The Perfect Big Ten Tournament Stew

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SelectionSunday

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The perfect storm for the Gophers to pull off a "4 days in Indy" March miracle.

(1) Gophers finish as #6 seed. Indiana drops to #11 seed. IU hands down is the worst team in the Big 10. Given a choice, I'll take my chances vs. the Hoosiers as opposed to the Hawkeyes or Nittany Lions. On to the quarters. The Gophers survive and advance.

(2) Waiting in the quarterfinals is the #3 seed Michigan State. This is a good Sparty squad, but not a vintage Izzo squad. Quite often look very beatable, throw in the fact Sparty has struggled at the BTT in recent times and plus we're overdue to beat them. Gophers hang around, keep it close, get help fom all the other schools' fans (except for Wisconsin) for a quasi home-court advantage, that spells recipe for an upset. On to the semis. The Gophers can now smell it.

(3) Waiting in the semifinals is #2 seed Purdue, without Robbie Hummel, who the Boilers sit in hopes of having him in some capacity for the NCAA Tournament. Despite facing a raucous, highly partisan crowd -- much like vs. Indiana in 2008 quarterfinals -- the Gophers find a way to win the kind of game they so often found a way to lose during the regular season. On to the finals. The weary Gophers can now taste it.

(4) Waiting for the Gophers in the championship game is Illinois, a surprise winner over the Evan Turner-led OSU Buckeyes. The Illini have been an enigma all season, the quintessential Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde club. This time the "Dr. Jekyll" Illini returns and rears its ugly head, ugly for the Illini that is. The Gophers win their first-ever Big Ten Tournament title and about an hour after Damian Johnson has been named BTT Most Valuable Player and is joined on the All-Tournament team by Lawrence Westbrook, Mike Tisdale, Dimitri McCamey and Evan Turner, the Selection Committee announces the Gophers are headed to . ...

(5) Providence, R.I. as a #10 seed. In Minnesota, there is much rejoicing. A season that on multiple occasions looked completely lost brings a joy to the Minnesota sporting public that seemed unimaginable heading into Indy, on so many levels.

Who's with me?
 


I can get behind this. The BTT would be perfect timing for our luck to change.

And lets be fair, whatever anyone wants to say about finishing and winning close games, the Gopher's would have won many of the games they lost at least 5 out of 10 times. Losing everyone is just bad luck.
 

I'll take a hit off of that. :) Seriously, I am certainly in.... we are capable of beating anyone in the Big Ten...stranger things have happened.

If we can finish the last 3 strong, we'll at least be playing well and could be labeled as the team "nobody wants to play"
 

Hope springs eternal on the Gopherhole.

Count me in!
 


Dr. Don is going to be pissed you started drinking beer that early with out him. But what the hey, count me in.
 

What is life without hope. ...

hopeless.

I choose hope, not despair.
 

Did Al, Royce and Trevor suddenly become eligible to play? If not, we just aren't NCAA material as only Ralph and DJ are playing good ball. But on the bright side the NIT will give us a chance to play more games and get more experience for our young players.
 




I knew I could count on you Fish; I'm surprised Art (no offense, Art) isn't right behind you. Is it fun going through life always taking the bleaker look at things? I choose to look at what seems impossible as possible, instead of the other way around. Doesn't mean I don't know the reality of difficult situations, but I tend to be happier that way. I guess for others, it works the other way around.
 

SelectionSunday said:
The perfect storm for the Gophers to pull off a "4 days in Indy" March miracle.

(1) Gophers finish as #6 seed. Indiana drops to #11 seed. IU hands down is the worst team in the Big 10. Given a choice, I'll take my chances vs. the Hoosiers as opposed to the Hawkeyes or Nittany Lions. On to the quarters. The Gophers survive and advance.

(2) Waiting in the quarterfinals is the #3 seed Michigan State. This is a good Sparty squad, but not a vintage Izzo squad. Quite often look very beatable, throw in the fact Sparty has struggled at the BTT in recent times and plus we're overdue to beat them. Gophers hang around, keep it close, get help fom all the other schools' fans (except for Wisconsin) for a quasi home-court advantage, that spells recipe for an upset. On to the semis. The Gophers can now smell it.

(3) Waiting in the semifinals is #2 seed Purdue, without Robbie Hummel, who the Boilers sit in hopes of having him in some capacity for the NCAA Tournament. Despite facing a raucous, highly partisan crowd -- much like vs. Indiana in 2008 quarterfinals -- the Gophers find a way to win the kind of game they so often found a way to lose during the regular season. On to the finals. The weary Gophers can now taste it.

(4) Waiting for the Gophers in the championship game is Illinois, a surprise winner over the Evan Turner-led OSU Buckeyes. The Illini have been an enigma all season, the quintessential Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde club. This time the "Dr. Jekyll" Illini returns and rears its ugly head, ugly for the Illini that is. The Gophers win their first-ever Big Ten Tournament title and about an hour after Damian Johnson has been named BTT Most Valuable Player and is joined on the All-Tournament team by Lawrence Westbrook, Mike Tisdale, Dimitri McCamey and Evan Turner, the Selection Committee announces the Gophers are headed to . ...

(5) Providence, R.I. as a #10 seed. In Minnesota, there is much rejoicing. A season that on multiple occasions looked completely lost brings a joy to the Minnesota sporting public that seemed unimaginable heading into Indy, on so many levels.

