How has Toledo's persistent March nightmare spanned four decades?

The Toledo Rockets were soaring high in 1980.

They advanced to the Sweet 16 the year before and had just suffered a gut-wrenching first-round exit to Florida State. Coach Bob Nichols had momentum, portending a thriving future.

“I was thinking, ‘OK, this is a school that goes to the NCAA tournament,’” Ken Epperson said.

From 1981 to 1985, the 6-foot-8 Epperson would score 2,016 points, more than any other player in school history. None came during an NCAA tournament game.

The Rockets have not returned to March Madness since that 1980 dalliance, before March Madness was even a colloquial term. The 41-year streak is the ninth-longest active drought and a constant subject of mystery in northwest…