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Refresh my memory : the tourney bubble

NUCat320

Well-Known Member
Dec 4, 2005
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Help me out: as I recall, we never really had a 'stressful' Selection Sunday, right? Were we ever on the 'first four out' list or anything like that? As I recall, during that Juice/Shurna run, we always went into the BTT thinking we needed to win x games, and always wound up winning x-1. The one that hurt the most was Minnesota in overtime on the Thursday, I think in 2011.

Mostly, I feel like NU's bubble burst in late February and early March, and not necessarily mid-March.

Maybe the closest was 2009, when the idiot bus driver showed up an hour late at the hotel in Columbus due to daylight saving time (don't you have a cell phone, dude?) in the regular season finale, then NU choked (again) against Ralph Sampson and some other giants and Minnesota. My now-six-year-old son was born two days after Johnny Shurna's game-winning three versus OSU. Turns out, he was still sentenced to sports misery (or, perhaps, he somehow caused it.)
 
I think 2012 was close enough that I actually watched the selection show thinking MAYBE there was a chance, but I knew in my heart that the team hadn't done enough. That's the only time I can ever recall watching the show where there was a non-zero chance of getting our name called.
 
A few bracketologists had us in their first four out or next four out, so there was a minimal chance. IIRC the actual committee said we weren't in either group after the fact.
 
Probably about 3 years where we were 1-2 wins away from a nervous selection Sunday. 2009, 11, and of course 12. 2010 we were NIT but further down due to tons of bad losses.
 
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