In order to make the tourney this year, we MUST go 11-0 in the "cupcake" portion (non-P5) of the schedule. No trip ups.
We need to split SHU/FSU to go 12-1 OOC. This is a tall order, as both SHU and FSU will be good teams, but at least we get them both at home.
In league (one of my favorite Bruce Johnson-isms), we would need to go 9-9 at a minimum to be considered, for a 21-10 overall record, and it might be necessary to win at least one B1G tournament game so that we have 22 wins.
One thing I wonder though -- Would the committee take our 27 year drought into account as a "plus" factor favoring our selection, on the theory that the tournament loves a good "Cindarella" story? Or would we be viewed as a traditional also-ran that wouldn't be given any advantage at all?
That said, I just don't see it happening Shack. As good as this coaching staff is, and as much as they've turned over the roster, I just don't think we're going to be able to shoot and score the basketball enough to win 9 or 10 B1G games. Unless Thiam makes a humongous leap in his sophomore year, our "3" spot will be far below what you need in today's college game. We need that spot to be a big scoring position. Moreover, I just don't know what kind of offensive production we will get from the post. Freeman is probably good for 10-12 ppg against P5 competition, but where else will the points come from among the other bigs?
I think a reasonable goal this year is the NIT. Go 11-2 OOC, 6-12 in league, plus 1-1 in the B1G tourney, and the 18-15 record will get us a serious look from the NIT.
We need to split SHU/FSU to go 12-1 OOC. This is a tall order, as both SHU and FSU will be good teams, but at least we get them both at home.
In league (one of my favorite Bruce Johnson-isms), we would need to go 9-9 at a minimum to be considered, for a 21-10 overall record, and it might be necessary to win at least one B1G tournament game so that we have 22 wins.
One thing I wonder though -- Would the committee take our 27 year drought into account as a "plus" factor favoring our selection, on the theory that the tournament loves a good "Cindarella" story? Or would we be viewed as a traditional also-ran that wouldn't be given any advantage at all?
That said, I just don't see it happening Shack. As good as this coaching staff is, and as much as they've turned over the roster, I just don't think we're going to be able to shoot and score the basketball enough to win 9 or 10 B1G games. Unless Thiam makes a humongous leap in his sophomore year, our "3" spot will be far below what you need in today's college game. We need that spot to be a big scoring position. Moreover, I just don't know what kind of offensive production we will get from the post. Freeman is probably good for 10-12 ppg against P5 competition, but where else will the points come from among the other bigs?
I think a reasonable goal this year is the NIT. Go 11-2 OOC, 6-12 in league, plus 1-1 in the B1G tourney, and the 18-15 record will get us a serious look from the NIT.
