Any serious Falcon men's basketball fan is familiar with the year 1968, as that is the last year BG appeared in the NCAA Tournament.
Coached by the legendary Bill Fitch, the 1967-68 club finished 18-7 (10-2 Mid-American Conference) and narrowly lost to Marquette in Kent during the first-round of the NCAA Tournament on New Year's Day.
The 1967-68 squad's defining win was an 85-76 victory against Toledo. They also won at Syracuse 87-81 and beat Virginia 76-72 in the Marshall Tournament. However, both schools were sub-.500 that season.
But most importantly, the Falcons won the MAC championship, which earned them an automatic bid the Big Dance.
Led by Walt Piatkowski's 27 points, the Falcons fought back from a 39-34 halftime deficit but were unable to stop George Thompson - who had a double-double with 33 points and 10 rebounds - and Marquette, which squeaked by with a 72-71 win.
Captain Al Hairston (18) and Carl Assenheimer (10) were the only other Falcons to score in double-digits. Al Dixon led the team with 10 rebounds.
And that was it.
The 1967-68 squad's defining win was an 85-76 victory against Toledo. They also won at Syracuse 87-81 and beat Virginia 76-72 in the Marshall Tournament. However, both schools were sub-.500 that season.
But most importantly, the Falcons won the MAC championship, which earned them an automatic bid the Big Dance.
Led by Walt Piatkowski's 27 points, the Falcons fought back from a 39-34 halftime deficit but were unable to stop George Thompson - who had a double-double with 33 points and 10 rebounds - and Marquette, which squeaked by with a 72-71 win.
Captain Al Hairston (18) and Carl Assenheimer (10) were the only other Falcons to score in double-digits. Al Dixon led the team with 10 rebounds.
And that was it.
In the 42 seasons that have passed, there have been many other great
wins, great players and great moments, but there
has not been another NCAA Tournament berth.
The Falcons won MAC championships in 1981, 1983, 1997, 2000 and 2009, but they were unable to win the MAC Tournament in any of those years, losing at various stages of the tournament each year.
*1981 - 79-72 loss to Northern Illinois in the quarterfinals
*1983 - 59-56 loss to Ohio in the championship game (in Anderson Arena)
*1997 - 73-64 loss to Eastern Michigan in the semifinals
*2000 - 58-56 overtime loss to Miami in the quarterfinals
*2009 - 63-55 loss to Akron in the semifinals
In addition, the Falcons lost two other MAC championship games - a 70-59 loss to Kent State in 2002 and an 85-70 loss to Toledo in 1980.
All those failures have placed Bowling Green on a rather dubious list of institutions.
BG is tied with Columbia for the fifth longest NCAA Tournament drought. Those schools are "bested" - or perhaps "worsted" would be a better word choice - by Tennessee Tech (1963), Yale (1962), Dartmouth (1959) and Harvard (1946). All of those streaks will also continue this year.
There are several other schools facing longer droughts (such as Wayne State and Tufts College), but they have since dropped below NCAA Division I and can no longer earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. And there are a handful schools who have been Division I since before 1968 and never made the tournament.
But no matter how you slice it, BG's drought is still pretty brutal.
So how does this happen? It's hard to say, as there are seemingly endless possibilities. I have spotlighted three of the prominent possibilities below.
Is it coaching?
The past four coaches for the Falcons have all had at least one opportunity to lead the Falcons to the NCAA Tournament with John Weinert being the only one to come close (in 1983). He also had chances in 1980 and 1981 but came up short. Jim Larranaga (1986-1997) finished his tenure as Falcons coach with a MAC title and three NIT appearances but no NCAA Tournament berths. He was followed by Dan Dakich (1997-2007), who couldn't get the Falcons over the hump either, despite a 24-9 record during the 2001-02 season and a MAC title in 1999-00. Current coach Louis Orr won a MAC title last season, but once again, the Falcons were unable to turn their No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament into a low seed in the NCAA Tournament. Has the University just not found the right guy to put the team over the top? It would seem so except that Larranaga had some major success with George Mason after he left the Falcons.
Is it because the Falcons are a mid-major?
While mid-majors are automatically at a disadvantage when trying to earn NCAA Tournament bids, at least one team from the MAC is represented in the Big Dance every season. Every team in the MAC - except Buffalo which did not rejoin Division I until the 1991-92 season - has made at least one NCAA Tournament since 1980. Can it be said that the Falcons' drought is strictly because they are at a deficit when it comes to earning a bid? I think not.
