Northwestern University Athletics
Men's Basketball Is Out of NIT
3/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 10, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - In a development that surprised many, the Northwestern men's basketball team was not included in the field that makes up this year's National Invitational Tournament (NIT). The pairings were announced Sunday night.
It marks the first time since 1984 a Big Ten team has ended the regular season with a winning record and did not play in the postseason. That year, Michigan State (15-13, 8-10 Big Ten) and Minnesota (15-13, 6-12 Big Ten) stayed home despite overall winning marks. Since then, 125 Big Ten teams have enjoyed winning marks through the regular season and gone on to either NCAA or NIT play. Additionally, during that span three of four Big Ten teams with .500 marks at the end of the regular season also got NIT invitations. That fact coincides with the expansion of the NCAA Tournament to 64 teams, which took place in 1985.
"We're disappointed that we did not receive an invitation to this year's NIT," said Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody. "The benchmark in this league for a bid has traditionally been an overall record of .500 or better, which we have--in fact, we fell just short of an even mark in a very balanced Big Ten. I think those facts made our case a good one."
"We were looking forward to playing this week," he continued. "I feel bad for our guys, especially our seniors, Collier and Tavaras. We came a long way this year, and to have it end the way it did is unfortunate."
Northwestern finished with a 16-13 record overall and a 7-9 mark in Big Ten play. Included on that ledger were wins over two NCAA Tournament teams (Michigan State, Wisconsin) and three teams that received NIT invitations (La.-Lafayette, Iowa, Minnesota). The Wildcats ended the season with four straight losses, however, including a 72-51 decision to a Michigan team that finished 11-18 overall in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday afternoon.
