In a season in which a team underperforms, it doesn’t matter if Gregg Popovich, Phil Jackson or even John McDougal is the head coach, partial blame always gets placed on the team’s leader and decision-maker.

The NIU men’s basketball team underperformed this season, especially once it entered Mid-American Conference play. In a season that began with the team going 12-6 in its first 18 games, the team has gone 3-10 to end the regular season and have a 15-16 overall record and 7-11 in conference, good enough for the ninth seed in the MAC Tournament in which they lost to Eastern Michigan University 72-69 Monday, which exemplified the disappointing season.

It was almost a storybook ending that perfectly concluded the sad tale of the season. The Huskies were trying to come back in the second half but did not have the offensive firepower or the on-court chemistry to do it.

After having a chance to tie it in the final possession, senior center Marin Maric missed two free throws that eventually led to the Huskies losing the game.

It was sad to see Maric end his college basketball career in such a way, but it was not so sad to see the season end for this team. There has to be a reason why this team fell off in the second half of the season because everything happens for a reason. Even though the team is surrounded by good stories such as the breakout play of freshman guard Eugene German, or the fact that redshirt senior guard Dontel Highsmith is even on the floor at all, these kinds of things do not matter in the long run.

Good stories are great, but eventually their play must matter. Highsmith played 30 scoreless minutes Monday and committed five turnovers while German went 4-for-13 and looked lost for most of the night.

Nevertheless, it is interesting that Montgomery never seemed to find a lineup that worked for him for the entirety of the season. He tried to bring in German and sophomore forward Levi Bradley into the starting lineup while benching one of the team’s more talented players, junior forward Jaylen Key.

Maybe there’s a disconnect in the locker room or some dysfunction after the departure of Marshawn Wilson on Feb. 14, as the team went 1-6 after the release, or maybe this is just a team that has had enough of the tough, hard-nose attitude from the man at the helm.

Head Coach Mark Montgomery did change the program overnight — that part is clear. However, it does seem unsettling that the team played such an average brand of basketball after going 21-13 and 18-1 at home a season ago.

The location of the game has not mattered as the team has gone 9-8 at home and 6-7 on the road this season. Maybe it’s not the coach; maybe it’s that the team has talented players who are not playing at the level they are capable of.

Other than the play of German and the occasional crowd-igniting play of senior center Marin Maric, this team has not been exciting to watch.

“It was fun that we’re all on the same page with one another and that our team chemistry was great all year,” Montgomery said. “It was fun, and it was a fun group to coach.”

As fun as it may be, coaches are sent packing all the time for the sole reason of a poor record, and this team’s record indicates that his seat may be hotter than people might think.