NIT post-season tournament:

The committee has already made some positive changes. If a school wins its league regular-season title but loses in its conference tournament, it will automatically be invited to the NIT. That is a big deal for a low-major left out of the Big Dance despite winning the conference regular-season crown.

He also reports that the 40 teams will be seeded:

The field will be seeded from No. 1 to No. 40, with the higher seeds getting the home-court advantage. That is also a positive move. The committee will take the 40 best available teams after the NCAA picks its 34 at-large bids.

I take it the RPI will be a big factor in their seeding process. I also wonder if data that the NCAA uses to determine the field of 65 will be handed off to the NIT selection committee.