Is it because the Falcons have a tough time recruiting star players?
Recruiting probably has a little bit to do with the Falcons' struggles, but they still have
produced NBA players (Antonio Daniels, pictured, and Keith McLeod)
recently. During the past decade, the Falcons have been at best the
eighth choice of teams in the state (trailing behind Ohio State,
Xavier, Cincinnati, Dayton, Kent State, Akron and Miami). Ohio, Toledo
and Cleveland State are also viable schools for a recruit to choose.
Teams from the surrounding states also can draw Ohio players. Not to say that men's and women's basketball can be compared apples to
apples, but if BG's women's team can be so dominant in recruiting,
what's to say the men's side can find similar "under-the-radar" players?
While it is has been awhile since the Falcons got into the Big Dance, it is not something that is going to last forever. I can't imagine the Falcons becoming the Chicago Cubs of NCAA basketball.
Will they go next season? I doubt it.
Will they go the season after that (when Scott Thomas and Dee Brown are seniors)? It certainly seems like they will have a chance.
What do you think has kept the Falcons out of the NCAA Tournament for so long?
The Falcons won MAC championships in 1981, 1983, 1997, 2000 and 2009, but they were unable to win the MAC Tournament in any of those years, losing at various stages of the tournament each year.
*1981 - 79-72 loss to Northern Illinois in the quarterfinals
*1983 - 59-56 loss to Ohio in the championship game (in Anderson Arena)
*1997 - 73-64 loss to Eastern Michigan in the semifinals
*2000 - 58-56 overtime loss to Miami in the quarterfinals
*2009 - 63-55 loss to Akron in the semifinals
In addition, the Falcons lost two other MAC championship games - a 70-59 loss to Kent State in 2002 and an 85-70 loss to Toledo in 1980.
BG is tied with Columbia for the fifth longest NCAA Tournament drought. Those schools are "bested" - or perhaps "worsted" would be a better word choice - by Tennessee Tech (1963), Yale (1962), Dartmouth (1959) and Harvard (1946). All of those streaks will also continue this year.
There are several other schools facing longer droughts (such as Wayne State and Tufts College), but they have since dropped below NCAA Division I and can no longer earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. And there are a handful schools who have been Division I since before 1968 and never made the tournament.
But no matter how you slice it, BG's drought is still pretty brutal.
So how does this happen? It's hard to say, as there are seemingly endless possibilities. I have spotlighted three of the prominent possibilities below.
Is it coaching?
The past four coaches for the Falcons have all had at least one opportunity to lead the Falcons to the NCAA Tournament with John Weinert being the only one to come close (in 1983). He also had chances in 1980 and 1981 but came up short. Jim Larranaga (1986-1997) finished his tenure as Falcons coach with a MAC title and three NIT appearances but no NCAA Tournament berths. He was followed by Dan Dakich (1997-2007), who couldn't get the Falcons over the hump either, despite a 24-9 record during the 2001-02 season and a MAC title in 1999-00. Current coach Louis Orr won a MAC title last season, but once again, the Falcons were unable to turn their No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament into a low seed in the NCAA Tournament. Has the University just not found the right guy to put the team over the top? It would seem so except that Larranaga had some major success with George Mason after he left the Falcons.
Is it because the Falcons are a mid-major?
While mid-majors are automatically at a disadvantage when trying to earn NCAA Tournament bids, at least one team from the MAC is represented in the Big Dance every season. Every team in the MAC - except Buffalo which did not rejoin Division I until the 1991-92 season - has made at least one NCAA Tournament since 1980. Can it be said that the Falcons' drought is strictly because they are at a deficit when it comes to earning a bid? I think not.
Is it because the Falcons have a tough time recruiting star players?
Recruiting probably has a little bit to do with the Falcons' struggles, but they still have
While it is has been awhile since the Falcons got into the Big Dance, it is not something that is going to last forever. I can't imagine the Falcons becoming the Chicago Cubs of NCAA basketball.
Will they go next season? I doubt it.
Will they go the season after that (when Scott Thomas and Dee Brown are seniors)? It certainly seems like they will have a chance.
What do you think has kept the Falcons out of the NCAA Tournament for so long?
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