Is the biggest of the year. Keep it going and we solidify our grip on second, the double bye and dance seeding and only need a Purdue tripup to get to the top spot (but only if we take care of IL). That and the next two road games are really toughMD is 8-0 at home but only 1-7 on the road. And we play them there. Rutgers at Rutgers also tough (but not quite as bad as before they lost one of their starters)
And now, the Illinois game
- Thread starter hdhntr1
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The Maryland loss tonight takes a lot of the pressure off this one, in that we're in 2nd place in the conference after this next game no matter what happens. But man, would it be sweet to sweep the Illini too, and keep the pressure on Boilers going into next weekend. They're off this week. But they play IU on Saturday, and Michigan also plays Rutgers - so someone is taking an L and shaking up the standings before we finish out our week.
Every game from here on out is the "biggest" because we're chasing a title + 2 seed + knockout games after that. But this one was noticeably less stressful, perhaps because we got off to a great start and never let Iowa get particularly close. Time to add to that road tally and officially give ourselves the most road wins in the league.
We need 2 more to tie (assuming PU takes care of business with WIS) Three to win
I like talking about earning a double bye and higher seed in the Big Dance better than clinching a spot in the Dance. 
ExactlyI like talking about earning a double bye and higher seed in the Big Dance better than clinching a spot in the Dance.
MD loss tonight does not really take any pressure off NU since we are chasing Purdue and we still have to play MD at MD (I suppose it might if only goal is double bye)
I explained exactly why it takes some pressure off. Double bye is absolutely a huge goal, especially for a team that wants to get 70 minutes out of two players and wants to play 3 days in a row in the BTT.
Illinois didn’t have one of their starters Saturday vs Indiana!
Not really concerned win 🥇 or lose! Just have fun!
The team has some really good cohesion and we play literally 7-8 solid guys all game long!
...and two games in three days in the Dance. Getting to the double-bye helps NU chances of getting to the Sweet 16 as well.
But it is just one team and there are a number of other programs going after that double bye. MD still has a schedule that they can win out and knock us out of second and potentially the double bye as well
I keep looking at games on the schedule (both ours and others) to try to find the biggest games left, and they're pretty much all big. Sure, some games are against Ohio State or Minnesota, but when so many teams can finish between 11 and 13 wins, they all take on enormous importance to everybody. That's why NU needs to keep winning and winning. They take care of business and let the Marylands and Michigan States fight for the scraps behind them.
Next one is the biggest. Even more because we need to defend being ranked
Illinois’ best player, Terrence Shannon, missed their last game because of a concussion and I think is a game-time decision tonight against Minnesota.
