Not sure if this should be in some type of Bracketology thread, but here is an updated list of our results / upcoming schedule by Quad classification.
Quad 1 | 0-2
vs. #1 Michigan
at #3 Purdue
L 61-74 vs. #8 UConn (New York, NY)
at #10 Michigan State
L 86-90 vs. #11 Alabama (Chicago, IL)
vs. #22 Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
vs. #24 Indiana
at #25 USC
at #32 Nebraska
at #34 Iowa
at #49 UCLA
at #60 Northwestern
at #63 Ohio State
Quad 2 | 1-0
vs. #32 Nebraska
W 81-77 vs. #37 Texas Tech
vs. #53 Wisconsin
vs. #60 Northwestern
vs. #65 Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
vs. #81 Penn State (Philadelphia, PA)
Quad 3 | 1-0
vs. #88 Washington
vs. #123 Minnesota
W 84-65 vs. #145 Colgate
at #178 Maryland
Quad 4 | 4-0
vs. #176 Oregon
vs. #178 Maryland
W 87-73 vs. #185 UTRGV
vs. #189 Rutgers
W 98-58 vs. #198 LIU
W 113-70 vs. #223 FGCU
vs. #260 Southern
W 113-55 vs. #345 Jackson State
Some Changes & Notes
- Nebraska home game fell to Quad 2 (as we all might have expected, lol).
- Mizzou plummeted from #51 to #65, so hopes for Braggin' Rights to be Quad 1 anytime soon are probably gone ... still probably safe as Quad 2, though (requiring MU to be in the top 100).
- The Washington home game is now Quad 3 ... so no messing around on that day!
- UCLA made a dramatic jump from #76 to #49, so our road game there is now safely Quad 1.
- While it was great to protect home court, that Texas Tech win is only Quad 1 if TTU gets back into the top 30 (they are at #37). That is the advantage of neutral site games, where you get a much more lenient Quad system (Q1 #1-50 and Q2 #51-100) without having to play in a true road environment. We could REALLY use that win in Nashville!
Also, while all games are important and the rankings could change quite a lot, there are a couple games I am identifying as early ones that either (A) we must win because they're such golden opportunities or (B) absolutely cannot lose because they could sink us.
Golden Opportunities
vs. #22 Tennessee (Nashville, TN) ... This will almost CERTAINLY remain a Quad 1 game, and the Committee has stated in the past that it does put some positive weight on victories at neutral sites, given it's a Tournament-like environment.
at #49 UCLA ... This is very unlikely to slip to a Quad 2 game, UCLA looks pretty "meh" so far and it is one of the less intimidating environments in the conference for road teams. Need to get a W here.
CANNOT Lose
vs. #123 Minnesota ... The Gophers just knocked off an at least decent Indiana team, so they're not completely inept. Conversely, their metrics are highly unlikely to improve to the point where a home loss to them wouldn't be absolutely disastrous for our resume. Plus, this will be one of those dreaded 11:00 am weekend games where we have often seemed to be asleep at the wheel to start, and it will be played after two potentially emotionally draining road games at Iowa and Northwestern ... with very little rest. Need to show up this game!!
at #178 Maryland ... It's absolutely wild that a game AT Maryland would be Quad 3, but here we are. They have obviously had our number and it's always tough to play on the road, so we will need to come out with proper energy and effort to avoid an ugly stain on our resume in the season finale...
