For me it comes down to bigs, we have enough guards/wings to get it done...but against Purdue when Giorgi sat, Kipper was playing the 5 and AJ has been locked in covering a 4, so a combination of style and balance could make it tough.My opinion is and has been that our style of play does not translate well to this format. We don't have the depth to finish some of the games with the energy we need to be successful. I don't see any way we can sustain 4 games back to back.
But ADLR did not play against Purdue. He was available to play against the kitties.For me it comes down to bigs, we have enough guards/wings to get it done...but against Purdue when Giorgi sat, Kipper was playing the 5 and AJ has been locked in covering a 4, so a combination of style and balance could make it tough.
If ADLR is available or not, obviously available is better, but I'm still concerned about his health through a 4 or 5 day back to back tournament run and the difference between fully healthy & not available. We had 1 big we chose to play for Purdue, that isn't enough. We have 3 point guards, we have AJ, DW, KN, AG, & TJ all getting some tick at wing, I think we have enough guys to run for 4 or 5 days and be fine from the 1-4. We may have only Giorgi at the 5,that's were I think the long run would show the most.But ADLR did not play against Purdue. He was available to play against the kitties.
Holding off on ticket buy as long as I can. A few games ago I thought the seven seed was close to a lock. I'm really glad I did not follow through on that thought!
Sorry to double post (Dan, feel free to edit!), but it has been a few hours.
IF we make it to Friday of the BTT, my girlfriend and I are for sure going to go and support the Illini (we won't get into the city until Thursday night). For those who have gone before, there aren't "fan sections" are there? I figured it was random seating, but I also seem to remember seeing clusters of different teams' fans on TV in the past. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Wow, after Minnesota beating Purdue and Northwestern (!!) beating Ohio State handily, the picture really changes up a bit ... that 7-seed is very attainable, but I am honestly wondering if we even want it, haha. If the 8-seed or 9-seed, we would likely play Ohio State (a team we beat at their place) and then Michigan State if we won (another team we beat). If we got the 7-seed, I think we would play Indiana first round (soon after hopefully just beating them) and then Purdue (a team I think we match up horribly with).
Obviously, you play to win and get the highest seed you can, but playing OSU first round, MSU second round and then hoping someone other than Wisconsin makes it through to play us in the semifinals (likely Maryland) is a much easier path to a run, IMO.
I went last year for Day 1 at MSG. They didn't even have assigned seating there. Just go in and sit wherever you want. I'm guessing it is different on subsequent days and/or based on the change in venue. But you can hope that it's GA seating...
As an 11 seed we play NW on Wednesday. If we get past them, we get Iowa on Thursday. They tend to fade at the end of every season, if that matters.
Right now, it projects as NW, Iowa and Michigan. I think we are capable of occasionally beating Michigan, but not when it is our third game in three days and they haven't played for a week.Looking at the 11 seed path....I don’t hate it (minus the extra “bottom 4” game). This season has been a roller coaster but if any team can rise up and do some damage it’s these guys.