Cookie Miller Wasn't Dirty

There's no possible way Maryland should get in over us. That's just hilarious.

For those that are concerned about Michigan staying in Quadrant 1: Their upcoming game at Maryland on Saturday is going to be huge. Obviously, we clinch the double bye if they lose. But if they win, RPI Forecast projects them to be about 22nd in RPI. That tells me that if we end up beating them in the 4-5 game at MSG, they probably won't get bumped out of the top 30, thus keeping our home win over them in Q1 status. That'd give us two Q1 wins (both Michigan) and would really almost eliminate any argument for why we don't deserve to make it. That's assuming we beat Penn State.

Very strange that PSU would jump ahead of us after they lost at home and we won at home. Makes no sense. If he had them ahead of us before the Indiana and Michigan games, then I could understand keeping it that way after the fact. But that's not the case. Really no idea what goes through his mind to make those kinds of decisions.

Just about every city that has both an NBA team and NHL team. I remember it being a concern years ago leading up to an NBA game (Celtics maybe?) but I think they resolved it before tip off and the game went on as planned.

How about a Nebraska-Creighton play-in game! That'd be awesome.

I think so too. But I’d still have enough hope to watch the selection show with just one.

Great finish. Beat Penn State and at the very least we’ll be glued to the TV on Selection Sunday!

Amazing. How does he not dunk those??

I've definitely heard more Nebraska fans complaining about the media bashing the Big Ten than I've actually heard the media bashing the Big Ten. They're calling us the 5th best conference, and they're saying we're probably only going to get four teams in. Is that really overblowing it? Are there really more than four teams deserving of a bid right now? Yeah, you can argue that Nebraska and Penn State are playing tournament-quality ball. But everything considered, they are definitely bubble teams and IMO deserve to be on the outside looking in right now.

Your entire post was just an explanation for why the Big Ten is down lol. Nobody ever claimed that injuries weren't to blame.

I definitely agree the early season numbers boost is an issue. Still, I find it hard not to believe the Big Ten is down. Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, and Iowa are typically much better than they are this year. Maryland is also below their standard. Northwestern is underperforming based on the bar they set last year. Yes, Nebraska and Penn State are pleasant surprises, but that's not enough to offset the disappointment of those other six programs.

I think I'd rather have Michigan. I'm not too concerned about the "pissed off" Penn State. I think they'd be more of a threat if they beat Michigan due to confidence... I'm thinking they could even feel a little deflated if they lose that one. And if Michigan wins their final two, our win against them will look that much better. Plus if we were to lose to them in the 4/5 game it wouldn't be as damaging, either (which could help get us in with only 22 wins). There is the risk that we lose the 4 seed, but I'm kind of operating under the assumption that we have to win our final two games anyways.

Definitely good to see that the loss doesn't seem to be too damaging. Makes me feel confident that 23 will still surely be enough. Maybe even 22 if we get good luck with other bubble teams and lose a tight one to Michigan at MSG.

Hope so. But having been at the game, I can tell you it was far from a hostile environment. You could hear a pin drop for the first 38 minutes. Fortunately that’s not something the committee will be aware of.

I agree it’s not as bad of a loss as Illinois’ record and RPI imply, but I think as Nebraska fans we kind of over emphasize the difficulty of winning on the road because usually we’re just so terrible at it. Bubble teams are typically .500 or better on the road, so winning the ones against the conference bottom dwellers should be expected. But yeah, in my mind it’s not a bad loss because Illinois isn’t your typical 13th place team (they have talent), but the selection committee will probably view it as one.

More hate than love this year. He’s been bad.

The downside of zone D. We’re not gonna be effective grabbing zone boards with our lack of height.

Can somebody teach Jordy how to dunk? No reason a 6’11” guy who pump fakes two defenders off him shouldn’t have an easy throw down there.

The available tickets on Stubhub were sparse. I think there were only 6-7 sets available so I think it will be packed.

Bought tix two hours ago. Can’t wait!

It’s explained by that system treating us as underdogs in three of the last four. I’d consider us to be favorites in all four games (although the way PSU is playing right now...), but three of them are close enough that I’m not going to complain if the computers don’t agree. I agree with you, the chances of us winning the last four were certainly greater than losing all of them. Just curious, what are the odds you’d give us of winning each individual remaining game? Including Maryland before it happened.

I’m going the other way on both of those games. Improving the Michigan win and improving the potential Penn State win.

What a nightmare of a day for us. Our chances of making it with 22 wins took a hit today. Fortunately a lot of these teams still play each other so they’re bound to start getting some losses.

At least Vandy just beat Florida.

Would be nice to see Northwestern hold this early lead on MSU. Vaults OSU back to the one seed and makes one of our road wins look better, with a possibility of later creeping into Q1 territory.