kleitus

I just hope we get eliminated in at worst the same round as them... then we smirk and tell them we'll see them at PBA next year without their seniors and laugh when they shut up and walk away.

I just want Fuller, Hawkins, and Webster training with Petteway all summer. Heck I want the whole team there with him, but I'll start with those 3 because they've got the potential for the biggest leaps forward. I'd put decent odds on all 3 of them making at least decent progress if they do that one... simple.. thing.... is that too much to ask?

LOL ... Iowa's out...

i revised what i said... it really wasn't that bad. and pitchford isn't that far off... .417 as a sophomore. korver is obviously the gold standard of 3pt shooters currently and people here are familiar with him. he basically sat between .425 and .450 until his obscene senior year. Keeping in mind that pitchford is a weird case as a transfer and had to settle in.. i could see him getting up in the .440-.460 range before he graduates which probably put him top 25 in 3pt% in the nba if he gets playing time... and he'll get better with age like most shooters. he's got to take that step and do the work, but well... it ain't that bad. he aint korver, but so what?

I just did a little looking... my numbers were a bit off. korver's career 3pt% in college was about .453. his freshman and junior years i was about .430 with his sophomore year being a bit better and his senior year being an amazing .480. pitch isn't really that far off of that... he'd have to have a huge year in there, but .417 this year is fairly solid. one decent step forward and he's definitely NBA material.

steve kerr couldn't defend anyone and he found a pretty famous spot on the kickout... and he wasn't half the athlete pitch is... if pitch gets the 3 pt % up in the 47%-49% range in college he can make it in the pros with someone. He's not that far away from that (yet miles in terms of how good it makes you). Pretty sure that 47-49% translates above .420 in the pros which would make him top 15 in the league... to start. He'd improve over time most likely. Most of those guys on that top 15 list couldn't guard Pitch to save their life. Some could, but not all of them. You don't have to be kyle korver to have a long career as a 3pt specialist.

Nope... not sure at all. Illinois has to win tomorrow and probably the semis -- the finals they can probably lose because by then their RPI would be around 50. Like i said -- IF they're in. If Minnesota wins tomorrow they're probably in before iowa.

IoLa RPI is 54 after the loss.

If iowa's in the tournament, they're in the play-in game and the 6th team in. We're in before they are.

First.. i said next to zero. Second, the game was at home fairly early in the year. I'd play them again in a heartbeat and anyone watching the two teams the last 4 weeks would agree on who would win that game. key words being AT HOME. They beat Michigan and ohio state and minnesota at home as well (all teams currently in the top 50 RPI). The road record was beyond pathetic... and they weren't even that great at home.

I don't see how they make it unless it's the play-in game. RPI 54. Absolute collapse down the stretch. Next to zero noteable wins. If Illinois wins tomorrow they'll have a better RPI and pretty much the same record... and illinois pretty much has to win the thing to be in.

NW up 1 with about 7 minutes left.

Northwestern trying REALLY hard to put Iowa in the NIT, still up 2 with about 10 minutes left.

Northwestern is trying to put Iowa in the NIT, up 4 in the 2nd half.

Oh it'll be a battle. don't kid yourself. It's two fairly good defensive teams (they may be slightly better but the stats the last 10 games would lean our way). The main reason that I think we win is because we've got better shooters and are better overall offensively. We've also got the best player on the court -- which in crunch time in tournaments carries a LOT of weight. That's three pretty good reasons. I'll take my chances after they almost lost today and struggled down the stretch pretty bad.

An 0-fer next year shouldn't shock anyone.

It's going to be a tough game. I think we can do this, but it's going to be a war. Good news is everyone there except the OSU fans will be rooting for us.... that should help..

I wouldn't mind a shot at UCONN in lincoln in a regional final. Why not? It's not like we fully expect to make the final 4. It would be amazing.. but we don't expect it.

We're probably going to be picked in the top 4 next year (i don't see why we wouldn't be) so we'd probably play one of the top 4 teams. since we were at home this year, likely it will be on the road... but it's possible that the B1G might try to showcase PBA against a top non-conference team ... so you don't know for sure and won't until the schedule comes out. The name I'm not hearing anyone say here is Syracuse. That one wouldn't shock me at all.

Let's be honest... if you were a 6 or a 7 and you had to play someone who had just run through the gauntlet we ran the last 10-12 games including beating a top 5-6 RPI team semi convincingly (it definitely wasn't a fluke) to cap it off..... what would your first thought be?

I think it has more to do with other people winning in weaker conferences than anything to do with a tough loss to a good opponent. Those RPI predictions have a lot of moving parts.

So did Kentucky this year... best class ever type class. Generally speaking, young players still don't win. Kentucky's run a few years ago is an anomaly. It'll be a grind like always, but if we do the work, we're going to be better than this year. There's no reason to think we should go down in the standings and a LOT to think we have a good chance to go higher.

We're going to be 9, possibly 10 deep next year -- and that's if we pretty much just go with what we have right now. I agree we should be much improved. Tai has talent and if petteway gets a hold of him he'll improve by leaps and bounds over the summer. I REALLY hope he stays and improves and doesn't go back to new zealand. Fuller will contribute. I think hawkins will improve for the same reason that I think tai will improve. Shavon could be another one that could take a major step forward next year now that i think about it. Can hammond contribute? Big question. Can we get a senior big transfer? Don't know ... Point being? This team has SERIOUS potential if they're willing to follow petteway's example. Look at the top 5 or 6 teams in the B1G. Only Michigan and Wisconsin are returning nearly as much as we are. We've got a real shot to make NOISE next year.

Yeah, they're legit. So's Wisconsin. Several 1's that got beat by 8's or 9's were legit too. Nothing wrong with wanting a shot at the champ... or a potential champ. Of the four I'd rather play them.

Yeah... agree... but if you've got a shot, why not take the biggest one? And ... i think we match up well. For what it's worth.