If they can win enough to get to the Big Ten tournament, I think with a healthy Ace and Dylan in March, this team is way more talented than NC State was last year. I know what NC State did was extraordinary, but they proved it can be done.
Can RU be last year's NC State?
- Thread starter knight82
- Start date
I have no idea what breaks or bounces nc state got
This is a big ask you are asking. Pike (and I like Pike) is just a terrible coach in conference tournament play . He lost tourney games with SB when he had better teams and also had Warney ..who was like the Michael Jordan of that league.
His rutgers teams can’t even get past the quarters . And you want him to win 3 more games ??
This is a big ask you are asking. Pike (and I like Pike) is just a terrible coach in conference tournament play . He lost tourney games with SB when he had better teams and also had Warney ..who was like the Michael Jordan of that league.
His rutgers teams can’t even get past the quarters . And you want him to win 3 more games ??
True.
BUT ... The Big Ten is way stronger from top to bottom than the ACC. So RU would be facing much better teams generally.
NC State's ACC tourney path was:
Round 1: 8-24 Louisville
Round 2: 20-12 Syracuse - neither an NCAA nor an NIT team (did they get invitted to the NIT and not go?)
Round 3: Yes, an upset of a Top 15 ranked Duke team, who then lost to NC State AGAIN in the Round of 8 of the NCAA.
Round 4: NCAA-bound UVA - though not one of UVA's stronger teams (who lost in the 1st round of the NCAA)
Round 5: A strong, top 10 UNC team (maybe a #1 or at worst a #2 seed)
So ... that is actually better competition than I thought, to be honest: Beating 3 consecutive NCAA teams, 2 of them Top 10-15 n the country.
NC State had entered the ACC tourney losing 4 in a row, 5 of 6 and going just 2-7 in their last 9. They were 17-14 overall, and then won 9 in a row until the Final Four.
If the season ended with the same Big 10 standings as NOW exist, RU would be seeded 13th (tied with Iowa - but giving Iowa the 12th seed, just because they have a better overall record - not working out the tiebreakers).
See this link, from 247 Sports: https://247sports.com/article/big-t...ojected-seeds-schedule-tiebreakers-244580614/ ... the standings and "bracket" as of today ... they have RU 12th and Iowa 13th. But it does not matter:
Round 1: RU v Iowa (tougher, much tougher, than NC State's 1st round vs Louisville).
Round 2: if RU wins, RU vs UCLA (16=5-6/6-4 ... better than last year's Syracuse, probably)
Round 3: If RU wins, RU vs Maryland, currently - not as tough as NC State vs Duke
Round 4 (Semis): If RU keeps winning, barring other upsets, RU vs either Michigan St (the #1 seed now), or the Oregon/Indiana winner if they beat MSU in Round 3. MSU and Oregon are both plenty better than UVA of last year - though Indiana is not.
Round 5 (Finals): If RU wins ... well, who knows ... but ODDS would suggest RU vs either Purdue or Michigan - neither as good as UNC was last year.
So, maybe there IS a path.
NC State was mostly carried by 2 players getting hot for many of those 9 straight wins: Horne and Burns - with Burns becoming the media darling of the ACC and NCAA tournament.
IF ... Bailey and Harper get hot for 5 games in a row, with the occasional support of 1-2 other offensive players in some games ... all things do become possible. I'd prefer Harper get healthy, and he and Bailey then get hot NOW, in the regular season - to carry RU to a streak NOW, for RU to finish 8-2, let's say ... putting RU at 19-12, 12-8 in the regular season ... but I know that though that HAS happened in the Big Ten in recent seasons, it is tough to project that it WILL happen.
Most of this is crazy talk, we cant expect 30+ point games from Ace every game from this point on, because that’s what some of this speculation would take.
