Tim Doyle thinks the Badgers will make the NCAA tourn

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Big Ten Tonight basketball analyst Tim Doyle thinks the Badgers are poised to make a late-season run, thanks to improved play and a favorable February schedule. “They’re getting back to old school Wisconsin basketball. Defensively, they’re stopping teams and clamping down. I’m going to make an outrageous claim here, but Wisconsin is going to get into the NCAA Tournament. I know that sounds preposterous, but look at their schedule. They’re going to have a lot of wins. I can see them getting to 10 or 11 wins in the conference, if they take care of business at home.” The Badgers host Iowa and Ohio State this week at the Kohl Center.

Go Gophers!!
 

Bleed, wish I didn't agree with him, but I do. At this point the percentages are that the Big Ten will get 6 bids, 7 still a definite possibility. Northwestern and Penn State are the ones most likely headed to the NIT. Michigan -- despite its wins over Duke and UCLA -- needs to start winning (get to 9-9) or the Wolverines will render those impressive wins moot. Schedule is working in the Badgers' favor, so it would behoove the Gophers to complete the sweep when Big Red visits The Barn.
 

They are certainly in a good position, but they need to win these games. Who would have thought they'd lose at Iowa? Being poised for a run and going on a run are two different things.

Beating UW at the barn is very important. It would almost guarantee that the Badgers couldn't jump the Gophers into the tourney. Finish tied or better, and the U gets in first. A similar scenario would have played out had the Gophers pulled that game out on Saturday night. OSU would have only gotten an invite after the Gophers. Big missed opportunity, IMO.
 


Digger is an idiot

Of all the ESPN college basketball analysts, Digger is the laziest and far & away least informed when it comes to this type of thing. Half the time he doesn't even know what's coming out of his mouth. He simply likes to hear himself talk.

If it was Bilas or Lunardi or Gottlieb that said this I'd give it some credence because I think they do their homework, even though I don't agree with them all the time. Digger's nothing but an arrogant blowhard only good for reminding people that he was the coach when Notre Dame snapped UCLA's 84-game winning streak 35 years ago.
 



Does Digger have Notre Dame in the field? Has he dropped them to a 6 seed? It bothers me that ESPN has these big time homers, who are completely biased giving analysis. Personally, I like Steve Lavin. He always fairly evaluates the Big Ten no matter how many naturally have a grudge against it. Also I think Lunardi respects the Big Ten. He ripped the Big East in his latest column, that was long overdue for some one to finally point out that they are not the greatest conference of all time, lol.
 


Gameday

Unlike ESPN's college football coverage, I believe the Gameday sites were selected before the season started.
 



GoGoGophers said:
They are certainly in a good position, but they need to win these games. Who would have thought they'd lose at Iowa? Being poised for a run and going on a run are two different things.

Beating UW at the barn is very important. It would almost guarantee that the Badgers couldn't jump the Gophers into the tourney. Finish tied or better, and the U gets in first. A similar scenario would have played out had the Gophers pulled that game out on Saturday night. OSU would have only gotten an invite after the Gophers. Big missed opportunity, IMO.
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Agreed. We have several opportunities to solidify our situation. Right now I view us as battling with Mich. Penn State and Wisky, which represent 4 of our remaining games

A scenario that I don't want to see but that would be interesting is if the Gophers beat Wisky again but end up 9-9. Let's say Wisky is 10-8. Who goes to the tourney?
 

Saying that after the Big Ten season is over, you believe Wisconsin will get in, that is a totally legit claim. Saying that RIGHT NOW, Wisconsin is in, as one of only 4 teams...that is disgusting. They are not even .500 in the Big Ten and they are in the bottom half.
 

Count on it

Wisky will make it, count on it. Their schedule down the stretch is VERY favorable. If it bothers you that they'll make it, get over it.

If they don't make it, I think we'd be forced to mock them relentlessly. At this point, there's no excuse for them not to get in, unless they dump a few more down the stretch that they shouldn't. Too many winnable games for them left. Like I said though, dump one or two they shouldn't, it could be NIT city.

I don't know that the Gophers are in just yet either. They have work to do, no question about it. Gotta be able to point to more than just one quality win and beating Louisville on a neutral court isn't enough all by itself.

I thought at the time the win over Illinois sealed a bid for the Gophers but it's way too early, too much work left to do. Winning one of the next two road games would be a huge step because I don't know that they can expect to win out at home. Michigan and Wisky will be tough home games, particularly if one or both of them gets on a roll by then.

The main point left here is, there are a lot of BT teams still alive for a bid. A big selection criterion is record in your last 10 games. The Gophers have at least 7-8 games left, some BT teams have even more than that, so anybody that finishes strong has a good chance.
 

While watching the Purdue-Penn St game tonight, Steve Smith just said that "WI could get on a roll and win the conference title" ... I wonder if Mr Smith even knows what the standings look like...WI could get in the NCAA tourney but lets not get too crazy here Mr Smith. The BTN announcers are just awful.
 



I have to agree that Wisconsin has a great shot at making a run to the NCAA. We have to improve our game or we'll be the ones they run over. We have them on our court. We can't let them go home with a win.
 

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