NU releases non-con schedule

[lou v]

From NUSports.com...

Northwestern Announces 2015-16 Nonconference Schedule
Wildcats to play 10 home games at Welsh-Ryan Arena

June 24, 2015

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Ten home games, four contests away from Evanston against major conference foes and two matchups against Chicagoland foes highlight the nonconference schedule for the 2015-16 Northwestern men’s basketball team.

The regular season gets underway Friday, Nov. 13 when the Wildcats take on UMass-Lowell for the first time at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The season-opening three-game homestand continues Nov. 18 and 20 with a pair of contests affiliated with the CBE Hall of Fame Classic. NU welcomes Fairfield to Evanston on the 18th before Columbia comes to town two days later.

The ’Cats will head to Kansas City for this year’s annual in-season tournament as it squares off against a challenging field that also includes North Carolina, Missouri and Kansas State. The CBE Hall of Fame Classic is set for Nov. 23 and 24 at Sprint Center. Matchups for the opening-day games are slated to be announced later this summer.

Northwestern returns home to face New Orleans on Saturday, Nov. 28 before making the trek to Blacksburg, Virginia, to take on Virginia Tech as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The Wildcats wrap up their pre-Big Ten slate by playing five of their final nonconference games at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Home contests against SIUE (Dec. 5), local foe Chicago State (Dec. 13) and Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 15) precede a contest at DePaul on Dec. 19. The contest will be the first for NU against the Blue Demons at Allstate Arena since the 2007-08 season.

A battle of brothers will take place Dec. 21 at Welsh-Ryan Arena when Northwestern freshman Aaron Falzon squares off against Sacred Heart senior Tevin Falzon. The ’Cats conclude nonconference play Dec. 27 with a home contest against Loyola (Maryland).

Season tickets are currently on sale for the upcoming 2015-16 Northwestern men's basketball season and can be ordered by clicking on the Tickets link or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE. The Wildcats will host Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers and Wisconsin in Big Ten Conference play.

Dates and tip times for conference contests will be announced later this summer as will tip times for the nonconference matchups.

Third-year head coach Chris Collins welcomes back all five starters from last year’s squad, including All-Big Ten selections Tre Demps and Alex Olah as well as Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection Bryant McIntosh.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook and sign up to receive promotional text alerts for the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!

 

[NJCat83588]

From NUSports.com...

Northwestern Announces 2015-16 Nonconference Schedule
Wildcats to play 10 home games at Welsh-Ryan Arena

June 24, 2015

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Ten home games, four contests away from Evanston against major conference foes and two matchups against Chicagoland foes highlight the nonconference schedule for the 2015-16 Northwestern men’s basketball team.

The regular season gets underway Friday, Nov. 13 when the Wildcats take on UMass-Lowell for the first time at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The season-opening three-game homestand continues Nov. 18 and 20 with a pair of contests affiliated with the CBE Hall of Fame Classic. NU welcomes Fairfield to Evanston on the 18th before Columbia comes to town two days later.

The ’Cats will head to Kansas City for this year’s annual in-season tournament as it squares off against a challenging field that also includes North Carolina, Missouri and Kansas State. The CBE Hall of Fame Classic is set for Nov. 23 and 24 at Sprint Center. Matchups for the opening-day games are slated to be announced later this summer.

Northwestern returns home to face New Orleans on Saturday, Nov. 28 before making the trek to Blacksburg, Virginia, to take on Virginia Tech as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The Wildcats wrap up their pre-Big Ten slate by playing five of their final nonconference games at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Home contests against SIUE (Dec. 5), local foe Chicago State (Dec. 13) and Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 15) precede a contest at DePaul on Dec. 19. The contest will be the first for NU against the Blue Demons at Allstate Arena since the 2007-08 season.

A battle of brothers will take place Dec. 21 at Welsh-Ryan Arena when Northwestern freshman Aaron Falzon squares off against Sacred Heart senior Tevin Falzon. The ’Cats conclude nonconference play Dec. 27 with a home contest against Loyola (Maryland).

Season tickets are currently on sale for the upcoming 2015-16 Northwestern men's basketball season and can be ordered by clicking on the Tickets link or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE. The Wildcats will host Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers and Wisconsin in Big Ten Conference play.

