Big Ten Tournament if it were held today; Gophers currently hold a spot

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SelectionSunday

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Weakling Wednesday Dropouts
#16 Northwestern (3-7)
#17 Nebraska (2-7)
#18 Washington (108)

Weakling Wednesday (March 12)
#12 Rutgers (4-6) vs. #13 Iowa (4-6), 2:30 (Peacock)
#10 Ohio State (4-5) vs. #15 Minnesota (3-7), 5 (Peacock)
#11 USC (4-5) vs. #14 Penn State (3-7), 7:30 (Peacock)

2nd Round (March 13)
#8 Oregon (5-4) vs. #9 Indiana (5-5), 11 (BTN)
#5 Illinois (6-4) vs. Rutgers/Iowa winner, 1:30 (BTN)
#7 Wisconsin (6-4) vs. Ohio State/Minnesota winner, 5:30 (BTN)
#6 UCLA (6-4) vs. USC/Penn State winner, 8 (BTN)

Quarterfinals (March 14)
#1 Michigan State (9-0) vs. Oregon/Indiana winner, 11 (BTN)
#4 Maryland (7-4) vs. Illinois/Rutgers/Iowa winner, 11:30 (BTN)
#2 Purdue (8-2) vs. Wisconsin/Ohio State/Minnesota winner, 5:30 (BTN)
#3 Michigan (7-2) vs. UCLA/USC/Penn State winner, 8 (BTN)
 

SelectionSunday said:
Weakling Wednesday Dropouts
#16 Northwestern (3-7)
#17 Nebraska (2-7)
#18 Washington (108)

Weakling Wednesday (March 12)
#12 Rutgers (4-6) vs. #13 Iowa (4-6), 2:30 (Peacock)
#10 Ohio State (4-5) vs. #15 Minnesota (3-7), 5 (Peacock)
#11 USC (4-5) vs. #14 Penn State (3-7), 7:30 (Peacock)

2nd Round (March 13)
#8 Oregon (5-4) vs. #9 Indiana (5-5), 11 (BTN)
#5 Illinois (6-4) vs. Rutgers/Iowa winner, 1:30 (BTN)
#7 Wisconsin (6-4) vs. Ohio State/Minnesota winner, 5:30 (BTN)
#6 UCLA (6-4) vs. USC/Penn State winner, 8 (BTN)

Quarterfinals (March 14)
#1 Michigan State (9-0) vs. Oregon/Indiana winner, 11 (BTN)
#4 Maryland (7-4) vs. Illinois/Rutgers/Iowa winner, 11:30 (BTN)
#2 Purdue (8-2) vs. Wisconsin/Ohio State/Minnesota winner, 5:30 (BTN)
#3 Michigan (7-2) vs. UCLA/USC/Penn State winner, 8 (BTN)
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Obviously this will change a lot between now and the real thing but would love to see us get another crack at Ohio State. Absolutely gave away the first matchup against them.
 

The good news, based on the tie-breaking procedures, the five biggest games left on the schedule are against the four worst teams in the league:

Saturday vs. Washington
Feb 4 at Penn State
Feb 22 vs. Penn State
Feb 25 vs. Northwestern
March 1 at Nebraska

Win most (or all) of those games, and you'll be in Indy.

It is amazing that based on the Big Ten standings today, we have literally not played anyone in the bottom 6. Not one.
 

tjgopher said:
The good news, based on the tie-breaking procedures, the five biggest games left on the schedule are against the four worst teams in the league:

Saturday vs. Washington
Feb 4 at Penn State
Feb 22 vs. Penn State
Feb 25 vs. Northwestern
March 1 at Nebraska

Win most (or all) of those games, and you'll be in Indy.

It is amazing that based on the Big Ten standings today, we have literally not played anyone in the bottom 6. Not one.
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Yep, the finishing schedule is very Gopher-friendly. Just win 3 of those 5, and perhaps they wouldn't even HAVE TO win any other games? Beating the "similar" teams is much more important than beating the teams Gophers won't catch.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Yep, the finishing schedule is very Gopher-friendly. Just win 3 of those 5, and perhaps they wouldn't even HAVE TO win any other games? Beating the "similar" teams is much more important than beating the teams Gophers won't catch.
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Would be good to have it decided before playing in Lincoln on March 1.
 





gopherbadgerman said:
God how the bar has fallen
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Bar hasn't fallen. Nobody thinks just barely qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament is a huge accomplishment or a sign of a good season.

