Is 8 wins enough?

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SickAndTiredOfLosingToWI

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We currently have 5 (17).

Pessimistic scenario:

Wisconsin L
@ Iowa L
@ OSU L
Indiana L
PSU W
@ Nebraska L
@ Purdue L
Total: 6 wins (18)

Realistic scenario:

Wisconsin L
@ Iowa L
@ OSU L
Indiana L
PSU W
@ Nebraska W
@ Purdue W
Total: 8 wins (20)

Optimistic scenario:

Wisconsin W
@ Iowa W
@ OSU L
Indiana L
PSU W
@ Nebraska W
@ Purdue W
Total: 10 wins (22)

Since, let's face it, we are the Minnesota Golden Gophers, let's just forget the optimistic scenario. The challenge now is going to be just getting into the tourney at all.
 

If we get an invitation to the tournament below .500 in the conference we should respectfully decline.

Don't matter though. We won't get in at 8-10. I have us at 7-11 after this loss. Wins against Penn State and Nebraska.
 

I don't think 8 wins does it. I think we would need another signature win (Indiana and @OSU is our only chance for one of those) if we were to get in with a losing conference record. But looking at the rest of our schedule, if we get one of those and still only finish 8-10, we would have needed a few really stupid and embarrassing losses which I think would stick a fork in us. Maybe 8-10 if we go on a big tear in the BTT.
 

This is sickening.

Eight wins should be enough for the NCAA from a rational standpoint, but if we can't win 9 games, I don't care *



PS I realize that I'm saying that now, after a horrible loss and come selection sunday i'll complain if they don't get in with 8 wins.
 

The way the team has been playing beating Purdue on the road is hardly a given.

Only the home game vs PSU would be considered a gimmie at this point, IMO...
 


I believe 8 wins would be enough this year, especially considering the Gophers' non-conference season. Falling behind Illinois in the B1G standings would hurt, falling behind Iowa might be a killer. Tonight's game was so important for so many reasons, including that maybe everyone could relax a bit (and thus maybe hit some shots) if it were basically a guarantee that they would make the Tourney.

I don't think Trevor's statement before the season was good - that being guaranteeing a Tournament berth on his scholarship - as that has put undue pressure on everyone not to embarrass themselves; thus, of course now they're embarrassing themselves.
 

afurry91 said:
If we get an invitation to the tournament below .500 in the conference we should respectfully decline.

Don't matter though. We won't get in at 8-10. I have us at 7-11 after this loss. Wins against Penn State and Nebraska.
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Nebraska is a 3-point shooting team, and they're at home. What makes you think we can guard the 3-point line against them in Lincoln. Haven't stopped anyone from 3 all year.
 

Is 8 wins enough?

Is a cupcake sufficient as a birthday cake?

NO.
 

cncmin said:
I believe 8 wins would be enough this year, especially considering the Gophers' non-conference season. Falling behind Illinois in the B1G standings would hurt, falling behind Iowa might be a killer. Tonight's game was so important for so many reasons, including that maybe everyone could relax a bit (and thus maybe hit some shots) if it were basically a guarantee that they would make the Tourney.

I don't think Trevor's statement before the season was good - that being guaranteeing a Tournament berth on his scholarship - as that has put undue pressure on everyone not to embarrass themselves; thus, of course now they're embarrassing themselves.
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Almost forgot Trevor's promise. If we miss it, can we put the money he gives back towards the practice facility?
 



Is 8 wins enough?

Is a cupcake sufficient as a birthday cake?

NO.
 

I'm hopeful that we find our groove like we did towards the end of last season. We will be given the benefit of the doubt on selection sunday because of our very impressive non-conf record and the fact we play in the best conference. At the point I just hope that we make the tournament, stay healthy and find some of our old mojo. I think that is all we can hope for (other than the Trolls who are obviously hoping we don't win another game).
 

cncmin said:
Nebraska is a 3-point shooting team, and they're at home. What makes you think we can guard the 3-point line against them in Lincoln. Haven't stopped anyone from 3 all year.
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It's just a prediction. I'm not guaranteeing anything. I predict an NIT appearance and Trevor paying back a 15,000 dollar year of scholarship.
 




Respectfully decline a tournament bid? That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. That would do wonders for recruiting.
 



Gold Vision said:
Respectfully decline a tournament bid? That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. That would do wonders for recruiting.
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Plus I'm pretty sure you literally can't do it. In the past you could, I wanna say NC State or South Carolina or someone turned down a tourney bid back in the 70's or 80's so they could go to the NIT instead. If you are given an NCAA bid, I don't think you are allowed to turn it down (though I'm not sure why anyone would).
 

8-10 with a first round win in the BTT gets us in. Can't believe they are working their way towards the bubble! So disappointing!
 

afurry91 said:
If we get an invitation to the tournament below .500 in the conference we should respectfully decline.

