No way.
I thought our resume was over-valued before Missouri, when our NET ranking was 32nd. We were in less than half the bracket projections at that time. It's down to 48, and we could well have 2 losses to non-tourney teams. We're now in the "receiving votes" category, outside the bubble. The only way we make the dance is to play better than we have. The biggest obstacle, in my mind, is that teams playing like us lose a lot of winnable road games.
When you don't have desire and toughness at the level of a tourney team, it's hard to develop it. Someone on the team needs to bark at these guys, and lead by example with 110% effort. What few post-games I've heard confirm what I see on the court. I think this team will have some good games, but without a collective epiphany, or a leader really getting on the other players, we're at best, NIT bound. The opportunities are there, but the non-conf has shown us we play down to lesser teams, and have a difficult time putting together 40 good minutes of hard fought bball.
I really hope coach or someone on the team can motivate these guys. With almost half the season gone, I'm much less optimistic of a turn-around. Talent is there, and sometimes it only takes the light going on for one player to lift the whole team (Ayo?)
