Stewart Mandel - yikes

[Pennsyhusker_rivals246774]

You've bought the east cost media's propaganda hook line and sinker. Do you think Creighton wants to play NU right now? No way and then just beat Nova. Good heavens give NU and Miles some credit. 22 wins with a number of top 100 recruits and "he's lucky". Bullsh##. We should be so "lucky" every year. .

Yeah, "lucky" was probably a poor choice of words on my part. All I was trying to say is that Mandel is correct about our weak schedule. I, unlike some others on here, am not so certain our record would be as good as it is if we had played a tougher schedule. But hey... that is all speculative. We are a much better team this year than we have been. And yet, other than Michigan, when we had a chance for a quality win to boost our RPI, we pissed it down our legs. Kansas was close. Yep. And we lost. Like we always seem to do. Call me cynical or uninformed. I don't care. I have followed Husker hoops since 1966 and you know what I see this year? Just a better version of "more of the same". And I think Miles is a lousy game coach.
Just my humble opinion. I respect your optimism. I do. Wish I had it. But when it comes to Husker hoops I am not getting my hopes up until they actually, finally, win some **** when it really matters.
I really hope they win a few games in the tourney, get into the dance, and win a few there too. Can you imagine the excitement we will have if this team makes it to the 16? I hope for that. Just ain't expecting it.

 

[TheNewNU_rivals50820]

The part he did not get right is that he seems so definite we won't make the big dance. Win one game in the B1G tourney and I think we are in.

I'm not so sure. If we lose to Michigan we are out. If we beat Michigan we probably have a 50/50 shot, if we beat Michigan and Sparty we are in.

 

[jlb321_rivals110621]

The schedule didn’t give them the opportunity.Playing one of the top 3 at home and beating them and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

this is of course correct - but that is a Big ten scheduling issue - if I am one of the other 6-8 teams on the bubble why should the fact that the Big didn't give Nebraska a home game against Purdue, MSU or OSU that they may or may not have won be held against me

 

[Pennsyhusker_rivals246774]

This team is bigger, longer, stronger, faster, more athletic, deeper, and more skilled than the 4th place Husker team in 2013-14. YOu don't know what the hell you're talking about.

I probably don't.
Don't dispute at all that we are a good team this year. Just saying that it is objectively true that the B1G is having a down year. I also think it is true that Miles was on a somewhat hot seat. So yes... we are a better team this year AND we benefitted from a weaker schedule that has helped to take Miles off of that hot seat.
"Lucky" was a poor choice of words. But I stand by my assessment that we faced a weak schedule this year.
GBR

 

[Pennsyhusker_rivals246774]

I'm not so sure. If we lose to Michigan we are out. If we beat Michigan we probably have a 50/50 shot, if we beat Michigan and Sparty we are in.

This **** is maddening. Lol.

 

[Harry Caray]

Lunardi still has us as the 3rd team out

 

[CameronKrazie86]

Just win the Big 10 conference tournament and make them put you in.

 

[schuele]

I get that Nebraska's tournament resume is thin, in large part because the conference is down but also because of the lack of a signature non-conference win. But I also believe that if Maryland or Wisconsin was sitting in 4th place with precisely the same resume, TV talking heads would be tripping over themselves to explain why they belong in the tournament. My God, yesterday I thought Kevin Harlan was going to wet himself every time Wisconsin made a basket.

 

[Pennsyhusker_rivals246774]

I get that Nebraska's tournament resume is thin, in large part because the conference is down but also because of the lack of a signature non-conference win. But I also believe that if Maryland or Wisconsin was sitting in 4th place with precisely the same resume, TV talking heads would be tripping over themselves to explain why they belong in the tournament. My God, yesterday I thought Kevin Harlan was going to wet himself every time Wisconsin made a basket.

This. Hard to fight against the perception of our program as undesersrving, even if we are deserving.

