I was one of those who had them as a dark horse Top 4 finisher in the B10 this year. Thought between Young, Scott, and Reese this team was going to take the leap in a mediocre B10. They seemed just too good on paper not to. Willard isn't a good coach but to not even finish in the top half of the B10 with that kind of talent is insane to me. To think I had both Maryland and OSU as upper half B10 teams this year, just goes to show what I know...
Weekend of 3/1 Games Thread
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Definitely that swing needs some work.
And as reliable as the sun rising in the morning, DePaul, Missouri, Louisville, Georgetown, and Michigan all losing over a weekend.
Haven’t heard his comments.
OrangeBlue98
- Des Moines, IA
Rule #1 in broadcasting-You can’t criticize any of the Fab Five.
(Rule #2 is that Duke was crap before K arrived.)
BlindLoyalty
- FartNoiseMotivation
Valpo beat ISU 75-72. Stops Valpo & HC Roger Powell Jr‘s 11 game MVC losing streak. RPJ finishes regular season (6-24) {FBS wins} and (3-17) in MVC.
Watching this RU/NU game, it got me thinking about Pauly Mulcahy, who many here wanted. He's having a rough year in that tough Pac-12. 5.9ppg, 3.2rpg, and 3.6 Apg
Coach of the year is about beating expectations. Nebraska was picked 12th and is going to end up possibly with a double bye
However I would pick Ben Johnson for exceeding expectations Minnesota was awful last year and have played very well this year
BU has put together a good season with no PG and TSJ legal issues
Painter has lived up to expectations which isn’t always easy
This year it is easier to pick the worst coach than best
GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
So while this weekend's slate was supposed to clarify things, there is a legitimate possibility that there is a 6 way tie for 3rd place in the B10 this year. Since I started doing this stuff (we're talking over 10 years now), I have never seen anything like this. The B10 is so bunched up it's just insanity to do much of anything with. Basically this is what the B10 currently is with 2 games left:
Outstanding: Purdue
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Great: Illinois
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Better than average (Goodish?): Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Iowa, MSU, Minnesota
Worse than average (Baddish?): PSU, Indiana, OSU, Rutgers, Maryland
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Absolute trash: Michigan
Just insanity this year. By the way, if I have done my math correctly with the tiebreakers, there is no possible way Maryland can get any better than an 11 seed, meaning that Maryland in their loss has clinched a spot in the 1st round game with Michigan. So, Purdue and Illinois have clinched the double byes, Michigan and Maryland have clinched spots in the bottom 4, and everything else is a giant mess. One other thing to be aware of- if we are the 2 seed in the BTT, MSU is the team right now projected to be the 7 seed we face in the Quarters. So if we were to make a run to the title game we are now projected to face the following to end our season pre-tourney:
@Wisconsin- Quad 1A
vPurdue- Quad 1A
@Iowa- Quad 1
N-MSU- Quad 1A
N-Neb/NW/Wisky- Quad 1
N-Purdue- Quad 1A
That's 6 consecutive Quad 1 games, 4 of which are Quad 1A. It'd be nuts, but if we were to somehow win all 6 of those, I think a 2 seed is possible. That'd be an 11-5 record in Quad 1 games, 16-7 in Quad 1 and 2 combined with no bad losses. That's 3 seed at absolute worst material. Anyways here are the projections for the BTT:
Outstanding: Purdue
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Great: Illinois
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Better than average (Goodish?): Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Iowa, MSU, Minnesota
Worse than average (Baddish?): PSU, Indiana, OSU, Rutgers, Maryland
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Absolute trash: Michigan
Just insanity this year. By the way, if I have done my math correctly with the tiebreakers, there is no possible way Maryland can get any better than an 11 seed, meaning that Maryland in their loss has clinched a spot in the 1st round game with Michigan. So, Purdue and Illinois have clinched the double byes, Michigan and Maryland have clinched spots in the bottom 4, and everything else is a giant mess. One other thing to be aware of- if we are the 2 seed in the BTT, MSU is the team right now projected to be the 7 seed we face in the Quarters. So if we were to make a run to the title game we are now projected to face the following to end our season pre-tourney:
@Wisconsin- Quad 1A
vPurdue- Quad 1A
@Iowa- Quad 1
N-MSU- Quad 1A
N-Neb/NW/Wisky- Quad 1
N-Purdue- Quad 1A
That's 6 consecutive Quad 1 games, 4 of which are Quad 1A. It'd be nuts, but if we were to somehow win all 6 of those, I think a 2 seed is possible. That'd be an 11-5 record in Quad 1 games, 16-7 in Quad 1 and 2 combined with no bad losses. That's 3 seed at absolute worst material. Anyways here are the projections for the BTT:
I normally say conference tournaments don’t change seeding that much but with how close so many teams are it is crazy. I think our shot at a 3 seed is the regular season we beat PU and Iowa we should be a 3 but we probably need to win our first round game
I think this year the conference tournament will affect the bubble the most
MSU doesn’t play well they could be out
NW doesn’t finish up the season and has an early exit could be out
Minnesota and OSU goes on a run they could get in the conversation
Iowa is also on the bubble
Outside of our conference I am looking at the ACC with Wake and UVA if they get eliminated early they could be out
Normally there is under 5 bubble teams this year you could argue about 15
Updated B1G EM after today's race for 13th place (I think Maryland won?):
- Purdue is almost certainly the 1 seed and has been the best team overall by a wide margin.
- Illinois is the second best team overall by an even wider margin, and could catch Purdue's historic offensive efficiency this week.
- Maybe Nebraska is actually the 3rd best team in the league? In reality it's a mire of mediocrity after the top 2, with Nebraska, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Northwestern vying for the 3-6 spots in league quality.
- Meanwhile Maryland continues to be the most bafflingly bad team in the B1G, taking the lead for the 13th spot in the league despite a positive EM.
- The next tier of team, the "thinks they can make a run to the bubble" group is Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio State, each probably at least a couple wins away yet from having a realistic profile for a tourney berth.
- PSU, Rutgers and Indiana comprise the "should be playing Wednesday with Michigan" tier, but Maryland is stealing someone's spot, so one of those 3 will likely steal the 10 seed and not play until Thursday against the champion of the "needs 2 wins to get to the bubble" tier.
- Michigan solidified the 14 spot by losing by 30 to each of the 13th place teams this week.
- Purdue is almost certainly the 1 seed and has been the best team overall by a wide margin.
- Illinois is the second best team overall by an even wider margin, and could catch Purdue's historic offensive efficiency this week.
- Maybe Nebraska is actually the 3rd best team in the league? In reality it's a mire of mediocrity after the top 2, with Nebraska, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Northwestern vying for the 3-6 spots in league quality.
- Meanwhile Maryland continues to be the most bafflingly bad team in the B1G, taking the lead for the 13th spot in the league despite a positive EM.
- The next tier of team, the "thinks they can make a run to the bubble" group is Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio State, each probably at least a couple wins away yet from having a realistic profile for a tourney berth.
- PSU, Rutgers and Indiana comprise the "should be playing Wednesday with Michigan" tier, but Maryland is stealing someone's spot, so one of those 3 will likely steal the 10 seed and not play until Thursday against the champion of the "needs 2 wins to get to the bubble" tier.
- Michigan solidified the 14 spot by losing by 30 to each of the 13th place teams this week.
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Looking at the efficiency margins really puts it in perspective for me. Michigan is more bad than Purdue is good.
So it should be like this?
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