Yeah, looks like you’re right that they’re locked up. A Purdue semi-final round would be nice. Relatively easy Q1 win before the big matchup vs Illinois or Iowa.
Agree with all you wrote and if Michigan had to choose a BTT semi opponent it would be Purdue as the best match-up. Don’t like OSU as a 5 seed but Purdue has beat them twice and would say they are better than Iowa as a 5 seed. Plus sign me up for a Iowa/ILL BTT semi!
Where are you seeing this?
Yeah after the win over OSU I said I was rooting for a scenario that had Iowa fall back to the 6 seed, gave us Wisconsin-Purdue in the 5/4 matchup, and OSU-Illinois in the 2/3 matchup. Now that’s no longer possible since Wisconsin can’t pass OSU/Iowa.
Since that’s no longer possible, Purdue as the 4 and OSU as the 5 seems best. Not only because it gives us the chance to play Purdue in the semi’s, and not only because it means we’d play one of Wisco/Iowa/Illinois on the way to a title, but also because it means OSU would go from a projected 1 seed in the NCAAs to missing out on a double bye in the BTT and potentially ending the season 1-5 in their last 6.
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Eight seasons was a pretty long leash. But it’s firing Smith FOR Nepotino, Jr. that still makes me salty.
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i don’t quite believe this as the season is not over yet for them. they have two winnable games left in the regular season and two wins in the BIG tournament would put them in the tourney
Coaches were still teaching Unseld outlet pass drills back then. That was my only point, just assuming coaches dont teach Unseld drills anymore since I rarely see long overhead outlet passes.
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Muss Bus is not going to Minnesota
Dream scenario: Pitino gets Minny to the 9 seed, they beat MSU in BTT, knocking MSU out of an NCAA tourney spot. Michigan, just looking to not get hurt, loses a close game to Minny playing the young guys quite a bit. Minny goes on to win the BTT and makes it to 2nd round of NCAA tourney. Citing his inspiring conference tourney run and his 2-1 record against national champion Michigan, Minnesota decides to change their mind and now extends Pitino for 10 years. He never makes another NCAA tourney again
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You have some weird dreams!
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We’ve veered into big ten fan fiction territory.
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And I’m in for it.
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A true sicko
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Hire His dad!
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Random thought but: Chris Holtmann has been at at OSU for four years, and the one constant in his tenure has been a severe collapse after reaching their peak.
In 17/18, OSU started the year 22-5 and got up #8 in the rankings. They lost 2 straight after that and 4/7, including a first game BTT exit as the 3 seed and loss in the Round of 32.
In 18/19, OSU started the year 12-1 and got up to #13 in the rankings. They lost 5 straight after that and 6/7, then fell even more after that losing 6/8 to end the regular season. They won 1 game in both the B1G and NCAA tourney before losing the 2nd game in both.
In 19/20, OSU started the year 11-1 and got up to #2 in the rankings. They lost 4 straight after that and 6/7. This was the first year they didn’t have a collapse to end the regular season though, even though they lost their last game vs MSU they won 4 straight before that. No postseason info for obvious reasons.
This year, OSU started the year 18-4 and got up to #4 in the rankings. OSU is currently on a 3 game losing streak, with a chance for it to extend to 4 to end the regular season.
Another thing about Holtmann: We’ll see how they do in the BTT and NCAA Tourney this year, but so far at OSU he’s 1-2 in the BTT and 2-2 in the NCAA Tourney. At Butler, Holtmann never won a Big East Tourney game (0-3) and went 4-3 in the NCAA Tourney, making 1 Sweet Sixteen in his 3 years and going to the Round of 32 the other 2. Of his 4 wins, the highest seed he beat was an 8 seed.
Earlier in the thread Dylan said that OSU was candidate for a first weekend loss and I think I agree. Chris Holtmann is a good coach, but he’s prone to prolonged collapses and poor tournament performances. Considering this season’s prolonged collapse is going to overlap with the tournaments, this makes me think he’s due for early exits in both. Or he’s going to prove me wrong and sweep his way to BTT and national titles.
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The storyline that will potentially develop around MSU is interesting if they can beat IU on Tuesday. Consensus seems to be that they have to beat IU, split against us, and go 1-1 in the BTT. If they don’t split against us, then they’d have to probably go 2-1 at worst in the BTT.
If they beat IU, that basically means they’re slotted in the 8/9 game and would have 3 shots to beat us a single time to try to make the tournament.
So Tom Izzo really DOES open his post-game presser by complaining that MD had a longer break than MSU. “Print it any way you want to. . .”
You just long to hear some of these coaches begin by saluting the other team in the good old fashioned way now and then. . . .
The discrepancy will be at most one hour on Thursday–we start our Tuesday game an hour before MSU. I’m sure he’ll be more graceful then. . .
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Yeah, I’m thinking that he’s just right for OSU. He wins enough to not be on the hot seat, but doesn’t quite seem elite. Matta had them at the elite level for awhile. I don’t care to relive that. Holtmann works out fine.
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Good stuff and I am of the opinion that this is actually a positive for Holtmann in that none of those rosters have really been all that great. This is a concern that has been outlined here that his roster management has been bizarre. Which certainly Holtmann deserves blame for.
But he can cobble some pieces together, put a coherent plan in place and get them off to a great start. Using this years team is a great example as Dylan noted they are quite “scoutable”. When you don’t have the talent making a counter to the scouting report doesn’t happen easily. Maybe in the NCAA when they are out of the “best scouted league in the country” (shoutout to Dakich!) they can see more success but I’m of Dylan’s thought that they are a prime upset candidate.
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