[NU Sports] Indy plays Perdoo tough

[neonrye at aol.com]

I seriously doubt that we will catch the Illini.  They are almost unbeatable at home (11-1), and seem to have come together as a team--at least according to Coach Weber, whom I saw interviewed this week on BTN.  Minny is a more realistic target at this point.  They are 4-5 in conference, a half-game ahead of us in the "loss" column.  And their overall record is actually slightly worse than ours--so far.  

However, as to both teams we are chasing, there is another, unspoken factor IMHO.  They have big-name coaches (Weber/Tubby), both of whom have coached teams to the Finals in the Dance, with Tubby having a trophy on his mantle from his Wildcat days in Lexington.  While we have the "Cinderella" aspect going for us, there is no question that the Illini and Gophers are both thought of as "basketball" schools and powers, in the traditional sense.  So if the three teams end up virtually in a "dead-heat", I truly fear that we will not get the "respect" from the Selection Committee, and we will, as always, end up "outside looking in".  

The only way to make sure that this doesn't happen is to go at least 7-2 down the stretch.  I will concede a loss at Madison.  Were we to win that game, and 4 or 5 others, we would probably be "in".  However, assuming we lose that game, we really need to "hold serve" in all 5 remaining games at W-R--including, most importantly, the Minny game, as has been stated already, and then to win 2 of 3 (or at least 1 of 3) out of the road trio of Iowa, PSU and Indy.  If we finish with  21 or 22 wins, and battle back to above .500 in the conference, we should be in good shape, one way or the other--provided we don't get blown out in first game in BT Tournament.  If we go 5-4, we are really playing with fire, and will need to get on a run in BT Tourney to have any chance.  Aanything worse is undoubtedly an invitation to the NIT.

While we can't say we control our own destiny, the team has the ability to make it tough on the Committee by raising its game at the right time and finishing strongly..  A big win over Minny at home would be huge, since they barely squeaked by us up in St. Paul, and could be the difference-maker.

Meanwhile, I would give anything for PSU to pull an upset in Happy Valley right now over Minny, but I fear that they don't have the horses to do it.

Paul Levinson






-----Original Message-----
From: SjT (Stephen J. Truog) <sjtruog at yahoo.com>
To: nwu-sports at tssi.com; wildelk2 at aol.com
Sent: Sat, Feb 6, 2010 2:32 pm
Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Indy plays Perdoo tough


>    Looking at the Big 10 standings, its
 clear that MSU. Purdue, Wisky and Ohio St. are locks for the
Definitely - and they should all be "sweet 16" seeds if the committee gives the 
eague the respect it deserves and doesn't fall for the Big XII top-heavy hype 
the Big East, however, is legit).
>    So that leaves NU, Minnesota and
 Ill-noise duking it out for what will probably be 2
Again, I'd agree. Though I think the three teams could all make solid cases and 
e might get three ... but we have to get all the breaks (i.e. the Pac 10 
ontinues to mire in mediocrity, no upsets in small league tourneys, etc.). So 
t's probably two - especially since the top four will be tough to crack in the 
eague tourney (whoever is #5 and has to play #4 OSU or Wisky to open the 
ourney could be hurt without the chance to get at least one win in the first 
ound).
> slots.  Let's talk about Ill-noise; a 7-3, 15-8
 record; nearly a carbon copy to NU.  Their final 8
Except their league wins are high - and they have some big wins over Clemson and 
andy. But that closing stretch is a killer. Sparty looks injured tonight, so a 
in for Ill-noise there could be a big springboard despite the brutal finish.
>   The home game we have vs. Minnesota is huge,
Absolutely. We have to finish hot against our schedule (last 10 is a big factor 
or the NCAA committee) and beat Minny so that we're 1-1 against the Illini and 
ophers (if they're the ones we're competing against).
But first things first - BEAT INDIANA!!!
GO CATS!!!
SjT

     
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