Since going to an all-college schedule in the 1970s, every Hawaii men’s basketball team to reach 20 victories participated in some form of postseason.
Every one, that is, until now.
The 2013-14 UH hoops season officially came to an end on Selection Sunday with no berth awarded in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, the last possibility that the Rainbow Warriors (20-11) would keep playing games through March.
Thus, Thursday’s stunning quarterfinals exit in the Big West tournament, 87-84 in overtime to Cal State Northridge, will be the last image of the Christian Standhardinger-Brandon Spearman-Davis Rozitis ‘Bows. Fourth-seeded UH led fifth-seeded Northridge with just seconds to play in both regulation and overtime but, in gut-wrenching fashion, was unable to hold both times.
"It was a great season for the Rainbow Warriors basketball team," athletic director Ben Jay said. "We’re already excited for next basketball season to begin."
UH coach Gib Arnold declined comment Sunday.
The Big West has regularly been a one-bid league to the NCAA Tournament, and UH’s strength of schedule (218) and RPI (162) did not merit NIT consideration. The 32-team CIT did not extend an invitation for UH to play as a road team, something Jay said was necessary to defray costs in the pay-to-play event; unlike last season, UH was unable or unwilling to put up the $30,000-plus fee teams must pay the CIT per home game.
The only other postseason event in Division I college basketball, the 16-team CBI, is even more expensive than the CIT.
The only Big West schools to attain postseason were unlikely Big West tournament champion Cal Poly and regular-season champion UC Irvine, which was assured a berth in the NIT if it lost during the conference tourney.
All seven previous UH teams to win 20 or more since 1970 advanced to either the NCAAs or NIT, with the last coming in 2003-04.
While the fate of the UH men was decided Sunday, the Rainbow Wahine basketball team remains alive for a postseason berth in the WNIT. UH lost in the Big West semifinals 66-52 to Cal Poly on Friday.
The 64-team WNIT will announce its field Monday night once the NCAA women’s selection show is complete.
"I’ll be really shocked if we’re not (in), just based on our RPI," coach Laura Beeman said. "I would love to host a game, but I really don’t know yet."
UH’s RPI is a competitive 109 out of 349 Division I teams and its strength of schedule is 101 per RealtimeRPI.com.
UH had an identical record last season at 17-13 and similar schedule strength when it earned its first WNIT berth in a decade and was sent to play at the University of San Diego. The Wahine lost that first-round matchup 61-49.
