IU men’s basketball to decline invitation to NIT

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — The Indiana University men’s basketball team’s season has come to an end.

The Hoosiers lost in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal round Friday night, falling 93-66 to Nebraska.

The defeat ended any hope the Hoosiers had of making the NCAA Tournament.

News 8 Sports’ Andrew Chernoff has learned that the Hoosiers will also be declining any invitation they may receive to the National Invitation Tournament. Chernoff received confirmation of the decision from a member of the Indiana University Athletics Department.

“Every loss is frustrating because you go in the game with the game plan and you try to get your team to play at a high level,” said IU head coach Mike Woodson after Friday’s loss. “I know when they do, we’re a pretty good basketball team, and we’re very competitive. Tonight, they were a step ahead of everything that we wanted to do, and you’ve got to give them credit. We’ve just got a lot of work to do this summer to get back and get our team back on top.”

The Hoosiers finished the season with a 19-14 overall record. It’s the first time in the Woodson era that they will not be in the NCAA Tournament.

“The bottom line is we’ve got to get better,” Woodson said. “From a talent standpoint, this summer will be spent watching a lot of film on players because we’re going to lose some players, I’m sure, and we’re going to have to build around the core guys that are coming back. We’ve just got a lot of work to do this summer to get better. I don’t want to sit here this time next year and not be playing in the tournament.”

Sophomore center Kel’el Ware finished the year as IU’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 15.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.