The Group of Five

It's not good to be known for futility.  Just ask the Chicago Cubs.  Everyone knows that it's been 106 years and counting since they've won the World Series, just like it was 86 years between wins for the Red Sox from 1918-2004.  Anyway, my point here is that there might be something to this so-called "Group of Five," the five teams that have been Division I members during the entire existence of the NCAA Tournament, but have never played in it.  The Cubs are cursed, the Red Sox were, and I'm starting to think these five men's basketball programs are, too.

In the past two days, two members of the "Group of Five" had a chance to end their tournament droughts.  St. Francis Brooklyn and William & Mary were both in their conference tournament finals.  And they both lost.  I'm not sure which one it's more painful for, either.  St. Francis was the best team in the Northeast Conference all season, was the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, and played the championship game on its home court.  William & Mary, meanwhile, is getting agonizingly close.  This was the fourth time in eight years that they've lost the CAA championship game.

Both the Terriers and Tribe look like they're on the verge of finally breaking through.  Then they'll no longer be members of an exclusive club that nobody wants to be in.  And who knows, maybe that would start rewriting their histories.  After all, before Harvard won four straight Ivy League titles, the Crimson hadn't been to the Tournament since 1946!  And Cornell before them had their own long Tournament drought.  (Yale was on the verge of clinching its first Ivy title since 1962 on Saturday night, but lost to Dartmouth and now must face Harvard in a one-game playoff.)

But for now, St. Francis Brooklyn and William & Mary will have to endure another year of waiting for that first Tourney berth.  Just like the other three members of the "Group of Five," who are nowhere near as close to the Tournament as St. Francis Brooklyn and William & Mary.

Each of the five teams has its own unique story.  Let's start with the most compelling of the five--Northwestern.  Northwestern is the only BCS-member school that has never been in the Tournament.  It's crazy to think that a team playing in the Big Ten, a conference that gets multiple berths every year, has never been to the Tournament.  There was a little while not that long ago when the Wildcats were getting painfully close to finally ending their drought.  They made four straight NIT appearances from 2009-12, including a trip to the quarterfinals in 2011 when most people agree they were one of the last teams out (if not the last).

The craziest thing about Northwestern is that they were really good before the NCAA Tournament existed.  They were declared National Champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation in 1931, then won another conference title in 1933.  Northwestern even hosted the first NCAA Championship Game in 1939, as well as the 1956 Final Four.  The National Champion has been crowned on their home floor twice, but they've never actually played for it themselves in the Tournament's 76-year history.

Then there's Army, which has never even really come close to being in the Tournament.  It's almost hard to believe that Army has historically struggled.  It is, after all, where both Bobby Knight and Mike Krzyzewski began their coaching careers.  But they haven't even been to the NIT since 1978, and four of their eight NIT appearances all-time came under Knight, who was head coach at Army from 1965-66 to 1970-71 before leaving for Indiana.

When I was trying to come up with the "Group of Five," Army was the one I couldn't think of.  That's partly because of how successful the Army women's team has been in recent seasons.  They went to the NCAA Tournament in 2006 under Maggie Dixon, who tragically passed away the following summer.  Dave Magarity took over for Dixon and has continued that success, leading Army to another Patriot League title last season.

"Group of Five" member No. 3 is The Citadel, who's perhaps the most hapless of the bunch.  Their only conference championship was in 1926-27 and they've only won 20 games in a season twice.  The Citadel has been to the postseason just once, which came fairly recently thanks to the existence of the extra postseason tournaments that have been created for mid-majors in recent years.  It was 2009, when they lost in the first round of the CIT.

As for St. Francis Brooklyn, this year marked the third time since 2001 that they've lost in the NEC final.  But alas, they're 0-3 in those games and are still yet to play in an NCAA Tournament game.  At least they're guaranteed an NIT bid, which will be their first since 1963.  (St. Francis actually finished fourth in the NIT in 1956 and won the 1951 National Catholic Championship.)

Founded in 1693, William & Mary is the second-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States (only Harvard is older).  Yet they're one of the five.  They've come the closest to turning the "Group of Five" into a "Group of Four," and if I had to pick one to end its drought, it would probably be the Tribe.  With its loss to Northeastern in the CAA championship game, William & Mary is now 0-9 when a win would've clinched an NCAA berth.  Last year was perhaps the most agonizing, when they lost 75-74 to Delaware.  Like St. Francis Brooklyn, William & Mary is definitely headed to the NIT as a regular season conference champion.

Eventually the "Group of Five" will no longer be a "Group of Five."  But, as strange as it sounds, this is each of their claim to fame.  Until they finally get there, Army, Citadel, Northwestern, St. Francis and William & Mary will be known as a member of that small group of original Division I teams that's never been to the Dance.  And when they finally do get there, what a story it'll be!