[NU Sports] MSU drubs Ioway

[Eric C West]

Actually, the Big Ten has only received 7 bids twice in the last 10 seasons. Yes, Minny can still get the automatic bid, but otherwise it's not even close to a given. If NU somehow backs into a bid, it will be because our overall resume is better than those of Seton Hall or Mississippi State or Oregon or a bunch of other bubble teams who lost early in their conference tourneys. The Hawkeyes and Gophers will never get an at-large bid this year, and the Cats wouldn't be compared to them in the committee room.

Eric West
e-west at northwestern.edu


-----Original Message-----
From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com] On Behalf Of Beamsley, Jeff
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2012 2:36 PM
To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
Subject: [NU Sports] MSU drubs Ioway

http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2012/03/michigan_state_overwhelm
s_iowa.html

So who is the #7 BT team invited to the dance?

Iowa beat an Illinois team who just fired their coach and finishes the season 17-16 with an RPI rank of 126.  So I don't think it will be Iowa.

Minny has a shot if they beat UoM today.  That will give them a 20-13 record with signature wins against Illinois at home, Indiana on the road, and Michigan (neutral).  Their RPI before tonight's game ranks 84th.

But let's assume that they lose to UoM.

What happens then?

Minny ends the season 19-14 with an RPI twenty places lower than NU.

By comparison, NU loses to a Minny team in overtime and finished the season 18-13 with an RPI rank of 53.  Our signature wins were against Seton Hall (neutral), MSU at home, and Illinois on the road.

I agree that there is no requirement for the NCAA to extend invitations to 7 BT teams, but they still manage to do it regularly.  

So if Minny loses, what other team with a better RPI, better W-L record, and better set of signature wins is going to take our place?

Jeff



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