March Madness can be particularly cruel for mid-major college basketball teams.
This season, the University of Toledo men’s team won 25 games, finished second in the Mid-American Conference, and won the MAC West. But an early exit in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament at the hands of seventh-seeded Northern Illinois means thoughts of Toledo ending its nearly 40-year NCAA tournament drought are all but done.
All the goodwill that was built up during the regular season is overshadowed by a March disappointment.
But while Toledo saw its NCAA tournament hopes dashed, the Rockets and coach Tod Kowalczyk have latched their postseason aspirations onto a possible NIT bid.