5-9.333

[NUCat320]

That's the average conference record of the victims during this little streak.

I think the streak is meaningful - it means that this team is better than losing ten in a row - but it's just a little meaningful.

Wednesday's game is a big opportunity. Home crowd, likely with a big IU influence. IU is most certainly playing for something. Mac will no doubt have some nerves. (Is the weather going to get better?) Maybe there's minor buzz - it doesn't take much to fill those student sections. Too bad it's an early start for the gainfully employed...

(Of course, I've been on the board more in the last 24 hours than in the previous 24 days. I'm probably not alone.)

 

[Turk]

Unfortunately i miss all the 2pm starts but i should b able to make this 6pm start. I imagine the crowd wont b packed in till halftime. I went to a bulls 7pm start and the crowd cant get there till around 7:30.

6pm spots suck.

 

[JournCat]

Agreed on everything, including how often I've been on the board this last week. We've beaten up on mediocre teams, which is still a huge and energizing step for this team. IU is better than all three. They are on the bubble and need to win Wednesday. They're also particularly tough to defend with a zone because they shoot the 3 so well (41 percent as a team). I think we'll stick with the zone to limit drives and interior scoring, and hope Ferrell and/or Blackmon have a bad day shooting jumpers.

Beating them would be very, very impressive.

This post was edited on 2/22 12:59 PM by JournCat

 

[Walker Fan]

Iowa is up 27 pts. on UNL in Lincoln. Now they are 8-6. No. 5 team in it the 14 team Big 10. For the Big 10, they are not mediocre. Any wins on the road are not mediocre so your argument of NU's win at Williams Arena does not hold water. Talking care of a team by 21 pts. at home like PSU is a sign of progress and not a sign of being unimpressive against conference opponents. But nice try in downplaying the development of a young team.

 

[JournCat]

Sorry if my post seemed negative, though that wasn't my intention at all. I called those three wins "a huge and energizing step," while arguing that IU will be a greater challenge than the last three games.

 

[mikewebb68]

I will state that I firmly believe that Iowa was a significant challenge, and they actually played fairly well against us. Minny and PSU, not so much.

 

[Deeringfish]

Walker, You have the right attitude , you just haven't been disappointed often enough.

Actually, I'm very hopeful about this game. It is possible we have turned a corner and found a path in the 2-3. Also, Indiana is playing tonight at Rutgers. That is a lot of travel in winter weather and a short turnaround for them while we prepare at home. I also think the crowd will be good and the football team will be back. I bet they had too much fun to stay away.

Go Cats!!

 

[ohiovalleycat]

I have to agree that the recent victories are a major sign of progress. Iowa is a possible tournament team. Minnesota will probably make the NIT and Penn State still has a winning record this late in the season, so these are not anemic 200+ RPI teams that Northwestern is beating. These are the same quality level teams they were struggling with just weeks ago, so the recent victories are a great sign of a turning point for a young team.

 

[realcatfan]

Originally posted by NUCat320:
That's the average conference record of the victims during this little streak.

I think the streak is meaningful - it means that this team is better than losing ten in a row - but it's just a little meaningful.

Wednesday's game is a big opportunity. Home crowd, likely with a big IU influence. IU is most certainly playing for something. Mac will no doubt have some nerves. (Is the weather going to get better?) Maybe there's minor buzz - it doesn't take much to fill those student sections. Too bad it's an early start for the gainfully employed...

(Of course, I've been on the board more in the last 24 hours than in the previous 24 days. I'm probably not alone.)

Why do some people find it necessary to throw a turd in the punch bowl? We won three big ten games in a row. Was it wins over Wisconsin, Maryland, and Michigan State? No, but who cares. It gives the kids that are working their asses off to win games something to be happy about. Did you see the celebration video after the Iowa game? Obviously, it was meaningful for them.

I guess it doesn't mean that we're a national title contender. I'm won't look forward to a 5 day 5 game run, because we don't have the talent of Wisconsin. I don't care about all that, because it's about the future and what Collins is putting in place. We had 1 guy play against PSU who is leaving next year if we don't count Kreisburg's 17 seconds at the end of the game. We're bring in a stud guard to replace Sobolewski, and two big men which should help with size and depth. During this stretch, a freshman lead every game in scoring. McIntosh showed that he can score when he needs to and distribute when he needs to. The future looks so bright.

What will it take for you to get excited? A win over Indiana? I'm sure after we win you'll be back saying that it didn't count because Indiana took us lightly or they packed it in because a conference title looks unlikely or some BS like that.

 

[Palindrome]

You had me with the title. I thought it was about a crackerjack HS point forward prospect being recruited by us. Meaning 5'9" and 333 pounds. THAT would get us some national props for sure. But then I noted it was a period and not a comma between the two numbers. Oh well ....

 

[ColumbusCatFan1]

"Why do some people find it necessary to throw a turd in the punch bowl?"

I think it part of the nature of message boards. Happened before and will happen again.

 

[NUCat320]

Hey, rcf -

Mostly, I was trying to curb my own enthusiasm. Three wins is a meaningful accomplishment (look at the OP), and ten losses sucked, and here I am reloading this stupid board over and over because of three wins in a row.

If you follow the board, you'll find basically zero negativity from me about hoops. I like - no, love - where the program is headed. I like that after a few certifiable stinkers (notably Purdue) had stifled my interest, I'm interested again. And, you can only beat whoever's on your schedule, and that's been a not-great group but, again, I'd rather have three wins than the alternative.

And, right, like in life, you move on to the next thing. Acknowledge the accomplishment, then go crush the next lecture or mile or meeting or acceptance speech or pop quiz. So, I'm very happy with what they've done, especially in light of the 6 weeks that preceded these past three games, but, now, onto the next one. And, as I wrote originally, onto the next opportunity. It's a great one, and a win would mean that the four-game steak would be a bit more meaningful, and a loss would mean that the three-game streak NU is on now is a little meaningful, because the frosh started learning to win.

I hope you can safely drink the punch. Tranquilo, amigo.

 

[NUCat320]

That's a glorious visual, Palindrome.

 

[spartcat]

Iowa is #27 in the current Sagarin ratings, ahead of Maryland (this year's poster child for lucky) Purdue and Indiana. Iowa is 3-6 against top 25 (NC comes to mind) They are not mediocre, except when they are.

Oh, we are #101, just behind Wake Forest and 2 spots ahead of Nebraska. Just sayin'
This post was edited on 2/23 12:17 PM by spartcat

 

[NJCat83588]

To support your case, KenPom also has Io_a at #27. They are the only Big 10 team to beat OSU in CBus. They also beat 'em in Iowa City.

KenPom has NU at #106. Minny is #63 and PSU #110.

And remember that "weak" OOC schedule? NIU is #11, Butler #23 and GaTech #81. Just sayin'.

 

[clarificationcat]

It was the same way last year. Some folks were appalled that we lost to Stanford and they went to the Sweet 16. North Carolina State won a tournament game. Western Michigan won their conference. Add in Missouri and UCLA and it was not a bad nonconference schedule.