I'm not sure I can blame this one on Howland, but isn't the field usually much stronger than that?
 

I think the format of the tourney, with the first two rounds being at home gyms, precludes a truly elite field from participating - you need to find 12 teams willing to play a second round game on the road. That said, I believe this year's field is weaker than usual (only two teams that advanced past the first round of the NCAA tourney last year - one being Wisconsin-Milwaukee - and only two other teams that even made the NCAA tournament). Part of this is due to the Maui Invitational having an extremely strong field this year, at least in terms of "big name" basketball schools (Arizona, Connecticut, Gonzaga, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan State). Kind of weird too that the Preseason NIT has no Big-10 representation. Regardless of who we play, though, it would be great if we can win our first two games and play at MSG.