Northwestern is one of the five original 160 Division I teams that has never gone to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. While the Wildcats might have their best shot this season, what about the other four? (Records and RPI rankings, according to ESPN.com, are through Sunday’s games.)
Army
Record: 9-15, 3-9 Patriot League.
RPI: 272.
NCAA chances: The Black Knights’ only hope is to win the Patriot League tournament the first week of March. They’re in eighth place in the 10-team league, so they’ll be big underdogs.
Close call: In 1968, the Army team coached by Bobby Knight and led by junior Mike Krzyzewski was invited to the NCAA tournament, but Knight turned it down, choosing instead to play in the NIT, which was a bigger deal on the East Coast back then. Army lost in the first round.
The Citadel
Record: 9-16, 2-10 Southern Conference.
RPI: 281.
NCAA chances: The Bulldogs, currently tied for last in the Southern standings, will be a low seed in the conference tournament, so they’re a real long shot.
Close call: The closest the Bulldogs came was in 1959, when they lost to Jerry West-led West Virginia in the Southern title game. The coach of that team was Norm Sloan, who went on to coach North Carolina State and Florida.
St. Francis (N.Y.)
Record: 4-21, 2-10 Northeast Conference.
RPI: 347.
NCAA chances: The Brooklyn-based Terriers (not to be confused with St. Francis of Pennsylvania, which is in the same conference) are in last place in the 10-team NEC. Without a Cinderella run to the conference tournament title, their drought will continue.
Close call: St. Francis hasn’t played in any postseason tournament since the 1963 NIT. The Terriers reached the NEC final in 2015 but lost to Robert Morris 66-63.
William & Mary
Record: 13-10, 7-5 Colonial Athletic Association.
RPI: 103.
NCAA chances: The Tribe are in a three-way tie for third in the Colonial, three games behind co-leaders UNC Wilmington and Charleston.
Close call: William & Mary has lost nine conference tournament finals, most recently to Northeastern in 2015. "We’re crushed — crushed," coach Tony Shaver said after that game. "We’ll keep knocking on the door, and one of these times, it’s going to open."
tbannon@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @Timbannon
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
