Nebrasketball: A Brief History of Tourney Time

Tim Miles and his team have a chance to make school history if they can pull off the upset against Baylor. 11-seeded Nebraska has made 6 previous trips to the NCAA tourney (1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998), but have yet to see success. They join Northwestern as the only BCS conference school to never win a tournament game.

The most recent trip in 1998 saw another 11-seeded Huskers team lose to Arkansas by 9. All but one of Nebraska's tournament appearances were led by head coach Danny Nee who took over the program in 1986. Nee led his 1991 team to a 3 seed after finishing third in the Big 8 that year. Unfortunately, Nebraska had to face a strong 14 seed in Xavier and the Musketeers upset Nee's team 89-84.

The second-highest seed ever accomplished by Nebraska came in 1994 after winning the inaugural Big 8 tournament. Those Huskers were rewarded with a 6 seed, but lost 90-80 to 11 seed Penn. The first ever NCAA appearance was led by coach Moe Iba, his 1986 team was awarded a 9 seed and lost to 8 seeded Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky. Nee took over in that offseason, and Iba would go on to coach TCU.

This year's Nebrasketball team might want to take their inspiration from the 1996 team that won the NIT. Featuring future NBA pick Tyronn Lue, the 1996 Cornhuskers were able to make a run to the finals and defeat St. Joe's 60-56 in Madison Square Garden. Nebraska has only seen disappointment in the tournament in their history, but Miles' team has an opportunity to change that on Friday.