Dark Horse Final four contenders
- Thread starter dpwhite
- Start date
Great character (almost phased it loved Mr. Hand, but that probably would have been jumped on by some jokester here)
We haven’t played a game yet and though I would love us to get to the 2nd 3rd rounds of the NCAA ... let’s win some games first ... make the B1G finals or win it...the rest takes care of itself... Caleb sitting causes us to be weaker unless Mag , Palmquist , Reiber step up... If they do then yes we can be a surprise team this year.
I think we were a solid Top 25ish team last year and I think we should be improved.
How much? Anyone's guess. But I would suggest it is fair to think Sweet 16 and, once you get there.. well...
Think of what you would be thinking of Rutgers just won its way into the Sweet 16. Just a couple more wins and you are in the Final 4 baby.
So.. yeah.. Rutgers as a dark horse for the F4.. why not?
But how about winning the Big Ten first.
How much? Anyone's guess. But I would suggest it is fair to think Sweet 16 and, once you get there.. well...
Think of what you would be thinking of Rutgers just won its way into the Sweet 16. Just a couple more wins and you are in the Final 4 baby.
So.. yeah.. Rutgers as a dark horse for the F4.. why not?
But how about winning the Big Ten first.
I have a feeling the top two or three in the B1G could play their way into the final four so winning the B1G may not be a prerequisite...but I’d sign up for it!
I thought we might go a couple of rounds last year. Calling us a dark horse this year to go to the final four isn't ridiculous by any stretch.
I really felt that we were going to win a game as a 7/8/9/10
Seed in the first round ...and then, in the second rjnf , against a 1 or 2 seed...either play them right down to the wire ...and lose a close game ...Or a small chance that we pull the major upset....Depending on the match hi
So going from that, with what we return, to the sweet 16 isn’t a stretch....and once you are in the sweet 16,
It’s not far fetched to say that you Are a dark horse final
Four contender ....
Seed in the first round ...and then, in the second rjnf , against a 1 or 2 seed...either play them right down to the wire ...and lose a close game ...Or a small chance that we pull the major upset....Depending on the match hi
So going from that, with what we return, to the sweet 16 isn’t a stretch....and once you are in the sweet 16,
It’s not far fetched to say that you Are a dark horse final
Four contender ....
When you look at a team's roster and say stuff like...
- Do they have a shot-blocker?
- Do they have size?
- Do they have length?
- Do they have go-to scorers?
- Do they have lock-down defenders?
- Do they have really tough matchups (like Harper where guys are either too big/slow or too small)
- Do they come from behind?
- Do they win in OT?
I only find 2 potential issues..
- Do they hit FTs?
- Do they hit threes?
We really have quite a team here.
- Do they have a shot-blocker?
- Do they have size?
- Do they have length?
- Do they have go-to scorers?
- Do they have lock-down defenders?
- Do they have really tough matchups (like Harper where guys are either too big/slow or too small)
- Do they come from behind?
- Do they win in OT?
I only find 2 potential issues..
- Do they hit FTs?
- Do they hit threes?
We really have quite a team here.
Exactly...probably lose tight second round game to Baylor in midwest. We would have gotten the revenge this year at MSG, if everything was normal...the Katz projected 2021 bracket is very Interesting. Furthest realistic reach would be elite 8..2022, however, with possibility of Geo & JY still playing, final four is possible. But like mentioned, Free throws, especially from bigs, will be deciding factor..
I felt same way . I was hoping for an 11 seed actually and figured that was a good path to the sweet 16. The big ten was a beast and the first two rounds of the ncaa tournament might be easier then a 2 game regular season stretch .
So for the two potential issues my questions are: How much improvement does there need to be to get us over the hump? Realizing we're talking, perhaps, only a few percentage points here. I'm not sure we're abysmal from either but it would seem to me that we're not far off for either (despite the frustrations from the line.)