But we are at the halfway point of the conference season and this is where the team is at. So we can choose to sit and bitch and moan about not winning the conference and qualifying for the NCAA tournament or we can just try to find some enjoyment in what ultimately is likely going to be another disappointing season and the final one for our current head coach.

I get it, a bunch of posters here will choose option number one and keep posting the same "fire Johnson rants" over and over and over again until the end of the season. Others will choose to still find ways to get some enjoyment out of watching something we have zero control over and should be for entertainment.
 




MNVCGUY said:
Bar hasn't fallen. Nobody thinks just barely qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament is a huge accomplishment or a sign of a good season.

But we are at the halfway point of the conference season and this is where the team is at. So we can choose to sit and bitch and moan about not winning the conference and qualifying for the NCAA tournament or we can just try to find some enjoyment in what ultimately is likely going to be another disappointing season and the final one for our current head coach.

I get it, a bunch of posters here will choose option number one and keep posting the same "fire Johnson rants" over and over and over again until the end of the season. Others will choose to still find ways to get some enjoyment out of watching something we have zero control over and should be for entertainment.
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I'd agree its just entertainment. Maybe used the wrong wording.
 

Zeppelin Gopher said:
Absolute must win tomorrow!
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It will be interesting tomorrow. The Gophers schedule certainly gets easier in the second half of the conference season. But just noticed Washington hasn't played anybody in the bottom 7 yet either. They have had a brutal first half schedule. Hard to know how good they will perform against the soft underbelly of the B1G conference.
 

gopherbadgerman said:
God how the bar has fallen
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The bar, as I understand it, is still making the NCAA Tournament. Making the B1G Tournament and going deep in that tournament are two separate things of different difficulty.
 




SelectionSunday said:
Weakling Wednesday Dropouts
#16 Northwestern (3-7)
#17 Nebraska (2-7)
#18 Washington (108)

Weakling Wednesday (March 12)
#12 Rutgers (4-6) vs. #13 Iowa (4-6), 2:30 (Peacock)
#10 Ohio State (4-5) vs. #15 Minnesota (3-7), 5 (Peacock)
#11 USC (4-5) vs. #14 Penn State (3-7), 7:30 (Peacock)

2nd Round (March 13)
#8 Oregon (5-4) vs. #9 Indiana (5-5), 11 (BTN)
#5 Illinois (6-4) vs. Rutgers/Iowa winner, 1:30 (BTN)
#7 Wisconsin (6-4) vs. Ohio State/Minnesota winner, 5:30 (BTN)
#6 UCLA (6-4) vs. USC/Penn State winner, 8 (BTN)

Quarterfinals (March 14)
#1 Michigan State (9-0) vs. Oregon/Indiana winner, 11 (BTN)
#4 Maryland (7-4) vs. Illinois/Rutgers/Iowa winner, 11:30 (BTN)
#2 Purdue (8-2) vs. Wisconsin/Ohio State/Minnesota winner, 5:30 (BTN)
#3 Michigan (7-2) vs. UCLA/USC/Penn State winner, 8 (BTN)
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Nebraska is 3-7 after their win last night.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Amen.

I'm pretty much counting that one as a L. Gophers have never won there (0-9), and it's not just that, it seems like they usually play awful at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
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Hoping for Law of Averages to prevail vs Law of Momentum (or Inertia from the Gophers point of view).
 


Lincoln gopher said:
I have witnessed most of that 0-9 stretch in person. I have stopped going, can't take it anymore.
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Weak.

I was 0-7 at Kinnick Stadium until we broke through in 2023. And each of those trips included a 4+ hour drive each way.

The game is in your back yard, you gotta keep going. The eventual breakthrough win will be even sweeter when it happens.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Bar hasn't fallen. Nobody thinks just barely qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament is a huge accomplishment or a sign of a good season.

But we are at the halfway point of the conference season and this is where the team is at. So we can choose to sit and bitch and moan about not winning the conference and qualifying for the NCAA tournament or we can just try to find some enjoyment in what ultimately is likely going to be another disappointing season and the final one for our current head coach.

I get it, a bunch of posters here will choose option number one and keep posting the same "fire Johnson rants" over and over and over again until the end of the season. Others will choose to still find ways to get some enjoyment out of watching something we have zero control over and should be for entertainment.
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Get over yourself.

You could just "get some enjoyment" without finding it necessary to scold anyone who doesn't enjoy perpetual doormat status.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Bar hasn't fallen. Nobody thinks just barely qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament is a huge accomplishment or a sign of a good season.

