A little perspective needs to be kept as far as the BIG season goes

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johnnyumfan

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Wisconsin's improbable victory at IU is a clear message that this year in the BIG will be just as unpredictable as last year when three teams tied for the BIG Championship with 5 losses. Many Minnesota fans are claiming that Thursday's game against my Wolverines will be a key to winning the BIG Title.

Hey guys, it is only the 5th conference game. Yes, all games in the BIG are important, especially against a contender, but there are many important games in an 18 game schedule and everybody including your Gophers will have difficult road games. Even Tubby Smith thinks 6 losses could still win the BIG. I happen to think 13 - 5 will be the top record again.

A little perspective would help. Just like the loser of tomorrows game is not going to fall off the cliff, the winner is not guaranteed the BIG Title.

And fans looking at the schedule and counting games as automatic W's, like Minnesota is going to automatically beat Wisky twice, lol, is very disingenuous . Coach's and players know better. So, enjoy the game tomorrow between two fine teams. If your Gophers win, it is a good win, but only one game.
 

I think tomorrow's loser isn't out of the race, but they are pushed to the brink. I happen to think the conference winner will go 14-4, which means the loser needs to go 11-2 in their last 13.

Michigan still has to play MSU (twice) and Indiana (twice), and OSU and Wisconsin once. Six games against top competition, three of them road games, and you can only lose two. And not lose any other games.

Minnesota still has to play Wisconsin (twice), OSU, MSU, Indiana once. Five games, would need to go 3-2 (a little more reasonable but still tough considering three of them are on the road). And not lose any other games.

This game will not decide the conference winner but the loser really can't afford any other missteps.
 

We also play Iowa and Nebraska twice, Purdue and Penn St. away. Are you dismissing those games? I'll go with Tubby and the winner of the BIG could easily lose 5-6 games. IMO
 

UofMdad said:
We also play Iowa and Nebraska twice, Purdue and Penn St. away. Are you dismissing those games? I'll go with Tubby and the winner of the BIG could easily lose 5-6 games. IMO
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I mentioned that they needed to win the rest of their games as well. The games I called out are the ones I think will be the toughest tests.
 

Gopher07 said:
I think tomorrow's loser isn't out of the race, but they are pushed to the brink.
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I don't agree that a two-loss team (conference play) would be pushed to the brink when most are saying that the eventual B1G winner might have 5 or 6 losses.
 


A six-loss champion seems like a pretty big stretch, even with the strength of the conference. Last year's 5-loss champions were somewhat of an anomaly. There hasn't been a six-loss major-conference regular-season champion since at least 2001/2002 (source: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/standings/_/year/2002). Yeah, they're playing more games now but it's my belief someone will step up.
 

Gopher07 said:
A six-loss champion seems like a pretty big stretch, even with the strength of the conference. Last year's 5-loss champions were somewhat of an anomaly. There hasn't been a six-loss major-conference regular-season champion since at least 2001/2002 (source: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/standings/_/year/2002). Yeah, they're playing more games now but it's my belief someone will step up.
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You're right. And it will be the Gophers.

Bookmark this post.
 

It's always interesting to look at the opponents that teams at the top of the standings have played thus far... 3-2 against the league's elite is better than 4-0 if you've played Iowa, PSU, NW, and Nebraska.

I've not looked into it that far, but is there a site or place that keeps track of the combined conference records of opponents thus far? Would be cool to see that, and would help us know where we really stand.
 

JDGopher said:
It's always interesting to look at the opponents that teams at the top of the standings have played thus far... 3-2 against the league's elite is better than 4-0 if you've played Iowa, PSU, NW, and Nebraska.

