Amaker 's 2003 – 04 team earned a fifth seed and first round bye in the 2004 Big Ten Conference Men 's Basketball Tournament where it defeated fourth-seeded Iowa before losing to top-seeded Illinois . The team experienced successive wins in the 2004 National Invitation Tournament against , , and . The team won the championship game against , giving Amaker his highest single-season victory total up to that point in time with a 23 – 11 record . Amaker , who has tended to avoid the spotlight , was not on the court as his team celebrated the college basketball tradition of cutting of the nets in celebration of a championship at the 2004 NIT
2004 Big Ten Conference Men 's Basketball Tournament
2004 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Tommy Amaker