They have more tournaments in college today than they had over a collective twenty-year span in the 1950s. Naturally it is a ploy to shove a trophy on the shelf of the host team. The one that irritates me the most is the Lapachick Tournament , named for the great St. John's coach of many years ago. I think St. John's started this joke in 1973. They invite three teams, usually from conferences known only by the parents of the players.
Teams qualify by having practically no chance of winning based on the previous year's record.
Anyhow, St. John's has won the tournament twenty-one straight years and has never lost a game. In fact, the games are so lopsided, the man doesn't even bother to set a line on the contests. By Christmas time most teams are involved in some of these jokes. Some powerhouse will invite these patsies to the party and the victim will show up, one hand carrying a quick-return ticket and the other outstretched for the paycheck. When it comes to real tournaments , like the post NIT and NCAA, there is a pattern I can follow.