Shortly after NIU’s first-round exit from the 2023 Mid-American Conference Tournament at the hands of second-seeded Kent State University, head coach Rashon Burno vowed that he and the Huskies would return to the postseason.
“We’re determined that this is not a one-off, and we’ll be back here,” Burno said during a postgame press conference inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. “As long as I’m the head coach, we’re going to be back here. We’re going to be fighting for MAC championships because that’s the standard.”
In the nearly two years since that loss, the Huskies haven’t come anywhere close to meeting that standard.
They regressed to the second-worst team in the MAC last season, finishing 11-20 overall and 5-13 in league play. This season, NIU has further devolved into one of the worst teams in college basketball.
Following yet another setback against Western Michigan University on Saturday, the Huskies are 1-15 against the MAC and have suffered 10 straight losses – the fifth-longest active losing streak in the country. They’re guaranteed a last-place finish in the conference and are ranked 355th of 364 teams in the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool – aka the NET – rankings.
In all fairness, luck hasn’t exactly been on NIU’s side this season. According to KenPom, the Huskies have the fourth-worst luck rating in Division I at -.117. Still, it’s been 15 months since NIU was 5-1 and leading Big Ten Conference foe Northwestern University at halftime. How does a program that once had so much promise fall to these depths?
There’s no single reason to blame for the Huskies’ continued decline in recent years. NIU has struggled to retain the talent it recruits, has lacked consistency and seems to be perpetually bitten by the injury bug. While Burno isn’t entirely at fault for the team’s woes, it’s apparent that the Billy Donovan disciple isn’t the savior that will restore this program’s reputation, and the time for change is now.
NEW SEASONS, NEW PLAYERS, SAME ISSUES
Perhaps the biggest issue that has plagued NIU throughout the Burno era has been its inability to put together a complete game. Sometimes, it’ll be a first-half stumble that forces the Huskies to play the chaser for 35-plus minutes. Other times, it’ll be a second-half collapse that allows the opponent to come back and take control in the final stretch.
Whatever the mishap may be, the outcome is usually another heartbreaking loss. And with each loss, Burno and players routinely point out the obvious – that they didn’t play the full 40 minutes – but fail to provide a satisfying explanation for the constant discrepancies between halves.
The inconsistency isn’t just on the court, but also on the lineup card. In Burno’s four seasons at the helm, NIU has rostered stars like David Coit and Keshawn Williams, reliable veterans like Trendon Hankerson, Anthony Crump and Kaleb Thornon and young talent like Xavier Amos and Will Lovings-Watts.
Despite that collection of talent at his disposal – not enough to be a threat in March, sure – Burno has achieved very little: zero winning seasons, one forgettable MAC Tournament appearance and a 38-76 record that speaks for itself.
In Burno’s defense, those players were seldom healthy at the same time. Year in and year out, the Huskies have been ravaged by injuries to key contributors – almost as if the team lives by Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
In 2022-23, Williams suffered a season-ending ACL tear. Last season, Coit, Zarique Nutter and Yanic Konan Niederhauser each missed multiple games. This season, it was Ethan Butler, Nasir Muhammad and Joe Munden Jr.
However, it’s difficult to pin all the blame for NIU’s current situation on injuries. The staggering number of standout players lost to the transfer portal has taken its own toll on the program. This past offseason, the Huskies saw 78% of their scoring from the season prior leave for new schools, which required Burno to find a new starting cast in only a few months time.
But even after that roster revamp, the Huskies have the same issues today as they did before, Burno being the common denominator.
WHY IT (PROBABLY) WON’T HAPPEN
It’s now been established why Burno isn’t the man to lead NIU into the future. But will he actually get his walking papers this offseason?
If I’m being honest, it’s unlikely. If there’s one thing I know about athletic director Sean Frazier, it’s that he likes giving his coaches long leashes.
For instance, former women’s soccer head coach Julie Colhoff recorded just five wins in her first three seasons before being shown the door after her fourth season in 2021. Nearly a year-and-a-half later, baseball head coach Mike Kunigonis was relieved of his duties, but not before posting three straight seasons of 35-plus losses.
So, assuming Burno returns for Year 5, where does the program go from here? If recent trends are any indicator, it’s nowhere pretty.