I've not looked into it that far, but is there a site or place that keeps track of the combined conference records of opponents thus far? Would be cool to see that, and would help us know where we really stand.
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This isn't exactly what you asked for but I posted this earlier today:
http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/boards/showthread.php?t=43557
 




johnnyumfan said:
Wisconsin's improbable victory at IU is a clear message that this year in the BIG will be just as unpredictable as last year when three teams tied for the BIG Championship with 5 losses. Many Minnesota fans are claiming that Thursday's game against my Wolverines will be a key to winning the BIG Title.

Hey guys, it is only the 5th conference game. Yes, all games in the BIG are important, especially against a contender, but there are many important games in an 18 game schedule and everybody including your Gophers will have difficult road games. Even Tubby Smith thinks 6 losses could still win the BIG. I happen to think 13 - 5 will be the top record again.

A little perspective would help. Just like the loser of tomorrows game is not going to fall off the cliff, the winner is not guaranteed the BIG Title.

And fans looking at the schedule and counting games as automatic W's, like Minnesota is going to automatically beat Wisky twice, lol, is very disingenuous . Coach's and players know better. So, enjoy the game tomorrow between two fine teams. If your Gophers win, it is a good win, but only one game.
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Good points, although I would note that (1) I wouldn't shed any tears if we failed to win the regular season conf title, and even the conf tourney title, if we went furthest in the NCAAs. The conf title is nice, but ultimately just a footnote. And (2) while every game counts, it's more damaging for contenders to lose a home game than a road game. "Holding serve" at home is going to be important in a conference as loaded as the B1G, because road wins against contenders will be hard to come by.

So in a nutshell, a loss tomorrow would hurt the Gophers more than Michigan.
 

I can see why many of you think that a team with only 5 losses will win the Conf. But I just don't see that happening this year. And its not because of the strength of IU or Michigan. It is because of 2 things, the strength of the Gophers and our favorable scedule. I don't see us losing more than 3 or maybe 4 games.

If the Gophers beat Michigan tomorrow, mark me down as making it official, my prediction will be the Gophers WILL win the Big Ten Conference regular season Title.
 

#1nHkyCfbBsbDncSolarDebat said:
I can see why many of you think that a team with only 5 losses will win the Conf. But I just don't see that happening this year. And its not because of the strength of IU or Michigan. It is because of 2 things, the strength of the Gophers and our favorable scedule. I don't see us losing more than 3 or maybe 4 games.

If the Gophers beat Michigan tomorrow, mark me down as making it official, my prediction will be the Gophers WILL win the Big Ten Conference regular season Title.
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I doubt it. If your so sure why don't you bet your house on it?
 



WanderingGopher said:
Good points, although I would note that (1) I wouldn't shed any tears if we failed to win the regular season conf title, and even the conf tourney title, if we went furthest in the NCAAs. The conf title is nice, but ultimately just a footnote. And (2) while every game counts, it's more damaging for contenders to lose a home game than a road game. "Holding serve" at home is going to be important in a conference as loaded as the B1G, because road wins against contenders will be hard to come by.

So in a nutshell, a loss tomorrow would hurt the Gophers more than Michigan.
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Kind of sad people feel that way.
 

I doubt it. If your so sure why don't you bet your house on it?
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In Michigan that might not be that big of a wager.
 

Blizzard said:
In Michigan that might not be that big of a wager.
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Terrell-Suggs.gif
 


*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# my house is probably worth more than the city of Flint lol
 

station19 said:
Kind of sad people feel that way.
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Exactly, 19.

Fair or not, the NCAA Tournament is the final verdict on how a team is judged. I find it disheartening to think the Gophers could win a Big Ten championship(s) (regular season or tournament. ... regular season preferred), but there would be many folks who would consider it a failure if -- for example -- the Gophers got upset early in the NCAA tourney.

A recent example? Missouri went 30-5 last season with a Big 12 Tournament championship while earning a #2 seed, but it seems like they're regarded as a failure because they got dumped by Norfolk State in the Round of 64. That's sad.