Dates and tip times for conference contests will be announced later this summer as will tip times for the nonconference matchups.

Third-year head coach Chris Collins welcomes back all five starters from last year’s squad, including All-Big Ten selections Tre Demps and Alex Olah as well as Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection Bryant McIntosh.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook and sign up to receive promotional text alerts for the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!

OK, Turk, here is the schedule. No excuse for not renewing your season tickets now!

 

[Styre]

That is not a difficult schedule at all, so unless the major conference teams on there improve drastically from last year, we'll have to get through it virtually unblemished (and hopefully play (and hopefully beat) UNC) and then win 10+ Big Ten games to have a shot at the tournament.

 

[JournCat]

It's getting killed on Twitter, but that schedule will be fine if it a) leads to 10+ wins, including at least 1 in Kansas City and b) provides some room to grow for a team heavy with freshmen and sophomores. We should have added one or two strong schools aside from that tournament, but either way, the opportunities will be there in January and February to build the resume.

 

[VirginiaWildcat]

Can't wait!!! Will be at the VT game!!

 

[NJCat83588]

That is not a difficult schedule at all, so unless the major conference teams on there improve drastically from last year, we'll have to get through it virtually unblemished (and hopefully play (and hopefully beat) UNC) and then win 10+ Big Ten games to have a shot at the tournament.

Frankly, what you say is true regardless of the strength of schedule. Making the tournament pretty much requires at least 20 total wins and a winning conference record. So 10-4 (OOC) and 10-8 Big 10 are the magic numbers year in, year out. Playing 4 major conference teams away from WR is no picnic, even if 2 of them are Va Tech and DePaul.......

 

[VirginiaWildcat]

It's getting killed on Twitter, but that schedule will be fine if it a) leads to 10+ wins, including at least 1 in Kansas City and b) provides some room to grow for a team heavy with freshmen and sophomores. We should have added one or two strong schools aside from that tournament, but either way, the opportunities will be there in January and February to build the resume.

The guys on twitter complain about everything...literally. I'm not even sure they like NU sports...they never have a good thing to say about ANYTHING (FB or BB). Personally, I can't wait for the BB season!!

 

[Styre]

Frankly, what you say is true regardless of the strength of schedule. Making the tournament pretty much requires at least 20 total wins and a winning conference record. So 10-4 (OOC) and 10-8 Big 10 are the magic numbers year in, year out. Playing 4 major conference teams away from WR is no picnic, even if 2 of them are Va Tech and DePaul.......

Not with this one. 20-12 (10-8) with this schedule will have us sitting on a 3 or 4 seed in the NIT.

 

[VirginiaWildcat]

Not with this one. 20-12 (10-8) with this schedule will have us sitting on a 3 or 4 seed in the NIT.

I disagree. I think we'll be in with that record...

But that's a lot of wins away from now. One game at a time...

 

[Styre]

I disagree. I think we'll be in with that record...

In any case, I certainly hope our record is at least that good so we can find out.

 

[hoosboot]

20-12 (10-8) could possibly get us in, but it all depends on who those 20 wins are against and where the games are played. We've recently saw that the no bad losses, but no big wins formula doesn't work for us. However, if those 20 wins include wins over UNC or Kansas State on neutral courts, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Maryland, Michigan State, and on the road against Virginia Tech and DePaul, we might be talking about something. With this schedule, we need to have some impressive wins. 20 wins coming against the majority of our non-con and mid-to-lower tier B1G teams won't do it.

 

[hdhntr1]

20-12 (10-8) could possibly get us in, but it all depends on who those 20 wins are against and where the games are played. We've recently saw that the no bad losses, but no big wins formula doesn't work for us. However, if those 20 wins include wins over UNC or Kansas State on neutral courts, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Maryland, Michigan State, and on the road against Virginia Tech and DePaul, we might be talking about something. With this schedule, we need to have some impressive wins. 20 wins coming against the majority of our non-con and mid-to-lower tier B1G teams won't do it.

How did we see that? It never got tested as we never got to 0.500 in conference and I don't know any teams that have gotten in with sub 0.500 conference record (unless they won the tournament). When was the last time that a 10-8 conference record in the BIG did not get in? Especially with 20 wins.