Don't matter though. We won't get in at 8-10. I have us at 7-11 after this loss. Wins against Penn State and Nebraska.
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Last year, without Trevor, we were 6-12, but I tend to think of us as a 7-11 team because there's no way we should have allowed Iowa to come back and win. If we go 8-10 this year, in my book that's only a game better than the disastrous, injury-marred abomination from last year. That would, quite honestly, be shocking. And yet it looks like we may be on our way there.

I've been talking about how this team needs to pull its head out and fast, fully expecting that they would. The hope is fading. I've stopped hoping against hope and have now just settled back into "whatever will be, will be" mode, which is where I was for most of the Monson period as well as the last couple conference seasons. I didn't think that was even a possibility this year.
 

I think I said something like this earlier this year, but maybe I just thought it. 8-10 is a dangerous spot for us, but if that's where we end up, I think how a team that was ranked 8th in the country got to 8-10 is a bigger concern than whether or not 8-10 gets us in.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Last year, without Trevor, we were 6-12, but I tend to think of us as a 7-11 team because there's no way we should have allowed Iowa to come back and win. If we go 8-10 this year, in my book that's only a game better than the disastrous, injury-marred abomination from last year. That would, quite honestly, be shocking. And yet it looks like we may be on our way there.

I've been talking about how this team needs to pull its head out and fast, fully expecting that they would. The hope is fading. I've stopped hoping against hope and have now just settled back into "whatever will be, will be" mode, which is where I was for most of the Monson period as well as the last couple conference seasons. I didn't think that was even a possibility this year.
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Its not fair to not count the Iowa win as a real win. We beat them. The one thing that matters is who has more points at the end of the game, and we did. I'm not going to give us credit for a win if we had one but for a buzzer beater by the other team (and I don't think you would either), so there is no reason to give back wins where we hit a big shot.
 

8 wins is enough. I wonder sometimes if Gopher fans ever follow whats going on throughout the rest of the nation?!


Who are these 40 other teams who are ALL so much better than us?!

Big Ten could get 8 teams in this year and no one would complain.


Fans of all the other conferences have actually basically accepted the fact that the Big Ten is BY FAR the strongest conference in the country, from top to bottom.


8-10 WILL get us in, as long as we win our first round game in the BTT.


We'll get a really crappy seed, but unless its a #16 seed, anything is possible.



It's simple, teams are LOSING left and right all over the place. There is more parity this year than any other year I can remember.


And nothing says that we can't do what Illinois has done this week, and that is get an upset win or two.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
Its not fair to not count the Iowa win as a real win. We beat them. The one thing that matters is who has more points at the end of the game, and we did. I'm not going to give us credit for a win if we had one but for a buzzer beater by the other team (and I don't think you would either), so there is no reason to give back wins where we hit a big shot.
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Talking about the Iowa game last year.
 

afurry91 said:
If we get an invitation to the tournament below .500 in the conference we should respectfully decline.

Don't matter though. We won't get in at 8-10. I have us at 7-11 after this loss. Wins against Penn State and Nebraska.
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Headline: 'Minnesota declines NCAA bid, claiming getting in with an 8-10 record is beneath their rich and storied basketball history.' Write for the Onion there afurry?
 

Bad Gopher said:
Talking about the Iowa game last year.
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Sorry, misread your post. But my point still holds, I'm not about to credit that team with a win we didn't earn all the way to the wire. Part of the comparison between this year's Gophs and last year's has to include ability to close out games, which is something that is reflected in the loss to Iowa last season.
 

We'll get a really crappy seed, but unless its a #16 seed, anything is possible.
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That is what it has come down to. A below .500 conference record and sweating out a 10/11/12 seed. This was supposed to be the year Tubby turned it all around. The NIT run, Trevor back, the Hollins' boys a year older and wiser. A first round exit from the tourney does nothing for the fan base or recruiting.
 

gopherinpain said:
That is what it has come down to. A below .500 conference record and sweating out a 10/11/12 seed. This was supposed to be the year Tubby turned it all around. The NIT run, Trevor back, the Hollins' boys a year older and wiser. A first round exit from the tourney does nothing for the fan base or recruiting.
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It does do something for you though you can bitch and moan some more.
 

This still could be Tubby's best team, but one thing NO ONE saw coming into this season, was how pathetic our bench would be, and how incredibly strong the rest of the Big Ten would be.

I seriously did not expect OSU and MSU and Wisconsin to be as good as they have been. Hence, with our favorable conf scedule, our being 3rd best put us in the position to MAYBE get lucky and win a Big Ten title.

Then both IU and Michigan showed themselves to be uber good. We started to lose confidence, then we had a bad loss to NW immediately following those 2 heart breakers to, according to some, the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the nation, which we ALMOST bounced back from and won ON THE ROAD vs Wisconsin. But we got a bad no call on that shot of Wisconsin's near the end of the game and lost by 1.

Then we started to bounce back, and even after losing a ROAD game to MSU which there is NOTHING to be embarrassed about, we were still sitting pretty good, with only the 1 kind of bad loss. Then Illinois makes 11 three pointers vs us.


So, its not so much that we didn't improve, its that other teams improved even more, or that the improvement of our starters is canceled out by the non-improvement of our bench?
 

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