Here’s the most realistic scenario for the Gophers TO HAVE A CHANCE to hear their name called on Selection Sunday. … win the two home games (Iowa, Penn State), lose the two road games (Ohio State, Michigan), go 1-1 in the Big Ten Tournament. That’s 9-11
DON’T QUIT, Minn. — O ye of little faith — “ye” being Gopher basketball fans prone to flinch at the mere sound of the words “February” and “bubble” — I offer you this full confession, followed by my favorite poem.
Quietly and dejectedly trudging out of Williams Arena last night with my better half, father, brother, and 13-year-old nephew, inwardly I allowed myself to quit on the Gophers’ 2013-14 season. An unsightly 62-49 home loss to the bottom team in the Big Ten standings can do that to a guy. That I was even thinking about giving up on the Gophers’ season (read: NCAA Tournament chances), well, it’s disappointing. The man who taught me while I was growing up to never quit was walking immediately to my right, and here I was, thinking, “I’m done with this. I quit. A Gopher basketball season is not worth the aggravation I get out of it.”
This immediately brought to mind the poem, one mostly applicable to real life, but one I’ve always associated with the athletic realm. It’s titled “Don’t Quit”, author unknown, and now would be a good time for Gopher hoops fans to take it to heart. I’ve added a couple things for levity:
Don’t Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will (losing at The Barn to the last-place team),
When the road you’re trudging (to Selection Sunday) seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow –
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal (NCAA Tournament) is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man (quitter);
Often the struggler (player) has given up
Whe he might have captured the victor’s cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out –
The silver tint in the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It might be near (NCAA bid) when it seems afar (settling for the NIT);
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things seem worst (6-8 in the B1G with 4 to play) that you must not quit.
Ye Gopher faithful, as it always does, the sun came up this morning. Keep the faith. Today is another day. Doubt? That’s OK. … it happens to all of us. Quitting? That’s for the weak and timid.
OFF THE PULPIT, LET’S TALK BUBBLE
Now I’ll leave the pulpit. Let’s discuss what I opine about best this time of year, the NCAA Tournament bubble. Despite last night’s downer, the Gophers remain very much in the conversation for a NCAA tourney bid. That’s a fact. The Gophers’ path to the tournament just became tons more difficult (“the road you’re trudging seems all uphill”), but there is time. The sand in the hourglass is shifting, but there most definitely is still time.
With 24 days remaining until Selection Sunday, here’s how RTSS sees the Field of 68 shaping up through games played Feb. 19. Per usual, the field is split into five categories: (1) conference leaders/automatic bid; (2) virtual locks; (3) approaching lock status; (4) true bubblers/could go either way; and (5) still breathing/long shots.
Essentially I have 31 teams (combining bubblers & long shots) battling for 12 available at-large bids. The Gophers, with a RPI of #45, are one of those 31, and quite frankly their resume among those 31 certainly ranks in the upper half. And the thing is, we’re just getting started. When the first of the conference tournaments start March 4, the real fun begins.
Current RPI is noted in parentheses.
Conference Leaders/Automatic Bids (32)
America East: Vermont (110)
American: Cincinnati (14)
ACC: Virginia (17)
Atlantic Sun: Mercer (68)
Atlantic 10: Saint Louis (13)
Big East: Creighton (6)
Big Sky: Weber State (176)
Big South: High Point (184)
Big Ten: Michigan (16)
Big XII: Kansas (1)
Big West: Cal-Irvine (116)
Colonial: Delaware (65)
Conference USA: Middle Tennessee (75)
Horizon: Green Bay (63)
Ivy: Harvard (53)
MAAC: Iona (82)
MAC: Western Michigan (91)
MEAC: North Carolina Central (122)
Missouri Valley: Wichita State (8)
Mountain West: San Diego State (20)
Northeast: Robert Morris (127)
Ohio Valley: Belmont (61)
Pac 12: Arizona (2)
Patriot: Boston U (85)
SEC: Florida (3)
Southern: Davidson (151)
Southland: Stephen F. Austin (74)
SWAC: Southern U (188)
Summit: North Dakota State (43)
Sun Belt: Georgia State (100)
West Coast: Gonzaga (22)
WAC: Utah Valley (157)
Virtual Locks (19)
American: UConn (27), Louisville (34), Memphis (35)
ACC: Syracuse (7), Duke (9), North Carolina (29)
Atlantic 10: UMass (18), VCU (25)
Big East: Villanova (4)
Big Ten: Wisconsin (5), Ohio State (15), Michigan State (19), Iowa (26)
Big XII: Iowa State (10), Texas (24), Oklahoma (28)
Pac 12: UCLA (12), Colorado (23)
SEC: Kentucky (11)
Approaching Lock Status (5)
ACC: Pitt (33)
Atlantic 10: George Washington (32)
Big XII: Kansas State (37)
Mountain West: New Mexico (21)
Pac 12: Arizona State (31)
The True Bubblers (22)
American: SMU (44)
Atlantic 10: Saint Joseph’s (39), Xavier (42), Richmond (46), Dayton (57)
Big East: Saint John’s (54), Georgetown (59), Providence (62)
Big Ten: GOPHERS (45), Nebraska (52)
Big XII: Baylor (48), Oklahoma State (49), West Virginia (71)
MAC: Toledo (30)
Mountain West: Boise State (56)
Pac 12: Oregon (38), Stanford (47), Cal (50)
SEC: Missouri (36), Tennessee (51), LSU (69)
West Coast: BYU (41)
Still Breathing, But Longshots (9)
ACC: NC State (58), Florida State (66), Clemson (70)
Conference USA: Southern Miss (40), Louisiana Tech (80)
Missouri Valley: Indiana State (55)
SEC: Arkansas (72), Ole Miss (77)
West Coast: Saint Mary’s (60)
THE GOPHERS’ PATH TO THE 4-LETTER TOURNAMENT?
Stated this in another thread, but in my estimation here’s the most realistic scenario for the Gophers TO HAVE A CHANCE to hear their name called on Selection Sunday. … win the two home games (Iowa, Penn State), lose the two road games (Ohio State, Michigan), go 1-1 in the Big Ten Tournament. That’s 9-11 in the Big Ten (including BTT games) with anywhere from 3 to 5 RPI top-50 wins (Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa, perhaps Richmond, perhaps Nebraska). If that one BTT win is vs. Nebraska, all the better to help the Gophers.
One tip: As long as the Gophers finish at least 8-10 in the Big Ten, don’t be overly concerned if Nebraska finishes a game or two ahead of them in the standings. Conference finish matters very little when you’re dealing with the bubble. What matters most is each team’s individual resume.