MINNEAPOLIS – Indiana will decline any invitation to play in the NIT later this month, per a source with knowledge of the program’s intentions.

Friday’s Big Ten tournament loss to Nebraska concluding their season, the Hoosiers will turn their attentions to recruiting and roster building. The spring transfer portal window opens Monday.

An NIT berth only became a possibility in recent weeks, as IU (19-14) put together a five-game win streak across the end of the regular season and Thursday’s Big Ten tournament opener. Despite that furious late run, the Hoosiers’ computer metrics and lack of wins over likely NCAA tournament teams meant they likely would’ve needed to win this weekend’s showpiece event and secure the conference’s automatic bid to reach the field of 68.

DOYEL: Mike Woodson quit on his team in final game. And he's supposed to fix this?

INSIDER: Mike Woodson must bring modern basketball to Indiana, or Hoosiers will be old news.

That now door now officially closed, the program will decline all other potential postseason opportunities.

"This thing is going to come very quickly," IU coach Mike Woodson said after Friday's loss. "We’ve got to be in a position to do our due diligence and our homework on these players."

It is a decision becoming more commonplace across college basketball. Memphis and Ole Miss are among a handful of programs to have declined, publicly or privately, an NIT opportunity before it could be extended.

The modern recruiting calendar — in particular the importance of the early weeks of the spring portal cycle — dampens the appeal of postseason basketball outside the NCAA tournament. Indiana, which will have to replace starting point guard Xavier Johnson and might have to account for Kel’el Ware’s departure for the NBA draft, will need to be aggressive in the coming weeks, as Woodson works to rebuild his roster into a tournament contender in 2025.

Woodson already having been confirmed as returning for a fourth season in charge of his alma mater, IndyStar understands he will be handed substantially increased NIL resources in that effort. With 2024 wing Liam McNeeley asked out of his letter of intent, the Hoosiers have zero incoming recruits promised for next season. Woodson will use the coming weeks to remake his rotation, IU’s focus now turning fully to next season.

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana basketball to decline NIT invite, focus on transfer portal