Northwestern: Big 10 Champ 2011

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LesBolstad

LesBolstad

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That will be a talented squad w/ Coble back. Great coach and system. Finally have some athleticism. Better than the Gophers right now.
 

Current Gophers + White and Mbakwe will be able to handle that NU team. NU has no one that can compete with us inside now. Imagine those two guys bumping around inside.
 


I like how Northwestern looks, they play good basketball and they should be really good next season assuming Coble is healthy, but I don't think a Big 10 title is in the offing. Even with some really good players like Shurna, Thompson, Crawford and Coble, there's just such a talent gap between that and the elite (MSU and others) of the Big Ten. To beat teams with more talent night in and night out is a heavy chore.
 

They won't win the Big Ten, however, they have a GREAT chance to finally make the NCAA tournament.

As an aside, did anyone else think it was beyond weird that Coble was in the Big Ten Network studio during the game yesterday?

First of all, even though he's injured, you'd think he'd want to be with his team. Second, is it even legal by NCAA rules to have a player given this type of opportunity?
 



LesBolstad said:
That will be a talented squad w/ Coble back. Great coach and system. Finally have some athleticism. Better than the Gophers right now.
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No way. I don't think they will make the tourney this year, so I have a hard time believing they'll go from never making the tourney to big ten champs in one season. They have some nice players but they still don't handle the ball well or score down low.
 

They'll be good, but I doubt they'll finish in the top 3.
 

No team that plays a 1-3-1 zone in the Big Ten should ever be champion. Shouldn't take much to rip that defense to shreads.
 



NateDawgUM said:
They won't win the Big Ten, however, they have a GREAT chance to finally make the NCAA tournament.

As an aside, did anyone else think it was beyond weird that Coble was in the Big Ten Network studio during the game yesterday?

First of all, even though he's injured, you'd think he'd want to be with his team. Second, is it even legal by NCAA rules to have a player given this type of opportunity?
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I thought that was weired too. Was he just a guest analyst? Can he draw pay for his services?
 

LesBolstad said:
That will be a talented squad w/ Coble back. Great coach and system. Finally have some athleticism. Better than the Gophers right now.
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Dumbest post ever.

Yes, we beat them and they are better than us, good observation....From having never made a tourney (and not making it this year) to Big 10 champs? I'd like some of what you're smokin...
 

I concur that they're not going to win the Ten next year, but a run at the NCAA tournament or a top-4 finish isn't out of the question.
 

Gonna be a real tough league next season - OSU, MSU, MN, IL, Purdue and NW should all be NCAA teams for sure. UW looks like a bubble team next year and certainly ought to take a step back with the loss of two key SR guards & the rest of the league getting tougher. PSU, IU and Iowa will all be a year older and get at least one more key addition to the teams they're fielding in conference play this year (Maurice Creek at IU would've been Big 10 FOY this season but got injured before conference play started). UM could still be a decent team if they bring Harris back, because they do have a couple decent recruits coming in - if they don't, then they're clearly the #11 team, but if they do then it looks like the best the bottom of the league has ever been in recent years, maybe ever, because for once then there REALLY would be no easy wins.
 



OSUfan said:
Gonna be a real tough league next season - OSU, MSU, MN, IL, Purdue and NW should all be NCAA teams for sure. UW looks like a bubble team next year and certainly ought to take a step back with the loss of two key SR guards & the rest of the league getting tougher. PSU, IU and Iowa will all be a year older and get at least one more key addition to the teams they're fielding in conference play this year (Maurice Creek at IU would've been Big 10 FOY this season but got injured before conference play started). UM could still be a decent team if they bring Harris back, because they do have a couple decent recruits coming in - if they don't, then they're clearly the #11 team, but if they do then it looks like the best the bottom of the league has ever been in recent years, maybe ever, because for once then there REALLY would be no easy wins.
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I hope you are kidding about the Badgers being a bubble team next season. What about this season? Wisconsin was supposed to be 8th in the Big 10 and it looks like the Badgers could finish 3rd! UW will never be a "bubble" team with Ryan as coach. Yes, they will be losing some talented players after this season, but that's never stopped the program in the past!!!
 



royboy said:
Are you really this stupid? Wisconsin barely squeaked in as a 12 seed last year.
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Agrees they were a bubble team last year, but they always seem to come up big to make it. Same cannot be said for our beloved gophers.
 


i agree that northwestern will not win the conference next year, but the reason people are suggesting can't be because they won't make the ncaa tourney this year. if i'm not mistaken, the 1997 gophers that won the conference outright and went to the final four lost in the second round of the NIT the previous year.
if anything, northwestern's issue will be their style of play because they play too many close games so every game is a grind. there are too many teams at the top that are more athletic, rely on the 3 point shot too much, etc... with all that said, i'll be wishing them the best to finally make the ncaa's next year.
 

Gophers first off beat them and they played like crap.... plus im prediciting the NU will lose to Minn at home... second off i don't think NU has the big men down low to compete with the good rebounding teams like mich state and purdue... They shoot nothing but three's and in many cases they won't make their three point shots every game... and with nobody down low to get second change rebounds against top tier teams...where is the offense going to come from? You can play good D, but you can't shut the big boys out like mich state and purdue. NU needs to become more diverse as a unit to compete.
 

Northwestern

I think of this as the "Vito Spatafore from the Sopranos Effect."

Remember in the final season of The Sopranos when the actor who played Vito lost all the weight -- like probably way over 100 pounds? The producers saw him and thought, "Vito looks great. Let's write a storyline for him where he moves to Vermont and falls in love with some guy named Johnnycakes."

But the whole storyline fell flat with fans who didn't understand and couldn't believe it. The problem was that although Vito lost tons of weight and looked amazing FOR VITO, he was still an ugly, crude, waddling gangster who could not convincingly pull off the part of a romantic lead.

The Northwestern Wildcats are just like skinny Vito. It's amazing how much better and more athletic they are now compared to what they've been in the past. But if you didn't know their history, they wouldn't really look like a team ready to win the Big Ten.
 

One Word

DEFENSE. The 'Cats do not play enough D to win a Big Ten title. Their defense now is pretty miserable and based on confusing teams (1-3-1) and hoping they don't figure it out, not actually getting in thier faces and stopping them. Carmody has done a nice job filling in his roster with shooters who can play his system, and they will be a perpetual pain in the rear to play, but thinking they can play with the big boys for 18 games is a bit much.
 

can't give bullseye blake..darell summers...or evan turner or diebler...or hummel that many open looks at 3's...yes when teams can figure out the 1-3-1 it can come back to bite you in the butt... a good coach would switch back to man to man after that.
 

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