BYU Basketball misses NIT, will not play in postseason tournament

For the fist time since 2005, BYU will not be playing in a postseason tournament.

After missing the NIT, Athletic Director Tom Holmoe confirmed in a release that BYU will not be playing in any postseason tournament. “The primary focus of the BYU basketball programs is to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, or as a secondary option the NIT. With that in mind, we have determined that our men’s basketball team will not participate in the other postseason events this year.”

San Diego, the team that smashed BYU by 23 points in the WCC tournament, is the lone WCC representative in the NIT. Gonzaga and St Mary’s will represent the conference in the NCAA tournament.

BYU is now in the midst of a four-year NCAA tournament drought, the program’s second longest since the 1970’s; BYU missed five straight tourneys from 1996-2000. This is also the first season that Dave Rose will not finish with at least 20 wins.

The biggest offseason question surrounding next year’s team is if junior forward Yoeli Childs will return for his senior year. Childs tested the NBA draft waters last year before electing to come back to school.

On a more macro level, many will wonder if Dave Rose and his assistants will be back again next season. It’s difficult to see Rose ever being fired, but he may decide to retire and call it a career. If he does decide to stick around, BYU should pursue a quality assistant coach with experience outside of BYU.