I just don’t want to play Penn State. Give me any of those other teams in that general area. PSU is a bad matchup
What’s also interesting is that Michigan’s particular collection of tiebreakers means that if they get to 12 wins, they are nearly guaranteed a double bye. Very few scenarios where they fall out of the top 4.
I believe that counted as a neutral court game for NET purposes.
Yeah, I think it was the RPI then. That’s still a way worse deal than how a game is counted, though. Generally speaking.
I personally am all for Rutgers saying no way.
This has to be one of the strangest seasons in recent memory. Michigan has looked like a NIT team a few times and an NCAA second weekend team a few times. They haven’t won a close game in forever but lost more than their share of them. We are two games ahead of Wisconsin in the standings with a chance to make it three on Sunday…and yet they are more likely to get in the dance than us. Take away a crazy 4-point play at the end of the Iowa game and we are solidly #2 in the league and some of us might be trying to figure out if we could catch Purdue in the last three games.
Instead, the reality is that we’re more likely to be on the wrong side of the bubble and we may never get to see this team compete in in the big dance. Grr…frustrating!
I mean we split with PSU. I think neutral court we should beat them
I’m pretty sure its the long game of getting out of the 8/9 game in the Big Ten tournament to make a mini-run and improve their NCAA tournament seeding.
A chalk finish plus a loss to Purdue in round 2, MSU is probably a 7 or 8 seed for the tournament. Minnesota win helps them get to the other half of the bracket and therefore a better chance at a mini-run and 6 seed in the NCAA tournament.
It is a couple more surprising wins and a plane crash away from being 2017.
Or two more losses from being something people don’t want to think about. Fine margins in this sport.
How many PSU fans are going to show up in Chicago? Six?
Michael Henn gains superpowers on a neutral court
7 would be perfect. It means we get a neutral against a bubble team in Wisconsin or PSU. Then NW or Maryland in the quarters, then NW/MD/IU in the semis. Opposite side of Purdue (and Illinois).
Yeah, the bottom half of the bracket is tailor-made for a run to the title game.
Sorry, @umhoops. I know you’re Team Top Half.
On the flip side and 8 or 9 seed against MSU in the first round would be brutal for my health. If we match up against Rutgers then get another shot at Purdue though that’s not a bad option either.
http://bball.notnothing.net/bracket.php?conf=big10m
Chalk over the next week has Michigan in the 8/9 game against Rutgers. Basically any outcome where we only win 1 game out of our next 3 games has Michigan locked in 8/9 game.
2-1 gets Michigan anywhere from 3 - 6 seeds.
I hope the selection committee takes into account what happened in the “loss” to OSU. If they treat that as a normal loss (especially now that OSU has tanked) that would be a serious injustice.
And I appreciate the way you always stress that, especially when I’m sometimes trying to tamp down the sense of panic after a loss.
I do think that there’s been a different look, and maybe sense of confidence, on players’ faces down the stretch in the last two games. A feeling that–just maybe–they’re learning how to close 'em out.
The last few years, it seems like Michigan always ends up on the 8/9 section of the bracket.
Great statistic or greatest statistic?
Haha what a wildly specific statistic