Why no NCAA appearances before 1986?

CheeseHusker

CheeseHusker

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I know the fields were certainly smaller at one point. But I look at the records of Husker teams before them, and in most cases they are more or less in the same ballpark of mediocrity.

But Nebraska went 22-8 in 1977-78 and was even ranked in the AP top 20 for a few weeks, but they did not make it in.

The first Nebraska basketball memory that I have is watching us beat Missouri one night when they were #1.... it was either that year or the next that I remember making it to the final four of the NIT before losing to DePaul. I remember Dave Hoppen and Stan Cloudy.... you don't forget names like that, even when you are six years old.

In retrospect, that was the best Husker team I remember outside of the early 90s run, but it surprises me somewhat that they weren't good enough to get it. Maybe I have a myopic view of that squad in retrospect.

Was it simply a matter of win your conference or you miss out? It's hard for me to imagine these Husker teams all getting left out of a 64-team bracket today.

 
From 1975 to 1978 only 32 teams played which would pretty much be only conference winners and maybe a few 2nd place teams. In 1979 it went to 40 teams and in 1980 it went to 48. Few if any conferences were playing season ending tournaments back then. Most of the years you mentioned, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, plus K St and Okla St to some degree, were national powers so even though we had good records and an occasional upset we rarely were higher than 3rd or 4th in the conference.

 
Before 1975 only one team per conference made the tournament. NU had som really good teams but KU or MU were just generally a bit better any given year. Nebraska once beat a KU team led by Wilt Chamberlain and still missed the tournament under the old rules.

 
CheeseHusker said:
I know the fields were certainly smaller at one point. But I look at the records of Husker teams before them, and in most cases they are more or less in the same ballpark of mediocrity.

But Nebraska went 22-8 in 1977-78 and was even ranked in the AP top 20 for a few weeks, but they did not make it in.

The first Nebraska basketball memory that I have is watching us beat Missouri one night when they were #1.... it was either that year or the next that I remember making it to the final four of the NIT before losing to DePaul. I remember Dave Hoppen and Stan Cloudy.... you don't forget names like that, even when you are six years old.

In retrospect, that was the best Husker team I remember outside of the early 90s run, but it surprises me somewhat that they weren't good enough to get it. Maybe I have a myopic view of that squad in retrospect.

Was it simply a matter of win your conference or you miss out? It's hard for me to imagine these Husker teams all getting left out of a 64-team bracket today.
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When we beat Missouri, Pavelka was litterally scared he would get beaten up by the Mizzou students behind him while broadcasting. I believe that was also the time Mizzou's star center was in a controversy over shooting himself with a gun and the reporting was less than forthcoming. (Stepo or Steponovich.....spelling?)

Also, remember that at one time the NIT was considered THEE best national tournament............

 
Comish said:
Also, remember that at one time the NIT was considered THEE best national tournament............
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We never made the NIT during those years though. But the NIT was a bigger tourney than it is today, back when there were fewer teams in the NCAA tourney and especially when only conference champions got in.

 
Yep, I assumed the smaller fields were probably a big reason why. I was also surprised to see there was no Big 8 tournament until 1977. So that may have presented us with a few more cracks at an automatic bid.

I think it's probably not a stretch to guess that we probably make it in '78 and '83 with today's field size.

 
Sad that only the conf champs got in, in the 60's at least that's the way I remember things going. Kansas was always going. I think we could have made a big run with Tom B and Stu L, and we still wouldn't be waiting for our first tourney win. Those were still probably the best teams, we have had in the last 50+ years .Looks like that might start to change now.

GBR!!!

 
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