[NU Sports] Thoughts on our basketball team

[Jonathan Hodges]

As you say, right now NU is 12-10, 4-6 Big Ten and the 'Cats have 6
regular season games remaining plus the Big Ten tournament (at least
one game).  Out of the remaining regular season games, only 2 games
would not be an upset if NU won - at Penn State and vs Minnesota,
although NU have already lost to PSU (plus they beat Illinois in
Champaign) and Minnesota has knocked off a couple of big teams (MSU at
home in a blowout) recently after their horrible start to conference
play.  These aren't gimmes but should be wins if NU plays like they
did vs. Iowa and IPFW.  2 more wins would guarantee the 'Cats a .500
record going into the Big Ten tournament.

The following games will be extremely difficult to win: at Illinois
and at Ohio State.  Both of these teams will be in the NCAA tourney
and have a legitimate shot at winning the conference. Winning at
either place is tough for any team, making these games all the more
difficult.

Finally there are home showdowns against Wisconsin and Ohio State. 
Again, I think beating Ohio State will be tough even at home - and the
'Cats don't have a W against OSU on the court in some time. 
Meanwhile, Wisconsin has shown that it is vulnerable and if NU can
pick up an upset win over one of these teams, they can go into the Big
Ten tourney with some small cushion over .500.

The only shot I see NU has at an NIT berth is to beat PSU on the road
and Minnesota at home and to pick up a home win over either OSU or
(most likely) Wisconsin.  The record at that point would be 15-13 (7-9
conference).  They will probably be seeded around 7 or 8 for the Big
Ten tournament (making them the higher seed for the first round game
against either seed 10 or 9), and they must pick up at least one win
in the tournament (making them 1-1 in the tourney) in order to stay
above .500 (16-14 final record).  Given the respectable (top 100) RPI
thanks to the good showing by the conference this season and the fact
that the NIT is now controlled by the NCAA and has a mini selection
committee, the 'Cats should be able to get into the post season.

Of course, NU must not collapse down the stretch and has to take
advantage of its remaining home schedule, as Welsh-Ryan can be a
considerable advantage as shown in recent years.

Go 'Cats!
Jonathan


On 2/12/06, WildElk2 at aol.com <WildElk2 at aol.com> wrote:
>    After 15 inched of snow and alot of shoveling, it's a good time to post;
> something I've been doing very little of lately; too damn busy.  That's the
> good spin on heavy snowfalls. Everything was cancelled today, so my thoughts have
> turned to our basketball team.
>    We're 12-10, 4-6 in the conference.  A look at our schdule yields that a
> winning season is very possible.  The win over Seton Hall looks much better, as
> well as a chance to redeem ourselves at Penn St. (I'll be there!).
>    I'm sure we all thought that Mike Thompson was going to be our premier
> rebounder.  That's the one thing we're missing; someone to clean the glass.
> Carmody made adjustments by tightening our defense; only yielding 48 and 49 points
> in our last two games.  I also liked the balance of our effort yesterday, with
> a handful of players scoring more than 8 points.  The only casualty was VV
> missing double figures; a rarity in thge last 2 seasons.
>    My prediction:  we'll finish 15-13, 7-9 in the conference.  Wins at Penn
> St., and at home vs. Ohio St. and Minnesota.  We'll make the NIT's, and Paul
> L., you'll see our beloved Cats in New York for the NIT finals.  I like their
> defense, and I believe that our balance will push us over .500 this season.
>
>                GO CATS!!!!                Eric
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--
Jonathan W. Hodges
829 Foster St. Apt. 401
Evanston, IL  60201-3259
(847) 736-2449
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