 

[jlb321_rivals110621]

This. Hard to fight against the perception of our program as undesersrving, even if we are deserving.

maybe this is some of it but in 2014 we got in with a 19-12 record

I think you need signature wins - we had 3 top 25 rpi wins including #3 Wisconsin and AT # 12 Mich State and had a SOS of 30 in 2014 ... our SOS this year is 105

 

[inWV]

I'm not so sure. If we lose to Michigan we are out. If we beat Michigan we probably have a 50/50 shot, if we beat Michigan and Sparty we are in.

So if NU beats Michigan in the B1G, after crushing them by 20 during the season, Michigan is tourney bound and NU is not. I think that would look very much like the committee specifically excluded NU. And that would be a very fair criticism to make.

 

[Shimmer003]

Nebraska has to pray that there are no bids stollen during conference tournaments. Every upset shrinks the bubble.

 

[tad2001]

You've bought the east cost media's propaganda hook line and sinker. Do you think Creighton wants to play NU right now? No way and then just beat Nova. Good heavens give NU and Miles some credit. 22 wins with a number of top 100 recruits and "he's lucky". Bullsh##. We should be so "lucky" every year. .

Lol. Creighton is not concerned with playing Nebraska.

 

[chicolby]

I hope we get in but don’t see us progressing too far. Lots of real nasty teams to play that are far more consistent than we are. It would be a huge step in the right direction though.

I respectfully disagree. How can you argue with 9-1 down the stretch? Who else is going 9-1 down the stretch sans 1 or 2 seeds?

Everyone gets right down the stretch. Also, this year, I’d suggest is so wide open that I could easily see a mid-tier team go deep. By no means am I saying Nebraska will make a deep run, or even win one game, but this team is very capable of doing it.

 

[Mack In Motion]

Kind of puts to rest the notion that expanding CFB playoffs to a field of 8 will reduce controversy.

 

[chicolby]

Lunardi still has us as the 3rd team out

Fortunately Lunardi doesn’t sit on the committee. Does Lunardi ever miss? Whew. He does.

 

[Husker4real_rivals373787]

Another part of the equation is NU is not getting much help from other bubble teams losing.

NU really has a tough task ahead of it...NU will likely be an underdog against Michigan on Friday. They would definitely be a dog against MSU if they get that far. Had Purdue or OSU managed to with the B1G, I would have given NU a puncher's chance to reach the tournament title game. MSU in the semis is a tough, tough draw.

Michigan will play either Iowa or Illinois on Thursday. Neither team is likely to put up much resistance and will only serve to get Michigan in 'game' mode for the quarter-final game against NU. Maybe we can hope for a triple-OT game and Michigan is dragging on Friday...

 

[chicolby]

Lol. Creighton is not concerned with playing Nebraska.

Of course Creighton isn’t “concerned” with playing Nebraska but I’ll guarantee you after the first match up, McDermott knew this was a better team than he’d seen in Lincoln. Also he knows that Nebraska has improved over the season. I’d say a Nebraska Creighton game would be about 50-50 with the home court being the difference.

 

[Husker4real_rivals373787]

Fortunately Lunardi doesn’t sit on the committee. Does Lunardi ever miss? Whew. He does.

Lunardi, Palm, and others like him miss. But in general, they do an excellent job of guessing the field.

 

[chicolby]

Lunardi, Palm, and others like him miss. But in general, they do an excellent job of guessing the field.

I could also do an excellent job. I think most people could get 60 of 64 with common knowledge. But yes they use numbers which should be pretty good predictors of most selections.

 

[huskerfan1414]

They will NOT keep a 23 win Nebraska team out.

 

[saluno22]

MSU in the semis is a tough, tough draw.

 

[CatColumbia]

All of which have nothing to do with Miles coaching ability, which is average, at best.

Can we afford anything greater than an average basketball coach? Last I checked we are still paying Riley and BoBo.

 

[96WCDC]

Paralysis by analysis!