 

[lunker35]

The guys on twitter complain about everything...literally. I'm not even sure they like NU sports...they never have a good thing to say about ANYTHING (FB or BB). Personally, I can't wait for the BB season!!

Amen! There are certain people on twitter that are so negative towards our team that I cringe at most of their posts. These are so called "NU fans". I am fine with this schedule as we have a very young team and this will help us get some wins, while developing chemistry.

 

[NJCat83588]

Amen! There are certain people on twitter that are so negative towards our team that I cringe at most of their posts. These are so called "NU fans". I am fine with this schedule as we have a very young team and this will help us get some wins, while developing chemistry.

I don't agree with this being a "very young team". NU will likely start 3 seniors. I doubt any freshman will start. All 4 sophomores have significant playing experience.

 

[VirginiaWildcat]

Amen! There are certain people on twitter that are so negative towards our team that I cringe at most of their posts. These are so called "NU fans".

They avoid the forum these days because it's easy to talk in your little circle of anti-fans and not have to worry about being challenged. I find their tweets hilarious. You can practically see some of them chomping at the bit to see NU sports teams fail. A few of them hate, HATE Phillips, Fitz, and Collins. It'll make it all the sweeter when we see success. Go NU!

 

[NJCat83588]

They avoid the forum these days because it's easy to talk in your little circle of anti-fans and not have to worry about being challenged. I find their tweets hilarious. You can practically see some of them chomping at the bit to see NU sports teams fail. A few of them hate, HATE Phillips, Fitz, and Collins. It'll make it all the sweeter when we see success. Go NU!

All the more reason why I don't waste time on Twitter.

 

[Styre]

How did we see that? It never got tested as we never got to 0.500 in conference and I don't know any teams that have gotten in with sub 0.500 conference record (unless they won the tournament). When was the last time that a 10-8 conference record in the BIG did not get in? Especially with 20 wins.

Penn State in 2009 went 22-11 (10-8) and that got them a 2-seed in the NIT. Their schedule was similarly awful.

 

[NJCat83588]

Penn State in 2009 went 22-11 (10-8) and that got them a 2-seed in the NIT. Their schedule was similarly awful.

Of course, with a tougher schedule they might not have won 22 games and would still have ended up in the NIT.

I'd sign right now for a 2nd seed in the NIT this season. Thoughts of making the NCAA after 3 consecutive losing seasons seem pretty delusional. Just keep making steady upward progress.......

 

[Fitz51]

I'm a fan of the schedule, and I look forward to going to the game @DEP.

 

[Styre]

Of course, with a tougher schedule they might not have won 22 games and would still have ended up in the NIT.

I'd sign right now for a 2nd seed in the NIT this season. Thoughts of making the NCAA after 3 consecutive losing seasons seem pretty delusional. Just keep making steady upward progress.......

Oh, that's absolutely true. If you want to keep making incremental progress and shoot for an NIT berth, this is a good schedule to accomplish that with. But if you're going to talk about making a run at the NCAAs this year, this is not a good schedule. And you know they're going to talk about making a run at the NCAAs.

 

[NJCat83588]

And you know they're going to talk about making a run at the NCAAs.

What did Gary Barnett call it? "High Hopes?" It's fine to dream big.

 

[NUCat320]

Amen! There are certain people on twitter that are so negative towards our team that I cringe at most of their posts. These are so called "NU fans". I am fine with this schedule as we have a very young team and this will help us get some wins, while developing chemistry.

This is an appropriate schedule for NU. Three chances against major conference teams (also DePaul). I wish the lows on the schedule (MVSU , Chicago state, presumably SIUE, presumably New Orleans) weren't so low, but I doubt that swapping any of those teams for, say, Oakland or Bradley, would make a difference in the postseason conversation. Fact is, the non-con will be a success if NU escapes with two losses. I feel like that's about the right place to be.

 

[Sec.112]

I've always said a smart coaching staff needs to see a bit into the future, understand the ability of the team and schedule appropriately.

I don't think any staff outside the perennial top 15 programs who have five freshmen and sophomores out of the the first ten in their rotation would consider themselves ready for a stereotypical Michigan State schedule.

This schedule screams to me - a program that needs to learn to win. Anybody disagree with that idea?

