It seems like we'd have a shot at a big with no more wins, but my sense is that 1 more win would clinch it.
Do we need 1 more win to clinch a bid
- Thread starter torque-cat
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Yes. Pay no attention to those who suggest we make the tourney if we lose the last five games of our conference schedule. We need one more, but let’s try to win them all!
Backing in with a losing streak would not be a good look and could sink the season. One more should do it though. I'd love to see two more home wins to give the arena a reputation.
Don’t care for this mindset at all. NU is one Purdue loss from controlling its destiny for a conference championship. W.I.N.
For me, it's just a nod to the fact that the remaining games are tough and everyone is shooting for NU now. Does NU have the secret cause to win out or even get 4 of 5? Maybe. But as a long time NU fan, I recognize that 2 more home wins is a historic season and should not be seen as falling short.
NU's defense is something very few teams playing in the Big Dance have encountered and could take the team deep into the tournament. NU needs to get there and make some noise.
Let's beat Iowa and then we can talk about this some more.
Good that we have 4 days rest with Boo and Chase playing almost 40 mins. Hopefully Roper is back soon.
We clinched the bid already, enough of this. It’s time to talk about being 1.5 games back from winning the B1G. That’s the goal. Didn’t think I’d say that before this season.
I'm very concerned about Iowa because we just don't match up well against them. They are a team of shooters and slashers, without a big man in the middle. They were in a fairly close dame with OSU until Iowa hit 4 threes in a row just before the half, so we need to figure out something a little bit different on defense.
Benoit...I am also all in on trying to win the rest of our games!
While they are pretty unstoppable on O at home, at least they are a little less daunting on the road. Stats show they score about 89 ppg at home but only 69-70 on the road. Pretty big difference.
They need to opportunity recover, practice and come up solidify their fundamentals. Berry for example, was short on all the 3 pointer before the one that he hit. The stretch that they had with 6 in 13 days followed by Purdue and Indiana was really tough and to come out of that stretch 6-2 was pretty unbelievable.
In the second half against IN you could see some of the issues. Need the time to solidify things for the stretch run
It's 4 days from game to game, it's 3 days between game days. I am talking out of my behind, but would guess that would be mentioned as the ideal time between games by a majority of players and coaches.
Exactly!!! Pedal to the metal I! With our leg 🦵 speed, we are definitely 💯 a sweet sixteen team!
You are 99% correct, but hopefully we will never know the answer to the question of whether one more win would have been needed.
Right now that 1% feels like 50% to those who feel Northwestern doesn't get nice post season things.
Yeah, I said the same thing on here somewhere earlier this week...that while I think Indiana is a better team than Iowa, I had more confidence in us winning that game just based on how we match up against them. The one caveat is that Iowa is one of those teams that typically plays significantly better at home, so getting them away from the weird Carver-Hawkeye Arena could be enough to put us over the top.
I think Indiana is more talented than Purdue and their star big man is more talented all around than Purdue's.
Couldn't resist the brief reply. Standard on The Rock.
4 day break is too long if you lose. Otherwise, just right.
The need the time off. Gives a day off and a couple solid days of practice. Combination of physical and mental fatigue. You could see it as they got pretty sloppy in the second half against IN and it nearly cost them. Normally during the season, you get two or three days between games and this is that. Three days between games
I don’t think so. They had a tough stretch and I think it wore them down and caused our loss to Michigan. So getting some rest and maybe even time to add a few wrinkles to the D is a good thing.
Having an extra day before Iowa is helpful, I think, for two reasons: the first is that the harassing press Iowa runs is something that extra prep will be helpful with, and Iowa plays up speed the whole game, and an extra recovery day should help avoid a late collapse. Iowa is, as others have pointed out, is a tough matchup for the Cats.
It also gives us an extra day to bribe the refs.
I wonder whether Larry Scirotto is free that night.
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I mean, we do not yet have a super strong NET ranking. 6 straight losses probably means we are not in the tournament because they also weigh how you finish the season. I doubt strongly we will lose 6 in a row because we are a better team than that.
I ALSO think that more important than the tournament now is winning the Big Ten. I can simultaneously worry about the first and be excited about the second.
I ALSO think that more important than the tournament now is winning the Big Ten. I can simultaneously worry about the first and be excited about the second.
That sounds like the good news--that we don't have to worry about the big man in the middle.
That's funny because I debated that. In conversation I probably say "an". I have a fairly distinct Chicago accent sometimes.
I didn’t think I’d ever be saying that, let alone this season.
In the past, I figured NU would eventually get into the tournament as the program had been relatively close on occasion.
Given how long it had been since the last conference title and basketball schedule expanding back to a 18 and later 20 game conference slate, I did not foresee the ‘Cats being in a position to compete for a regular season league title in my lifetime. Add in the general expectations of the program outside of Evanston and this season doesn’t seem real. I relish watching this team play each and every game. It’s basically all gravy for me at this point.
We have done enough IFF we win one more game. Does not have to be a top opponent as we have enough of them and if we had had the streak that we have had at the end of the season instead of the middle, we would be in great shape. Even if the 10 wins were more spread out with a couple of them coming between now and the end of the season, we would probably be fine. But because they are all behind us.....We need the one more win because if we limp into selection Sunday losing 5-6 in a row, there is the chance that they could discount the value of those victories. Recency bias is a real thing
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