Beat M a second time and play the next game close and they’ll probably get an invite. Of course...if all everyone cares about is the invite then I guess all will be pleased if they get in. IF they get an invite you know where they will be seeded and what their opponent will be capable of doing against a much lower seeded team. Forget all the analysis and just simply win the next game. Pretty easy...not complicated at all.

What I think will be interesting is how this team handles the added pressure that the B1G tournament will place on the players and the coaches shoulders. For teams that have “been there” they have an advantage both in player and coaches mindset. For the new guys it could be telling. But...that’s why they play the game!

 

[inWV]

Shelby Mast of USA Today thinks NU needs two in the B1G tourney to get a bid. So count him as one who thinks Michigan can either get bounced early from the B1G tourney or lose to NU for the second time and get in over NU. That would be a serious downgrading of play within a conference.

 

[dinglefritz]

Lol. Creighton is not concerned with playing Nebraska.

You're out of your freaking mind if you think Creighton wants any part of NU right now. The got lucky the first go round with the phantom foul calls on Watson. Without their big man they would be screwed.

 

[RealTucoSalamanca]

You're out of your freaking mind if you think Creighton wants any part of NU right now. The got lucky the first go round with the phantom foul calls on Watson. Without their big man they would be screwed.

Who cares? They won’t match up in the tournament anyway, unless both go at least 3 rounds deep. Which isn’t happening.

 

[dinglefritz]

Who cares? They won’t match up in the tournament anyway, unless both go at least 3 rounds deep. Which isn’t happening.

The point had to do with conference perceptions based on early season non-conference games. Is Creighton as good now as they were earlier? No way. They beat Nova at home with a berth in the tourney in question according to everybody I listened to. So what. Right now as of this minute, NU is a team anybody anywhere near the bubble wouldn't want to play to get in to the tournament and yet NU is supposedly on the outside looking in.

 

[Jost Van Dyke]

RPIs of those last 12 (last 4 in, first 4 out, next 4 out)

USC - 27
Lville - 39
Boise St - 45
Cuse - 46
Wash - 51
UCLA - 54
Texas - 55
Utah - 57
Neb -58
Miss St - 62
Baylor - 63
ND - 68


I would think with an RPI of 27 USC is in -- so you have 11 other schools competing for the 3 remaining slots and we are currently sitting 8th - all very, very close and will likely come down to play in the conf tourneys - I think our RPI would have been ~ 53 if we beat Illinois

certainly not out of it - Lunardi moves us up from 9th based on RPI to 6th

Texas will lose at Kansas tonight. Haven't checked the rest of these teams schedules.

 

[jay-cheese]

IF we make it and it's a play-in game, would you all be cool with that? If this happened and we won, that would count as a NCAA tournament victory. Correct?

GBR

 

[Redscarlet]

IF we make it and it's a play-in game, would you all be cool with that? If this happened and we won, that would count as a NCAA tournament victory. Correct?

GBR

Yes, some will whine about it but it’s still the NCAA tournament.

I sure as hell would.

 

[HuskerDana_rivals188993]

Sure... However, Nebraska never got the chance to play a team of Wisconsin's caliber at home during the conference season.

And this Michigan State team is in a completely different stratosphere than the Spartan team of 13-14.

My point though is about refuting the idea that Tim Miles suddenly got "lucky" vs. a weakened Big Ten. This current team is better than the last team that earned a bid to the dance.

Benny Palmer wouldn't even sniff this roster unless he wanted to play charades as a walk on at the end of the bench.
David Rivers was a full time starter in 13-14. He would barely play 7 minutes per game on this current roster.
Shavon Shields was an excellent Big Ten player, but he would be the 6th man on this team.

Walter Pitchford would be a reserve long range specialist for 10 to 15 minutes a game.
Leslee Smith would play LESS than Duby Okeke.
Gallegos would be another reserve used in limited minutes.
Peltz wouldn't even sniff the floor.
Petteway would be the only starter right now.