So yeah, let's hope Myles improved and if Cliff starts to impose his will as the season goes on and he gets comfortable we'll have to see how he fares at the line.
I don't think our three point shooting was too far off...
Excellent summary. Caleb being out hurts our FT percentage, but does Palmquist step up there? Does the team improve incrementally with no or limited crowds? Improvement on 3s is anyone’s guess, but I felt Montez was improving in that area towards the end of the season.
I think we overachieved last year. I am very worried about this year, especially with no RAC. I'd be surprised if we make the NCAA tournament. Getting to the Final 4?
I think with FTs it may be a question of fixing individual players rather than focusing on raising the team FT percentage. We cannot surrender 10 points a game to FT differential.
example.. at Penn State last year.. we were 6 for 11 and PSU was 14 for 22... yes, they took twice as many FTs... our road games often looked like that. We lost that game by one point. We go 8 of 11 and we win... and if we hit front ends.. well.. I don't know.. but maybe its 8 of 13.
As for 3s... that is a question of making sure our best 3 point shooters take those shots.. as long as their percentage warrants it.. basketball is all about the 3s now.. and Pike has had us do well with the 2s.. but a better 3 threat can lead to more 2s.. and we have a lot of length.. 3s are long rebounds.. I think that's advantage to us... if we look to board aggressively on offense.
Now.. the above might seem like complaining.. but as this team improves it makes the weaknesses more glaring. But that doesn't mean there's not a lot to love about this team.. there is. Maybe they miss FTs because they are tired going balls-to-the-wall on defense... whatever it is.. these players clearly want to win and are putting in the work and they will be great to watch and root on.
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Really? Surprised, as in if you had to place a meaningful wager on us making it or not, you would bet against it? I will be surprised if we do not make it. Which returning guys do you think will perform worse this season than they did last year? Add in a year of growth plus the newcomers and I think that offsets the loss of Yeboah and McConnell, as important as they were to last season. Other teams lose talent every year, too.
I disagree with you. I don’t think we overachieved at all. I just think we matured and evolved. Don’t forget one of our key players (JY), who contributed greatly down the stretch, had not played in almost 2 years. He obviously had some rust in the beginning. Also, PM, who was also a key element, was a true Frosh. We just got better. We will be even better this year with a now much more mature team. You will see.
Not to mention however many games Geo missed. That said, I too have been concerned about losing the best home court advantage in the nation last season.
Good points...I don't think it's complaining, rather, I think as this program becomes that much better it's about the refinement of the little things.
I'm sure the top programs' coaches have similar nits and it's about refinement, tweaking, that make the differences.
Coach Pike has us finally at a spot where we need to clean up the Free Throws and better Three Point shooting parts...once they get handled - and I think they will be eventually - we can witness that next jump.
Dark horse talk continues...
https://collegehoopstoday.com/index...ark-horse-candidates-for-the-2021-final-four/
https://collegehoopstoday.com/index...ark-horse-candidates-for-the-2021-final-four/
we were 3 or 4 possessions from a 16-15 season.
I am very worried about our shooting. I am worried about replacing Caleb and Yeboah’s minutes. I realize we weren’t very good away from the RAC. All of our games will be away from the RAC.
Legitimate concerns but I feel are counteracted with new additions to the team. BTW, we were also 3 or 4 possessions away from 24 wins. It goes both ways.
We played a lot of close games both ways.
At Maryland - Trailed by 1 with 1:59 left
At Iowa - Led by 1 with 2:32 left
At Illinois - Tied with 2:11 left (no Geo)
We played a horrible game at Ohio State and still got within 3 with 30 seconds left. Played pretty poorly at MSG against Michigan and it was still a two possession game late.
The flipside is we were lucky to beat Northwestern and Nebraska at home, and the Purdue road game could've gone either way. But against Illinois, Wisconsin, Penn State, Indiana, Purdue, and Minnesota at home... we were in control of those games the majority of the time.