However, I will NEVER understand why NU can't make the cupcake games minimally interesting. There's enough nearby programs on the suckometer that would make things more interesting.

I've said it before and I'll say it again ... The way DePaul, NIU and Loyola are going, if you can't beat them, you're not going anywhere anyhow. Schedule them, and hopefully you can establish your program just a tad more.

 

[Styre]

I've said it before and I'll say it again ... The way DePaul, NIU and Loyola are going, if you can't beat them, you're not going anywhere anyhow. Schedule them, and hopefully you can establish your program just a tad more.

Agreed, though sub in UIC for Loyola. The Ramblers look like they're on the way up... got to the Arch Madness semis this year and then won the CBI.

 

[backdoorpass]

It's getting killed on Twitter, but that schedule will be fine if it a) leads to 10+ wins, including at least 1 in Kansas City and b) provides some room to grow for a team heavy with freshmen and sophomores. We should have added one or two strong schools aside from that tournament, but either way, the opportunities will be there in January and February to build the resume.

I pretty much agree.

If we wind up with 11 wins OOC, everything will have worked out just fine, the team will be feeling good about itself, and making the Tournament will be dependent on our B1G performance. On the other hand, any loss aside from North Carolina or Kansas State will almost certainly show up on our resume as a "Bad Loss" (sub-150 RPI). And there is only one possible team on the schedule (North Carolina) that provides an opportunity for a "Good Win" (top 50 RPI).

There's really no room for error in trying to build an NCAA Tournament resume... But the schedule sets up decently if your goal is an almost guaranteed winning record and possible NIT berth.

 

[Gladeskat]

How did we see that? It never got tested as we never got to 0.500 in conference and I don't know any teams that have gotten in with sub 0.500 conference record (unless they won the tournament). When was the last time that a 10-8 conference record in the BIG did not get in? Especially with 20 wins.

Illinois got into the NCAA Tourney with an 8-10 B1G record in 2012-2013. They had a 23-12 record overall.

 

[Gladeskat]

All the more reason why I don't waste time on Twitter.

All the more reason for me to waste time on Twitter! Who are these "fans"?

 

[Gladeskat]

Oh, that's absolutely true. If you want to keep making incremental progress and shoot for an NIT berth, this is a good schedule to accomplish that with. But if you're going to talk about making a run at the NCAAs this year, this is not a good schedule. And you know they're going to talk about making a run at the NCAAs.

I don't understand this. If the team is of high enough quality to get into the NCAA Tourney, it will get in whether the OOC schedule is easy or difficult. We'll have to have more quality Big Ten wins to make up for a lack of quality OOC wins, but we should get them if we're a good enough team. I'd prefer scheduling more local #100-200 teams to present a better challenge.

 

[backdoorpass]

Illinois got into the NCAA Tourney with an 8-10 B1G record in 2012-2013. They had a 23-12 record overall.

Minnesota also got in with an 8-10 B1G record the same season. Illinois and Minnesota played in the first round of the BTT. The expectation was that the winner would make the Tournament; the loser would go to the NIT. But, as it turned out, they both made the Tournament and both made the Round of 32.

Iowa, on the other hand, was left out of the NCAA Tournament with a B1G record of 9-9 (plus another win in the BTT). They went to the NIT and made it all the way to the Finals.

 

[PURPLECAT88]

I don't think any staff outside the perennial top 15 programs who have five freshmen and sophomores out of the the first ten in their rotation would consider themselves ready for a stereotypical Michigan State schedule.

No one's ever really ready for a stereotypical MSU schedule except MSU. And are there really any programs any more that don't have at least five freshmen and sophomores in their first ten?

 

[NJCat83588]

No one's ever really ready for a stereotypical MSU schedule except MSU. And are there really any programs any more that don't have at least five freshmen and sophomores in their first ten?

I don't know about first ten, but with a max of 13 scholarships odds are every year, teams who graduate their players and don't redshirt will have 3 incoming freshmen, which means at least 6 or 7 freshmen and sophomores on the roster at a given time. NU was very young last season with no senior starters; NU will be about average in experience this year.

 

[Styre]

I don't understand this. If the team is of high enough quality to get into the NCAA Tourney, it will get in whether the OOC schedule is easy or difficult. We'll have to have more quality Big Ten wins to make up for a lack of quality OOC wins, but we should get them if we're a good enough team. I'd prefer scheduling more local #100-200 teams to present a better challenge.

