The bubble burst for the Oregon men’s basketball team.
The NIT bubble, that is.
The Ducks were shut out of the NIT Sunday night, meaning Oregon’s season ended Saturday night with its 69-60 victory over Oregon State.
The Ducks had given up hope for a trip to the NCAA Tournament a long time ago, but became eligible for the NIT with the win over the Beavers Saturday.
When all five teams ahead of Oregon in the Pacific-10 Conference standings were given bids to March Madness, it looked like the Ducks were a lock to play in the NIT. It would have been Oregon’s third straight trip to the postseason.
But the Ducks weren’t tapped by the NIT selection committee Sunday night, meaning the tournament will not feature a Pac-10 team. No other conference team was eligible for the NIT.
Oregon’s players and coaches were unavailable for comment Sunday, but were confident that an NIT berth was in the cards after Saturday night’s victory.
“I would welcome the opportunity to represent the Pac-10 in [the NIT],” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “We’re definitely a good enough team.”
“Hopefully [the Civil War win] will give us a chance to play some more,” Ducks forward Bryan Bracey said. “I think we can get it going again.”
Had they been selected, Oregon would have had the worst record of all the teams in the NIT field at 14-14. South Carolina (15-14) was selected, as were Seton Hall (16-14) and Pittsburgh (18-13).
The Big East, which had five teams selected for the NCAA Tournament, sent six more to the NIT. Of the major conferences, the Pac-10 joined only the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 12 Conference in not sending a representative to the NIT.
Saturday night, the Ducks were still oblivious of the fact that they would be spending March on their couches.
“We’re hopeful right now,” Oregon guard Freddie Jones said Saturday night. “Hopeful that we’ll see another day.”
Now, the Ducks know they will not see another basketball game until the 2001-02 preseason.