Little update on where we stand and what's in front of us:
Record: 19-9
NET Ranking: #30 (theoretically a 7 seed)
SOS Ranking: #30
Road Record: 3-5
Neutral Record: 2-2
vs. Quad 1: 3-7
vs. Quad 2: 6-2
vs. Quad 3: 3-0
vs. Quad 4: 7-0
We have these games upcoming:
at #71 Ohio State (Quad 1 for now ... Quad 2 if they go below 75)
vs. #53 Michigan (Quad 2 no matter what)
at #5 Purdue (Quad 1 no matter what)
So, we have TWO opportunities at Quad 1 wins and one opportunity at a Quad 2 win, as of this morning - and importantly, no opportunities for bad losses. I do feel many here and some of the lazier Bracketologists are underselling how important our complete lack of bad losses (in the Committee's eyes) is. There are TEN teams ahead of us in the NET rankings with at least one Quad 3 loss.
A few notes on teams we've played
(1) ROOT FOR WISCONSIN! They are back at #70, providing us with both a Quad 1 and a Quad 2 win. We absolutely need them in the top 75. They finish with Michigan on the road, Purdue at home and Minnesota on the road. Going 1-2 with the one win being Minny likely drops them out of the top 75 ... we need them to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor, assuming they can't knock off Purdue.
(2) ROOT FOR SPARTY! I have given up hope on Rutgers from what I have seen, but MSU is back at #35 in the NET rankings and they're playing pretty well. They finish with Iowa on the road, Nebraska on the road and Ohio State at home. Road games are tough, but they COULD go 3-0 and get us another Quad 1 win back if they sneak into the top 30.
(3) We absolutely need to win in Columbus. At worst, that gives us our seventh Quad 2 win - that's more than TWENTY FOUR of the teams above us in the NET rankings right now. At best, it would be our fourth Quad 1 win if OSU could upset Maryland at home and stay top 75. With the way OSU is skidding, we cannot afford to be their medicine.
(4) Okay, here's the long shot ... if by some miracle we could play like we did in the second half vs. Northwestern for the rest of the season, we could put all of this resume worrying to bed and have a fighter's chance at catching Purdue on an off night at Mackey. If we finish 3-0 and win one in the BTT, we'd be eyeing a really good seed. Even if we beat OSU and Michigan, lose to Purdue and go 1-1 in the BTT (let's assume a Quad 2 win and a Quad 1 loss?), we'd be looking at this as of today:
Record: 22-11
NET Ranking: #25-30
SOS Ranking: #25-30
Road Record: 4-5
Neutral Record: 3-3
vs. Quad 1: 4-9
vs. Quad 2: 8-2
vs. Quad 3: 3-0
vs. Quad 4: 7-0
It's not about "how good our resume is" ... it's about "how good our resume is compared to the absolute shltshow that is college basketball this year. And that's actually a pretty damn good resume.