NCAA Tournament or NIT?
I think the team is better off in the NIT so they can make a run and play 3-5 more games together instead of being one and done in the Big Dance. It's all about preparing for next year.
Disclaimer: This post is tongue in cheek because there are actaully people on this board that mentioned this awhile back and they were dead serious
Sorta like how you said the home game against northwestern was huge to determine who would take 9th place in the big ten.