I'm not arguing about resumes or selection criteria. I'm disputing the idea that Nebraska somehow got lucky to win 13 Big Ten games this season.

Cornicator, FTW.

 

[Husker4real_rivals373787]

IF we make it and it's a play-in game, would you all be cool with that? If this happened and we won, that would count as a NCAA tournament victory. Correct?

GBR

Considering the "First Four" is actually the first round of the NCAA tournament, if NU played in and won such a game, that would count as an NCAA tournament victory. Because, you know, that would mean they would have a victory in an NCAA tournament game.

 

[rrthusker]

I respectfully disagree. How can you argue with 9-1 down the stretch? Who else is going 9-1 down the stretch sans 1 or 2 seeds?

Everyone gets right down the stretch. Also, this year, I’d suggest is so wide open that I could easily see a mid-tier team go deep. By no means am I saying Nebraska will make a deep run, or even win one game, but this team is very capable of doing it.

I would have agreed with you until Illinois beat us and we looked awful. Any effort even close to that will get you bounced immediately by anybody.

 

[schuele]

IF we make it and it's a play-in game, would you all be cool with that? If this happened and we won, that would count as a NCAA tournament victory. Correct?

GBR

I would actually love to see Nebraska in the play-in round. Why? Because of the stupid-*** decision to start the conference tournament in February, leaving Big Ten teams that make the NCAA tournament with a week and a half to sit around and wait.

If the Huskers win a play-in game in Dayton and some insist that it's not an NCAA tournament win, who cares? It would be another game against a decent opponent, with a chance to advance to the Round of 64. And with the way the schedule would play out, tired legs would not be an issue.

 

[Redscarlet]

I would actually love to see Nebraska in the play-in round. Why? Because of the stupid-*** decision to start the conference tournament in February, leaving Big Ten teams that make the NCAA tournament with a week and a half to sit around and wait.

If the Huskers win a play-in game in Dayton and some insist that it's not an NCAA tournament win, who cares? It would be another game against a decent opponent, with a chance to advance to the Round of 64. And with the way the schedule would play out, tired legs would not be an issue.

At least we could prove it on the floor instead of the committee’s RPI or what other criteria they choose.

 

[newAD]

And when we lost multiple very close games last year it was all because our coach was crappy then too and we weren't unlucky.

RPI is over rated when it comes to end of year evaluations of teams. It WAY over states the importance of those early non-conference games where most teams are just starting to figure out how to play together. I know it's the only across conference numerical tool we have, but it is NOT an accurate predictive tool at year end. Do you think the sharps in Vegas really look at RPI when they bet games in February and March?

It might be, but....that is what the committee will use.

 

[newAD]

I've been saying it since the Illinois loss. If we dont make it to the B1G championship we're NIT bound.

I agree that is possible. Winning just one, PLUS the BIG deciding it'd be a good idea to play the conference tourney a week earlier is potentially going to kill our chances no matter what happens.

 

[newAD]

Shelby Mast of USA Today thinks NU needs two in the B1G tourney to get a bid. So count him as one who thinks Michigan can either get bounced early from the B1G tourney or lose to NU for the second time and get in over NU. That would be a serious downgrading of play within a conference.

You must have heard him on the radio this morning too. He also went 68 for 68 in his final bracket prediction last year. He also stated he'd like to see Nebraska get in, but he is making his prediction based on the criteria and what he thinks the committee will decide.

 

[newAD]

I respectfully disagree. How can you argue with 9-1 down the stretch? Who else is going 9-1 down the stretch sans 1 or 2 seeds?

Everyone gets right down the stretch. Also, this year, I’d suggest is so wide open that I could easily see a mid-tier team go deep. By no means am I saying Nebraska will make a deep run, or even win one game, but this team is very capable of doing it.

Last 10 record is NOT an evaluation criteria. They will look at the record as a whole.