Fading Away

After hot start, Men’s basketball begins slide
By Nigel Chiwaya
Chronicle Senior Writer

Well, no one ever said it would be easy.
Men’s basketball, the preseason favorite in the East Coast Conference, suffered a horrid three-game losing streak in late January-early Februrary, one that effectively ended the team’s chances of repeating as conference champion and seriously damaged their NCAA tournament hopes.
Prior to the losing streak, things were going along well for the Bears. NYIT had won six consecutive games and was sitting high in the standings. Even more impressive was how the team won, rallying from 14 down against Bridgeport and from 13 down to defeat Dowling.
When the team prepared to play conference rival CW Post on January 26th, the Bears were looking to make a statement. CW Post, ranked #14 in the country, sat two games ahead NYIT in the ECC standings. The Pioneers had defeated NYIT in a close contest earlier in the season, and a win against the Pioneers would go along way towards helping the Bears reach the NCAA tournament. The rematch was close, but CW Post would go on to defeat NYIT 84-79. Suddenly down three in the standings, the team needed to win against Adelphi. Instead they were blown out, 63-31. The team then followed that game with a nightmarish 108-75 loss to Holy Family.
The losses came a critical time for the Bears. The preliminary NCAA rankings were released on January 30th, and NYIT was placed 10th in the Northeast region. Only eight teams are selected to the NCAA tournament. Also working against NYIT is the perception that the team plays a weaker schedule. While the Bears have posted a 12-7 overall record, their entire schedule consists of teams from within the Northeast region, one of the weaker regions in Division II. Also, the Bears have not performed well against top opponents, losing twice to CW Post, and losing by 30 points to Bentley college, the top-ranked team in Division II. And while the team’s come-from-behind victories have made for entertaining basketball, they have not helped convince voters that NYIT is a dominant team.
This is not the way the Bears envisioned their season at the start of the year. The Bears entered the season looking to march forward after last year’s disappointing end. Last season, the Bears finished the year 20-9 and in first place in the conference. However the team was defeated by Adelphi in the second round of the conference tournament. Making matters worse, the team was left out of the NCAA tournament while Bridgeport, a division rival that the Bears defeated during the season, was sent to the big dance.
All is not lost for NYIT. Eight games remain for the Bears; plenty of time for them to earn a high seed in the conference tournament. However, if they want to reach March madness, they will need to win their conference championship; the odds of them getting selected for an at-large bid are slim.
Well, no one said it would be easy.