Of course, if the Gophers got dumped early after winning a Big Ten title it would be extremely disappointing, but as Patrick Reusse pointed out in his column today, "The pursuit of a conference title over an 18-game grind carries much more nobility than does attaining a degree of success in the one-game crapshoot of postseason play."

Well said Patrick.
 

Put me in the group that says...

if you go 14-4 you win it alone. Every team is competitive on given night. The only team I feel sure we (Minn) can handl is Penn State, and we don't play them in State College or I wouldn' be so sure.

Hving said all that...if we stay injury free...we can play with anyone.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Exactly, 19.

Fair or not, the NCAA Tournament is the final verdict on how a team is judged. I find it disheartening to think the Gophers could win a Big Ten championship(s) (regular season or tournament. ... regular season preferred), but there would be many folks who would consider it a failure if -- for example -- the Gophers got upset early in the NCAA tourney.

A recent example? Missouri went 30-5 last season with a Big 12 Tournament championship while earning a #2 seed, but it seems like they're regarded as a failure because they got dumped by Norfolk State in the Round of 64. That's sad.

Of course, if the Gophers got dumped early after winning a Big Ten title it would be extremely disappointing, but as Patrick Reusse pointed out in his column today, "The pursuit of a conference title over an 18-game grind carries much more nobility than does attaining a degree of success in the one-game crapshoot of postseason play."

Well said Patrick.
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I agree that it is sad how much of a footnote a conference title can become. However, I also don't like the characterization of posteason play as a one game crapshoot. Playoffs determine champions because it is a do or die envinroment. There is no time for excuse making, the playoffs measure who can show up and bring it on the day they are told they need it. If a star player has an off night or gets in foul trouble early or has to leave the game because of an injury, the coach needs to be a good enough planner to adjust and the team needs to be flexible and deep enough to fill in.

If the ultimate goal of college basketball is to win a national title, I do not think it is unfair to measure a season's success by how many games away a team was from reaching that goal.

To summarize, I also lament how little some people care about conference titles, and I would be thrilled if the Gophs got one. But, I still care more about how deep we can go in March.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
I agree that it is sad how much of a footnote a conference title can become. However, I also don't like the characterization of posteason play as a one game crapshoot. Playoffs determine champions because it is a do or die envinroment. There is no time for excuse making, the playoffs measure who can show up and bring it on the day they are told they need it. If a star player has an off night or gets in foul trouble early or has to leave the game because of an injury, the coach needs to be a good enough planner to adjust and the team needs to be flexible and deep enough to fill in.

If the ultimate goal of college basketball is to win a national title, I do not think it is unfair to measure a season's success by how many games away a team was from reaching that goal.

To summarize, I also lament how little some people care about conference titles, and I would be thrilled if the Gophs got one. But, I still care more about how deep we can go in March.
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All fair points.

Kansas is the perfect example of what I'd want my favorite program to be. Win conference titles every year, in addition to going deep into almost every NCAA tournament. It's a great gig, and it would never get old.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Exactly, 19.

Fair or not, the NCAA Tournament is the final verdict on how a team is judged. I find it disheartening to think the Gophers could win a Big Ten championship(s) (regular season or tournament. ... regular season preferred), but there would be many folks who would consider it a failure if -- for example -- the Gophers got upset early in the NCAA tourney.

A recent example? Missouri went 30-5 last season with a Big 12 Tournament championship while earning a #2 seed, but it seems like they're regarded as a failure because they got dumped by Norfolk State in the Round of 64. That's sad.

Of course, if the Gophers got dumped early after winning a Big Ten title it would be extremely disappointing, but as Patrick Reusse pointed out in his column today, "The pursuit of a conference title over an 18-game grind carries much more nobility than does attaining a degree of success in the one-game crapshoot of postseason play."

Well said Patrick.
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This is the main reason why I hate the idea of expanding the tournament. It makes the regular season not as important. I've always liked the way the Big East does their conference tourney. Gives the top teams a big advantage (which they earned).
 

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