Who's with me?
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The only thing that bothers me about your scenario SS is this indicates to me our only hope now is to win the BTT. I will patiently await your Selections on Selection Sunday. In the meantime I am looking for an unlikely ROAD SWEEP @ Ill & Mich, an Iowa win and one or 2 wins in the BTT. Then I'll check your selections on Sunday.
 

I'm in. OK, I'll admit to a bout of despair last night... and some this morning, but I'm feeling a little better now with possibly some hope on the horizon. First things first, lets win in Champaign, Ann Arbor and crush the Hawks at home. On to the BTT and the SS scenario looks pretty good. If winning the BTT is the only way to avoid the NIT (God I hate the NIT) so be it. I'm in.
 

Sal, I had trouble letting last night go as well. Funny thing. I was dead tired when I got home. One of those games where you expend a lot of emotion & energy (and your voicebox). Takes a lot out of a guy.

Nevertheless, I knew I wouldn't be able to get to sleep right away & would need some "wind-down" time, so I stayed up to watch end of NMSU-Idaho and then Gamenight. Lights off at 12:30 and despite feeling completely whipped, absolutely could not get to sleep until probably 1:45-2 a.m. Am going on about 4 hours sleep as we speak.

It is nights like last night when I ask myself, "Why the heck do I care so much about a team of players and coaches who I do not know on any sort of a personal level"? The answer is, I don't know, I just do.
 



SS, I'm on board. I truly believe the Gophers can play with any of the big boys now that Hummel is down (maybe not OSU). But how about we win these last 3 regular season games, and make at least #4, and maybe #3 optional wins?
 


"I could see it happening, but it's certainly not likely."

Thanks for sharing. No offense, but sometimes posters from other schools should have the common sense when not to chime in on a certain thread. This is one of those times. No one is criticizing the Boilers here, so why the need to put a damper on some of us trying to hold out hope?

Best of luck the rest of the way. Am bummed to see Hummel go down. Never want to see that happen.
 

How am I putting a damper on anything? The very title of the thread calls this the "perfect stew". That in itself should tell you that it's not likely.

I'm not just a Purdue fan. I'm originally from Minnesota and I care very much what happens with the Gophers. I'm also of course a Big Ten fan and would love to see as many teams in as possible. And unless I missed something, there's no rule here that states that fans of other schools can only post in topics pertaining to their school.
 

I'll just go ahead and call this a done deal. BTT champs!
 

rcpratt said:
How am I putting a damper on anything? The very title of the thread calls this the "perfect stew". That in itself should tell you that it's not likely.

I'm not just a Purdue fan. I'm originally from Minnesota and I care very much what happens with the Gophers. I'm also of course a Big Ten fan and would love to see as many teams in as possible. And unless I missed something, there's no rule here that states that fans of other schools can only post in topics pertaining to their school.
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everyone know it's not likely. It didn't have to be stated.
 


Every so often a team that has underachieved or one that has immense future potential (Recker led Iowa team and an Illinois team in the late 90s come to mind) really surprise in the BTT. The BTT has been a nightmare for the Gophers thus far, the only notable wins I can think of are the two IU wins (the #4 team in Bigten Mike Davis win and the Hoff 3 pointer win - or were they the same?). I would have to think we are due!
 

Your paragraph...

It is nights like last night when I ask myself, "Why the heck do I care so much about a team of players and coaches who I do not know on any sort of a personal level"? The answer is, I don't know, I just do.
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sums it up perfectly for me as well. Nothing else gets to me. I enjoy baseball. I can't wait to get to an outside Twins game in a ballpark and not a "stadium". But I could never have the same "juice" for baseball. Enjoyable? Yes. Fun? Absolutely, but it's not the same. I quit caring about the NFL around he time Chuck Foreman retired so that is a burden I don't have to deal with. I grew up playing hockey and the NHL does nothing for me. College hockey is a boutique sport. I listen to (mostly) and watch when I can every Gopher Football game. I always have. (see the above quote "why? I don't know, I just do.) They are a very distant second to me when it comes to sports that I care about. College BBall is the only thing sports-wise I'm passionate about and the Gophers are my team, I can't figure it out either.

Lights off at 12:30 and despite feeling completely whipped, absolutely could not get to sleep until probably 1:45-2 a.m.
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I recommend 3 Pabst tall boys and a couple of Tylenol PMs
 


Btw I like your thinking SS. As disappointing as this season has been, our recent play has given me hope for the BTT. It's not like last year where we just flat out couldn't play with Purdue and Mich St. We've proven we can play with anyone in the conference this year. Who knows, maybe we'll have a player hot at the end of a close game for once and won't blow it.
 

If OSU gets the #1 seed in the BTT, they won't lose to Illinois. Did you see how badly OSU beat Illinois at Illinois? Wisconsin MAYBE could beat OSU, but they'll have to turn it around first.
 


Just for kicks, let's say the Gophers finish 9-9, would a trip to the finals beating the best possible seed each game get us anywhere?
 

From the Barn said:
Just for kicks, let's say the Gophers finish 9-9, would a trip to the finals beating the best possible seed each game get us anywhere?
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I think so. The Selection Committee has consistantly avoided taking the BTT Title game into consideration when finalizing the brackets due to it being the last game. IF our resume is at least defendable for the last spot if we lose the title game, I think they'll give us the nod. At 21-13, 12-10 on Selection Sunday (our record assuming we finish 9-9 and win 3 BTT games) chances our we have a defendable resume for the last spot.
 

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