By Woodrow Carroll
For any respectable Division I men’s college basketball program, a postseason berth is usually there for the taking. Considering the men’s NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament, the NIT (National Invitation Tournament) and CBI (College Basketball Invitational) there are 116 slots. A total of 68 teams are needed for the NCAA men’s Tournament.
The NIT has 32 entrants, the CBI has 16 teams.
As for the CBI, the champion will be determined rather quickly. Five straight days of games will be played in Daytona Beach, Fla. with the champion crowned Wednesday of this week. There are no teams from the Big Ten Conference or Mid-American Conference in the CBI.
When the berths were passed out to postseason games, the Big Ten had to feel good with eight teams: Purdue, Northwestern, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Penn State, and Maryland in the NCAA tournament. There were more teams from the Big Ten, Michigan, Rutgers, and Wisconsin, in the NIT.
Maybe the burden of carrying the Big Ten’s banner was a bit much. The Sunday, March 19 games brought a close to the first week for Big Ten teams in ““both the NCAA and NIT. It was not a pretty picture for the Big Ten. Nine of the Big Ten teams failed to make the cut after the first week.
Only Michigan State in the NCAA tournament and Wisconsin in the NIT remained after last weekend’s games. The biggest downer for the Big Ten was No. 1 Purdue as an instant loser.
Fairleigh Dickinson turned No. 1 Purdue into one and done by knocking off the Boilermakers, 63-58, Friday, March 17. Purdue had finished three games in front in the Big Ten field at 15-5.
Need to know! Fairleigh Stanton Dickinson made a name for himself mass producing medical/surgical supplies. Becton Dickinson covered World War I and World War II.
Featured campus for the school is in Teaneck, N. J., although the school has multiple campuses, including one in Canada and one in England.
The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights are members of the nine-team Northeast Conference. The Knights lost to Merrimack, 67-66, in the Conference tournament championship game for the one tournament berth. The loss mattered little, because the Merrimack Warriors were not eligible for the NCAA Tournament based on their recent entry into the Northeast Conference.
So, here you have Fairleigh Dickinson. The basketball team makes it to the NCAA Tournament after losing the Conference championship game. Then, the Knights face Southwestern Conference victor Texas Southern (Houston). Texas Southern surprises three teams that finished in front in conference play to earn the conference berth. FDU beat Texas Southern, 84-61, which finished with a final record of 14-21 in a First Four game. Then the Knights stunned Purdue. FDU fell to Florida Atlantic, 78-70, to end the Knights’ season.
Of the 11 Big Ten schools which qualified for postseason play, only Wisconsin finished with a losing record in conference games. The Badgers were 9-11 in Big Ten games.
Victories over Bradley and Liberty in NIT play put Wisconsin in the Elite Eight of the tournament. A game at Oregon Tuesday this week will determine whether the Badgers are in NIT Final Four in Las Vegas, Nev..
Michigan State is the Big Ten’s lone survivor in NCAA men’s tournament. The Spartans, 21-12, were set to play Kansas State Thursday, March 23 for a berth in the Elite Eight.
The Big Ten Conference women’s teams in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen include Maryland, Iowa, and Ohio State.
Just think! The first three NCAA men’s tournament championship games each included a Big Ten team in the championship games.
Back in 1939, Ohio State lost to Oregon in the titular battle when Northwestern was the host. In 1940, Indiana captured the championship and the following season Wisconsin was the champion.