I'm not trying to take up for anybody one way or the other but there may have been some NCAA or SEC regulations that were in consideration. I know that in football, the times and number of days you can practice after the regular season depends on whether you are going to a bowl game or not. If you aren't going to a bowl game, you can't practice until the Spring Practice season starts. I don't know the regulations, especially for basketball, but it could have been that a team is not allowed to practice unless they have been selected for post-season play. Until the NIT selected us, we had not been selected for anything. I believe that in football, it is illegal by NCAA regulations to practice after the regular season and if you do, it can be a violation that brings sanctions and other punishments down on you. I'm not sure if this is the case in basketball or not - I'm just sayin' it could be.