It sounds like Bill Moos has made up his mind. Friday evening, just 45 minutes after Nebraska wrapped up its trip to the B1G Tournament following a 66-62 loss to Wisconsin, athletic director Bill Moos issued a statement regarding the future of head coach Tim Miles. In reality, all the AD did was make an announcement about an upcoming announcement. “We will await Sunday’s announcement to see if we receive an invitation to participate in the NIT,” Moos wrote in a statement. “Once our season is completed, my evaluation of our men’s basketball program will draw to a close.” On paper, it seems like Moos will evaluate the situation once the basketball season officially ends. Reading between the lines, Moos is saying he doesn’t want to cause any distractions or disruptions for the players or staff, should the Huskers earn a bid to the NIT. In other words, Miles’ tenure in Lincoln is just about over. And it even seems like the head coach himself knows the clock is ticking. “I’ve accepted the fact I’ve ran my race,” Miles said after the game. Moos has made his decision and Miles understands his fate. And, honestly, it’s a damn shame that this is the way it’s going to end, especially considering all that Nebraska did over the last three days in the B1G Tournament. The Huskers made the trip to Chicago with six scholarship players and using a seven-man rotation. They were outmanned and outmatched in all three games, including the Round 1 bout against Rutgers. Somehow, Nebraska found a way. For three days, they kept fighting and fighting and fighting. Nebraska found ways to beat Rutgers and Maryland and nearly continued its Cinderella run against Wisconsin on Friday. But exhaustion set in and the Huskers didn’t have enough in the tank to become the first 13 seed in B1G Tournament history to reach the semifinal round. Moos attended Nebraska’s first game on Wednesday, but where was he after that? While Miles was coaching for his job and players were fighting like hell to keep their season alive? He was in Berkeley, California, preparing to watch his son’s spring game at Cal. That spring game, by the way, wasn’t until Saturday. Regardless of what the relationship is between Moos and Miles, the last week has been pretty unfair for Miles. Moos has shown no interest in the basketball program or giving his head coach an honest chance to prove himself. But if Moos wants to do what’s best for the “Nebrasketball” brand, he might want to reconsider letting Miles go. Nebraska fans might want that too, even if the last seven years have been frustrating. Say what you will about Miles’ run in Lincoln, but it’s not all that different from the rest of Nebraska’s basketball history. The Huskers have tallied three winning seasons, reached the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and played in the NIT last season. They’ll likely earn a spot in this year’s NIT, as well. Miles’ predecessors didn’t really do much better. There were three postseason appearances under Doc Sadler, all of which were in the NIT. Barry Collier also guided the Huskers to two NIT appearances, with no NCAA Tournament trips. Since Nebraska started playing basketball in 1896, only Danny Nee has taken the Huskers to the NCAA Tournament multiple times. Nebraska isn’t a basketball powerhouse. It never has been and it never will be. The soil in the Cornhusker State isn’t sprouting many four- and five-star prospects these days. Basically, when it comes to basketball at Nebraska, you do the best with what you’ve got. Whether you want to believe it or not, Miles has done pretty well in Lincoln. A 115-113 record isn’t exactly Hall of Fame worthy, but he’s developed a competitive program in the B1G, arguably the best conference in college basketball. That’s not easy. Miles has done it the right way, too. In a world that has run rampant with scandals that have led to suspensions, ineligibility and NCAA sanctions, Nebraska has come out clean. Considering the pressure to win — and win big — in today’s sports society, that can’t be ignored. And then there’s this interesting little bit, and this is where Huskers fans might want to petition to keep Miles around for a little longer. Moos has a strong loyalty to longtime basketball coach Ernie Kent. Moos hired Kent to be the head coach at Oregon before the 1997-98 season. After a decent run with the Ducks, Moos then hired Kent to take over the program at Washington State. Kent has a lifetime coaching record of 383-351 and was fired by WSU after a 58-98 record in five seasons in Pullman. Obviously there’s no guarantee that Moos would bring old ties to Lincoln, but with Kent back on the open market — and an unusual loyalty — it’s entirely possible the 64-year-old gets a chance at Nebraska. But back to Miles. Back to the guy who lit a fire under his team for the last three days, getting every ounce of effort out of every player until they couldn’t give any more. Back to the guy who drew up the defensive game-plans that shut down All-B1G selections Bruno Fernando and Ethan Happ in back-to-back games, combining for a total of seven points. Back to the guy who turned everyone in Chicago into a Husker fan for the last three days. That guy deserves the opportunity to continue to coach at Nebraska. At the very least, he deserves to be seriously evaluated with a chance to retain his job. Miles proved himself this week in Chicago. It’s too bad the athletic director didn’t have enough respect for him to even show up.<doc-sep>Decisions about the future of the Nebraska basketball program will wait a few days, according to athletic director Bill Moos. Moos released a statement about an hour after Nebraska's loss to Wisconsin on Friday. “We will await Sunday’s announcement to see if we receive an invitation to participate in the NIT," Moos said in a statement. "Once our season is completed, my evaluation of our men’s basketball program will draw to a close." Nebraska finished the season 18-16 and played tough down the stretch winning three of its last four games. Nebraska played tough despite only having six scholarship players available. The Huskers used only six players in the loss to Wisconsin on Friday.