But we are at the halfway point of the conference season and this is where the team is at. So we can choose to sit and bitch and moan about not winning the conference and qualifying for the NCAA tournament or we can just try to find some enjoyment in what ultimately is likely going to be another disappointing season and the final one for our current head coach.

I get it, a bunch of posters here will choose option number one and keep posting the same "fire Johnson rants" over and over and over again until the end of the season. Others will choose to still find ways to get some enjoyment out of watching something we have zero control over and should be for entertainment.
Click to expand...
Let's say they win somewhere between 6 and 8 conference games. While the rooting side of the brain might be entertained, the bigger-picture side is thinking about a kind of purgatory regarding the coach. That result - coupled with the impending revenue sharing - makes the decision to retain a real possibility. Those of us who are convinced a new coach is necessary are quite conflicted.
 

formerlybis said:
Let's say they win somewhere between 6 and 8 conference games. While the rooting side of the brain might be entertained, the bigger-picture side is thinking about a kind of purgatory regarding the coach. That result - coupled with the impending revenue sharing - makes the decision to retain a real possibility. Those of us who are convinced a new coach is necessary are quite conflicted.
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I get that. What I don't get is why so many are quick to assume that Coyle is just totally fine with the current state of the basketball program and is looking for reasons to keep Ben on as the coach in spite of the poor performance.

He inherited Pitino....and he fired him one year after a trip to the NCAA tournament and a couple years of near .500 Big Ten records. He fired Lindsey Whalen who is women's basketball royalty here.

Tough to know exactly who's call it was to hire Johnson or what went on during that process. Regardless once that decision was made he wasn't going to make a knee jerk reaction and he has given Ben some time. But given his track record with Pitino and Whalen specifically I really don't get why people are so convinced he won't be willing to fire Ben if the team falls short of the NCAA tournament again.

I know some will never agree but I can 100% see why he would have chosen to keep Ben on after year 3 heading into year 4. On that same token I just don't see why he would keep Ben for year 5 if year 4 continues the way we expect it to with the team falling short of the NCAA tournament again and finishing in the bottom half of the conference for the 4th straight year. Especially with yet another roster rebuild looming.
 

MNVCGUY said:
He inherited Pitino....and he fired him one year after a trip to the NCAA tournament and a couple years of near .500 Big Ten records. He fired Lindsey Whalen who is women's basketball royalty here.
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It was actually 3 seasons after Pitino had taken the Gophers to the NCAA in 2019 (for the 2nd time) in which he was let go.
 


MNVCGUY said:
I get that. What I don't get is why so many are quick to assume that Coyle is just totally fine with the current state of the basketball program and is looking for reasons to keep Ben on as the coach in spite of the poor performance.

He inherited Pitino....and he fired him one year after a trip to the NCAA tournament and a couple years of near .500 Big Ten records. He fired Lindsey Whalen who is women's basketball royalty here.

Tough to know exactly who's call it was to hire Johnson or what went on during that process. Regardless once that decision was made he wasn't going to make a knee jerk reaction and he has given Ben some time. But given his track record with Pitino and Whalen specifically I really don't get why people are so convinced he won't be willing to fire Ben if the team falls short of the NCAA tournament again.

I know some will never agree but I can 100% see why he would have chosen to keep Ben on after year 3 heading into year 4. On that same token I just don't see why he would keep Ben for year 5 if year 4 continues the way we expect it to with the team falling short of the NCAA tournament again and finishing in the bottom half of the conference for the 4th straight year. Especially with yet another roster rebuild looming.
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It's grayer than you are portraying. People aren't convinced Coyle won't make the change (I guess "people" in this case is me), they're concerned about scenarios where retention could be justified. It's not the same as the Whalen scenario money-wise. I believe the goalposts of making the tourney or bust was not a hard-and-fast KPI, regardless of what was said before the season. Based on how the season started, salvaging respectability could be rewarded - at least in theory.
 

tjgopher said:
The good news, based on the tie-breaking procedures, the five biggest games left on the schedule are against the four worst teams in the league:

Saturday vs. Washington
Feb 4 at Penn State
Feb 22 vs. Penn State
Feb 25 vs. Northwestern
March 1 at Nebraska

Win most (or all) of those games, and you'll be in Indy.

It is amazing that based on the Big Ten standings today, we have literally not played anyone in the bottom 6. Not one.
Click to expand...
This is kind of a self eating logical argument though.
Perhaps the reason those 6 are the bottom 6 is because they haven’t gotten to play the gophers yet.


