Five members of the Northwestern men’s basketball team sat in their apartment Sunday night waiting for a phone call from coach Bill Carmody.

The call was supposed to announce the Wildcats’ bid to the National Invitation Tournament for just the fourth time in school history.

But when Carmody called, the news wasn’t good.

“Every time the phone rang, we jumped up to see who was calling,” NU senior Tavaras Hardy said after learning of the Cats’ snub. “We just weren’t expecting this to happen. I was stunned. My first thought was that my career was over. I didn’t expect it to be this early.”

Hardy said he and the rest of the Cats had assumed they had a spot in the NIT when they ended the season with a winning record of 16-13.

Before Sunday, every Big Ten team since 1985 to finish the season with a winning record has advanced to the postseason.

“We’re disappointed that we did not receive an invitation to this year’s NIT,” Carmody said in a statement. “The benchmark in this league for a bid has traditionally been an overall record of .500 or better, which we have. … I think those facts made our case a good one.”

The Cats have made the NIT three times, in 1983, 1994 and 1999. But this year, NU lost its last three regular-season games and fell to No. 10 seed Michigan in the first round of the Big Ten tournament in a 72-51 rout.

“I’m disappointed that we came out and played as bad as we did,” Hardy said. “We were looking forward to this tournament to show that we have talent.”

The Cats limped to a 7-9 conference record with losses to Illinois, Minnesota and Indiana, preventing them from finishing the season at or above .500 in the Big Ten.

After clinching a winning record in a Feb. 16 victory over Penn State, NU had only one more win – a 61-48 defeat of Purdue – the rest of the season.

The poor finish in the final two weeks might have contributed to NU’s snub.

John J. Powers, executive director of the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association, which runs the NIT, did not return several phone calls Monday to comment on this year’s selection process.

Powers has said that factors involved in the selection committee’s decision include a team’s strength of schedule and potential drawing power.

NU proved itself an effective draw in 1994, when Welsh-Ryan Arena was sold out for both NIT games it hosted.

But past attendance records weren’t enough to secure NU a bid this year. The Cats will instead stay home and watch Minnesota and Iowa, two teams that they beat during the regular season, represent the Big Ten in the NIT.

“We were looking forward to playing this week,” Carmody said. “I feel bad for our guys, especially our seniors, Collier (Drayton) and Tavaras (Hardy). We came a long way this year, and to have it end the way it did is unfortunate.”

NU’s chances to make a fourth postseason appearance seemed to improve mid-season when the NIT announced that it would expand its field from 32 teams to 40 this year.

But Jeff Donoghue, president of the Welsh-Ryan Rowdies, said he wasn’t shocked that NU was left out of postseason play.

“With the way the team fell apart at the end of the season, it’s not unexpected,” said Donoghue, a Weinberg senior. “(They) expect to be a postseason team, (but) a postseason team needs to beat Michigan.”

But other fans were still surprised that the Cats weren’t given an NIT bid.

“To say I’m disappointed is an understatement,” said Jarrett Spiro, a Weinberg senior and Rowdies member. “It’s ridiculous, especially since Iowa made it. It’s tragic. I’m very upset and I don’t think it’s right.”

Hardy agreed.

“We thought we had enough on our resume,” the senior said. “We never thought we wouldn’t get in. We deserved it.”

The Daily’s Emily Badger and Emily Bittner contributed to his report.