The point is that playing dreadful teams actively hurts your tournament resume. Everyone plays a few of them, yes, but our schedule is loaded with them, which is going to negatively impact our RPI and other ratings. Losing the UNC game, for example, will most likely help our RPI. Winning the MVSU game, on the other hand, will most likely hurt it. I'm not saying we need to play murderers' row, but replacing a couple of those awful games with top-100 teams would make a bigger difference than you think, even if we lose them.

And no, not every team that's good enough to get in actually gets in. That's why there's a big argument about the "last 4 in" every year, and that's why, if you think you're good enough to make it, you should help yourself by scheduling up.

 

[Medill90]

The point is that playing dreadful teams actively hurts your tournament resume. Everyone plays a few of them, yes, but our schedule is loaded with them, which is going to negatively impact our RPI and other ratings. Losing the UNC game, for example, will most likely help our RPI. Winning the MVSU game, on the other hand, will most likely hurt it. I'm not saying we need to play murderers' row, but replacing a couple of those awful games with top-100 teams would make a bigger difference than you think, even if we lose them.

And no, not every team that's good enough to get in actually gets in. That's why there's a big argument about the "last 4 in" every year, and that's why, if you think you're good enough to make it, you should help yourself by scheduling up.

Going into last season I thought the non con looked like a cake walk and then a few opponents turned out to be much better than the prognosticators understood. Butler and Northern Iowa were very solid last year. The non con team from Michigan was pretty decent as well.

The non con schedule for this coming season looks like a complete cake walk. However, I know zero about any of the teams. Is there a Northern Iowa or Central Michigan in the mix? Don't know.

Regarding tournament selection, I think that the selection committee started looking at the Big Ten differently after Rutgers and Maryland were added. It's pretty obvious from the scheduling across the league that now a group of Big Ten teams will get easy schedules and another group -- like Iowa and NU last year -- will get tougher schedules.

I think gone are the days that a Big Ten team gets in with a sub .500 record.

 

[Sec.112]

Winning the MVSU game, on the other hand, will most likely hurt it.

Styre, I generally agree with your direction. It somewhat goes back to my theory that if you can't beat certain programs in a certain low RPI range, you're not going anywhere anyhow.

So my question is what's that low RPI range? I want to say no team below 200 should be scheduled EVER. But even that may be too low.

 

[hdhntr1]

The point is that playing dreadful teams actively hurts your tournament resume. Everyone plays a few of them, yes, but our schedule is loaded with them, which is going to negatively impact our RPI and other ratings. Losing the UNC game, for example, will most likely help our RPI. Winning the MVSU game, on the other hand, will most likely hurt it. I'm not saying we need to play murderers' row, but replacing a couple of those awful games with top-100 teams would make a bigger difference than you think, even if we lose them.

And no, not every team that's good enough to get in actually gets in. That's why there's a big argument about the "last 4 in" every year, and that's why, if you think you're good enough to make it, you should help yourself by scheduling up.

But if scheduling up keeps you from getting to 20 wins... It is a balancing act. For the most part, being in the BIG gives us a fair amount of SOS. Get to 20 wins and get at least 9 in the regular season in the BIG and you are in pretty good shape. At least high seeding in NIT or NCAA. Don't get at least 9 wins in the BIG and you are pretty likely outside looking in. Win and you have an argument, lose and there is little to argue about.

 

[hoosboot]

But if scheduling up keeps you from getting to 20 wins... It is a balancing act. For the most part, being in the BIG gives us a fair amount of SOS. Get to 20 wins and get at least 9 in the regular season in the BIG and you are in pretty good shape. At least high seeding in NIT or NCAA. Don't get at least 9 wins in the BIG and you are pretty likely outside looking in. Win and you have an argument, lose and there is little to argue about.