<doc-sep>The Nebraska basketball season has been one wild ride. That ride got a little bit wilder just minutes after the Huskers lost to Wisconsin in the Big 10 Tournament's quarterfinal round. As head coach Tim Miles was giving his post-game press conference, he was informed of something to pass along to the media. Athletic Director Bill Moos would be issuing a statement and Miles said he didn't know what it would be. About 40 minutes later, Moos did indeed release the statement. What many people thought would either be an announcement saying Miles had been retained or fired, was instead a message that Husker nation was going to have to wait a little longer to find out the coach's fate. Bill Moos' statement gives no one relief “We will await Sunday’s announcement to see if we receive an invitation to participate in the NIT. Once our season is completed, my evaluation of our men’s basketball program will draw to a close.” That was the entirety of the Cornhuskers' AD's statement. For Husker fans who were hoping to find out if the program was going to stay the course, or move in a different direction, it was anti-climactic. Considering that the team's head coach appears to be in the dark as well, it was more than a little cruel. There were more than a few people who also thought the way the athletic director, who has come under fire in recent months, handled the situation was just not a particularly smart way to go about handling a coach who has been on the hot seat for a while now. Nebraska basketball not getting rave reviews I don't understand Bill Moos' statement. Is he saying he wants to see whether Nebraska gets invited to the NIT or the NCAA? Either way he has handled this horribly. Couldn't even bother going to the Big Ten tourney. Tim Miles and his players deserve better. — Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 15, 2019 National basketball analyst Seth Davis was one of the members of the media who didn't understand the approach Bill Moos took. "I don't understand Bill Moos' statement. Is he saying he wants to see whether Nebraska gets invited to the NIT or the NCAA? Either way, he has handled this horribly. Couldn't even bother going to the Big Ten tourney. Tim Miles and his players deserve better." Davis said on Twitter. He added that if the AD is waiting to see if the Huskers make the tournament, it's one of the dumbest things he's ever heard. Nobody should need to hear what the NIT thinks before evaluating a coach who has been at the same school seven years. That's asinine. What a strange/dumb way to handle this situation. I’d release no statement before I released that statement. https://t.co/3Q7uHY9Q5A — Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) March 15, 2019 CBS basketball analyst Gary Parrish had similar hard words for Moos. "Nobody should need to hear what the NIT thinks before evaluating a coach who has been at the same school seven years. That's asinine. What a strange/dumb way to handle this situation." Parrish added that he would have released no statement at all before he released that particular statement on Nebraska basketball. The fallout from Friday, which was the end of a week where the Cornhuskers captured the attention of America might go on for quite a while. That's especially true if the Huskers' season continues on past Sunday in the NIT tournament.<doc-sep>CHICAGO — Tim Miles walked into his postgame news conference after Nebraska's loss to Wisconsin at the Big Ten Tournament and delivered a quote that sums up Husker hoops the past few seasons almost too perfectly. "I know Bill's gonna make a statement in about 45 minutes. I don't know what it is," Miles said in reference to his job status and what Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos planned to do. "I'm sure it's going to say he's just going to wait and see with postseason or whatever." That's the head coach of the men's basketball program, with his job hanging in the balance, not fully knowing what a statement from his athletic director would say while the AD was in California. Does it get more Nebrasketball than that? Turns out the statement from the university was rather innocuous. About a half-hour later, the Nebraska athletic department sent an email that essentially said there would be another statement at a later date. “We will await Sunday’s announcement to see if we receive an invitation to participate in the NIT," Moos said in the statement. "Once our season is completed, my evaluation of our men’s basketball program will draw to a close.”<doc-sep>
Nebraska’s hopes for a Cinderella run to a Big Ten title fell a few days short. After two wins to open the Big Ten Tournament, the Huskers fell in a highly competitive game to Wisconsin today. Nebraska had that quarterfinal game against the fourth-seeded Badgers within two points in the final minute. Ultimately the 13 seed fell 66-62. A few more wins might have helped cool Tim Miles’ extremely hot seat. The two-game run was nice, but he is going to sweat things out for a few more days, at least. Shortly after today’s game, Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos released a statement on Tim Miles and the program. Based on the statement, Moos plans on waiting to see if Nebraska makes the NIT, and will go from there. The Huskers currently hold an 18-16 record on the year. It is unclear what impact a strong NIT run would have for the veteran coach. Via KLKN-TV: “We will await Sunday’s announcement to see if we receive an invitation to participate in the NIT,” Moos said in the statement. “Once our season is completed, my evaluation of our men’s basketball program will draw to a close.” Miles took over the Huskers in 2012, and has had mixed success in Lincoln. In 2013-14, he led the team to its first NCAA Tournament since 1998. He went 11-7 and finished 4th in the Big Ten that season. The team has not returned to the Big Dance, though Nebraska went 22-11 in 2017-18, finishing in a tie for fourth play in the conference at 13-5, and making the NIT. Overall, Miles is 115-113 at Nebraska, with a 52-76 Big Ten record. [KLKN-TV]