I’m not saying that’s the case but I don’t love these arguments.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Obviously this will change a lot between now and the real thing but would love to see us get another crack at Ohio State. Absolutely gave away the first matchup against them.
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I still see Betts fouling that guy...make it go away!!
 

formerlybis said:
It's grayer than you are portraying. People aren't convinced Coyle won't make the change (I guess "people" in this case is me), they're concerned about scenarios where retention could be justified. It's not the same as the Whalen scenario money-wise. I believe the goalposts of making the tourney or bust was not a hard-and-fast KPI, regardless of what was said before the season. Based on how the season started, salvaging respectability could be rewarded - at least in theory.
Click to expand...
Sure....in the end we have no clue how Coyle is going to handle the situation. I can't see him rewarding an empty barn, 4 straight losing conference seasons, and multiple roster rebuilds (with another one looming in which nearly all the key pieces from the current team will be gone with the exception of 1 guy). And while that one guy (Asuma) looks like a solid player he doesn't necessarily seem like someone destined for superstardom.

If the team does go on a nice run to close out the season that could certainly make things interesting in terms of the decision going forward. But to me, if the 24-25 season is a step backwards from the 23-24 season I don't see how you bring Johnson back for 25-26.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Bar hasn't fallen. Nobody thinks just barely qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament is a huge accomplishment or a sign of a good season.

But we are at the halfway point of the conference season and this is where the team is at. So we can choose to sit and bitch and moan about not winning the conference and qualifying for the NCAA tournament or we can just try to find some enjoyment in what ultimately is likely going to be another disappointing season and the final one for our current head coach.

I get it, a bunch of posters here will choose option number one and keep posting the same "fire Johnson rants" over and over and over again until the end of the season. Others will choose to still find ways to get some enjoyment out of watching something we have zero control over and should be for enentertainment.
Click to expand...
Agree. The winning streak was something that  most of us really enjoyed and the style in which it happened.
Every time I post something showing a bit of an optimistic take (like North Texas being a pretty good team) I'm always grouped into the 'making excuses group' when I'm simply stating facts. That's not the only loss we have that we should have / could have won, but that's where we're at. Can we improve our record and get into a post season tournament of some sort? Certainly a better than zero percent chance. Our schedule was very top-heavy at the beginning. But what I find entertaining is players not quitting on the coach or themselves and still playing hard.
FYI, I'd rather be at this stage where we're picked to finish at the bottom and have the possibility of exceeding expectations than a team like Rutgers where you land 2 top 5 recruits and vastly underperform due to that top-heavy roster.
GO GOPHERS!
 

SelectionSunday said:
Yep, the finishing schedule is very Gopher-friendly. Just win 3 of those 5, and perhaps they wouldn't even HAVE TO win any other games? Beating the "similar" teams is much more important than beating the teams Gophers won't catch.
Click to expand...
Would be good to have it decided before playing in Lincoln on March 1
SelectionSunday said:
Weakling Wednesday Dropouts
#16 Northwestern (3-7)
#17 Nebraska (2-7)
#18 Washington (108)

Weakling Wednesday (March 12)
#12 Rutgers (4-6) vs. #13 Iowa (4-6), 2:30 (Peacock)
#10 Ohio State (4-5) vs. #15 Minnesota (3-7), 5 (Peacock)
#11 USC (4-5) vs. #14 Penn State (3-7), 7:30 (Peacock)

2nd Round (March 13)
#8 Oregon (5-4) vs. #9 Indiana (5-5), 11 (BTN)
#5 Illinois (6-4) vs. Rutgers/Iowa winner, 1:30 (BTN)
#7 Wisconsin (6-4) vs. Ohio State/Minnesota winner, 5:30 (BTN)
#6 UCLA (6-4) vs. USC/Penn State winner, 8 (BTN)

Quarterfinals (March 14)
#1 Michigan State (9-0) vs. Oregon/Indiana winner, 11 (BTN)
#4 Maryland (7-4) vs. Illinois/Rutgers/Iowa winner, 11:30 (BTN)
#2 Purdue (8-2) vs. Wisconsin/Ohio State/Minnesota winner, 5:30 (BTN)
#3 Michigan (7-2) vs. UCLA/USC/Penn State winner, 8 (BTN)
Click to expand...
I hate to be anal but are times listed central or eastern? I’m committed to going and have a few things to juggle. Thanks
 

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