I'll just reiterate that it's WHO you beat in those 20 wins that matters as much as the number. For example, if we got to 20 wins by beating UMass-Lowell, Fairfield, Columbia, Virginia Tech, SIUE, Chicago State, MVSU, DePaul, Sacred Heart, Loyola (MD), Minny, Nebraska and Penn State twice, Rutgers, Iowa, Illinois, Purdue, and Indiana with most of those wins at home, that doesn't look like a strong NCAA tourney resume to me (even though we might be 9-7 in conference play in it.) Add in a first round conference tourney loss and it's even more problematic. However, if we were to get to 19 wins, but those wins included wins over Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and UNC, we likely have a better shot particularly if we got a couple of impressive road wins and some conference tourney momentum.

 

[JournCat]

I'll just reiterate that it's WHO you beat in those 20 wins that matters as much as the number. For example, if we got to 20 wins by beating UMass-Lowell, Fairfield, Columbia, Virginia Tech, SIUE, Chicago State, MVSU, DePaul, Sacred Heart, Loyola (MD), Minny, Nebraska and Penn State twice, Rutgers, Iowa, Illinois, Purdue, and Indiana with most of those wins at home, that doesn't look like a strong NCAA tourney resume to me (even though we might be 9-7 in conference play in it.) Add in a first round conference tourney loss and it's even more problematic. However, if we were to get to 19 wins, but those wins included wins over Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and UNC, we likely have a better shot particularly if we got a couple of impressive road wins and some conference tourney momentum.

Agree with your analysis. We are going to have to beat at least 4-5 top half teams in the Big Ten. But that would be true even if we played a much tougher non-conference slate. If things break right, playing some weaker teams allows us to gain confidence for when we do get Maryland and Wisconsin.

 

[Styre]

I'll just reiterate that it's WHO you beat in those 20 wins that matters as much as the number. For example, if we got to 20 wins by beating UMass-Lowell, Fairfield, Columbia, Virginia Tech, SIUE, Chicago State, MVSU, DePaul, Sacred Heart, Loyola (MD), Minny, Nebraska and Penn State twice, Rutgers, Iowa, Illinois, Purdue, and Indiana with most of those wins at home, that doesn't look like a strong NCAA tourney resume to me (even though we might be 9-7 in conference play in it.) Add in a first round conference tourney loss and it's even more problematic. However, if we were to get to 19 wins, but those wins included wins over Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and UNC, we likely have a better shot particularly if we got a couple of impressive road wins and some conference tourney momentum.

All true. Just remember, too, that if we get to 19 wins, and we beat all of those strong teams, the losses still have to come from somewhere.

 

[hdhntr1]

I'll just reiterate that it's WHO you beat in those 20 wins that matters as much as the number. For example, if we got to 20 wins by beating UMass-Lowell, Fairfield, Columbia, Virginia Tech, SIUE, Chicago State, MVSU, DePaul, Sacred Heart, Loyola (MD), Minny, Nebraska and Penn State twice, Rutgers, Iowa, Illinois, Purdue, and Indiana with most of those wins at home, that doesn't look like a strong NCAA tourney resume to me (even though we might be 9-7 in conference play in it.) Add in a first round conference tourney loss and it's even more problematic. However, if we were to get to 19 wins, but those wins included wins over Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and UNC, we likely have a better shot particularly if we got a couple of impressive road wins and some conference tourney momentum.

That would suggest that you are losing to some of those bottom feeders and that would knock us out as well. Also because conference schedule is 18 games, we would not end up 9-7. I presume you mean 9-9. But if you take our schedules the last few years, it is awfully hard to get to 9 AND have almost all at home wins without beating a good team or two.. Look, if we win at least 9 BIG games and 20 overall before getting to the BTT, we have a legitimate argument. However, if we do not get to at least 9 BIG wins and or 20 wins overall, and it is an uphill battle regardless of who we beat. Add a win or two in BTT (we would probably not be playing in the first round) and we have a really good case regardless of how we got there. Now if the conference slips, all bets are off. But for now, give me 9 and 20 and I will take may chances. At bare minimum, we would get a high NIT seed and a chance at a pretty good run as a number of last out BIG teams bretheren have done

 

[VirginiaWildcat]

What seems funny to me are the posters who outwardly dislike the schedule (because it'll hurt our NCAA chances) are the same ones that don't think we're good enough to make the NCAAs anyway.

In the end, you have to win anyway. Let's play the games...if we end up being good enough, we'll probably have won the games needed to get us there. An 18 game B1G schedule is nothing to balk at these days...