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At the rate we're losing bodies, we'll be down to 5 guys suited up by Sunday's B1G championship game. That may make beating Michigan for the title a little more difficult. Then again, it's NU hoops ... we don't do anything the easy way. At least nobody will be able to complain about the minutes they're getting this week.

Rutgers is #99 in NET today, so if we beat them, they likely will fall out of top 100, making it a Q3 game., unfortunately. Maybe we can win, but only by 1 pt.

I hope he gives the new coach a shot at 'recruiting' him to stay. But if he's ready to move on, it's understandable and I certainly wouldn't blame him. If he's asking me -- and I'm sure he is -- and he has a 1st-round draft grade, there's no way I would recommend that he comes back. I would love to have him back, but this is a situation where he needs to be very selfish, especially with the coach who recruited him no longer going to be here.

Just listened to post-game replay, Kent's call of the final play was awesome - loved the other highlights of the big shots too. Thought I heard a bang-a-rang-a-rang-a-rang in there. And I appreciated Coach's comments after the game too. Really heaped all the praise on the players, couldn't say enough how proud he was of them & the seniors. Sounded like a guy who knows it's coming to an end, but didn't want it to be about him at all, which I appreciate.

Again, just for comparison, we played 23 Q1/Q2 games this season. Only 10 teams last year played that many, and that was after their conference tournaments. We've played 14 Q1 games, only 10 teams last year played that many after their conference tournaments. Last year, we played 12 Q1/Q2 games and 7 Q1 games, which was probably bottom 10 among P5 teams. We went from one extreme to the other, and it didn't work out for us either way.

I'd have to say 4 to get in, 3 to be in the discussion, but who knows. We're 2-12 in Q1 and 6-3 in Q2 after today. Had we gotten 2 more Q1 wins during the regular season, we'd be almost a lock at this point. Crazy. RU is right on the Q2/Q3 cut line for a neutral game, but Wisc and Mary would be Q1 wins. If we win 3 in Chicago, I think we'd be a wrong-side bubble team, sitting at 4 Q1 wins and 6 or 7 Q2 wins. Probably would need 1 more Q1 win to get on the right side of the bubble. Then again, last year, 23 of 24 power 5 teams that won 10+ Q1 and Q2 games made the tournament. None of the 23 were seeded lower than 10. And the one that missed had an RPI in the 80s or 90s. Our NET was #53 before today; I wouldn't expect it'll change much, as the metrics had this game roughly a pick 'em. Beat RU, Mary and Wisc, and our NET probably would be 43-47. Bubble area for sure. It's not going to happen, but, somehow, with the way we've played the past 2 months, we still could earn an at-large berth with a deep run in Chicago. Speaks to how well we played in Nov & Dec and how tough the B1G is.

Wisconsin blows a huge lead at OSU but takes it in OT to end the regular season and clinch the last double-bye. Final seeds: 1. Michigan State (16 - 4) Defeated Purdue based on record against #3 teams. 2. Purdue (16 - 4) Lost to Michigan State based on record against #3 teams. 3. Michigan (15 - 5) 4. Wisconsin (14 - 6) 5. Maryland (13 - 7) 6. Iowa (10 - 10) 7. Minnesota (9 - 11) 8. Ohio State (8 - 12) Defeated Indiana based on head-to-head record. 9. Indiana (8 - 12) Lost to Ohio State based on head-to-head record. 10. Penn State (7 - 13) Defeated Illinois and Rutgers based on round-robin record. 11. Illinois (7 - 13) With Rutgers, lost to Penn State based on round-robin record. Defeated Rutgers based on record against #1 teams. 12. Rutgers (7 - 13) With Illinois, lost to Penn State based on round-robin record. Lost to Illinois based on record against #1 teams. 13. Nebraska (6 - 14) 14. Northwestern (4 - 16) ----------------------------9 lnd ________Winner ----------------------------8 OSU 1 Mich St 12 Rutg/13 NU ---Winner ________Winner ----------------------------5 Mary 4 Wisc ---------------------------10 PSU ________Winner ----------------------------7 Minn 2 Pur 14 NW/11 Ill --------Winner _______Winner ----------------------------6 Iowa 3 Mich Indiana/Ohio State could be a play-in game for an NCAA bid. Otherwise, the top 7 seeds seem pretty solidly in.

After it hit the shot clock, the top of the backboard, and Herbie.

NU 58 RU 55 4 wins

So happy for the seniors - what a way to end their careers at home. Reminded me a lot of 2013 Iowa game at Devaney when Talley hit the 3 late. The rally was much earlier in 2013, but it was fun to put together another huge 2nd half double-digit comeback against Iowa with an outmanned team again.

Michigan St (16-4) #1 Seed Purdue (16-4) #2 Seed Michigan (15-5) #3 Seed Maryland (13-7) #4 Seed, Wis loss at OSU #5 Seed, Wis win at OSU Wisconsin (13-6) --Remaining: at OSU #4 Seed, Win at OSU #5 Seed, Loss at OSU Iowa (10-9) --Remaining: at NU #6 Seed Ohio St (8-11) --Remaining: vs Wis #7 Seed, Win vs Wis #8 Seed, Loss vs Wis, PSU win vs Ill #9 Seed, Loss vs Wis, Ill win vs PSU Minnesota (9-11) #7 Seed, Wis win at OSU #8 Seed, OSU win vs Wis Indiana (7-12) --Remaining: vs Rutg #8 Seed, Win vs Rutg, Wis win vs OSU, Ill win at PSU #9 Seed, Win vs Rutg, OSU win vs Wis --or-- PSU win vs Ill #10 Seed, Loss vs Rutg, PSU win vs Ill #11 Seed, Loss vs Rutg, Ill win at PSU Penn St (6-13) --Remaining: vs Ill #10 Seed, Win vs Ill, Ind win vs Rutg #11 Seed, Win vs Ill, Rutg win at Ind #12 Seed, Loss vs Ill Illinois (7-12) --Remaining: at PSU #8 Seed, Win at PSU, Wis win at OSU, Rutg win at Ind #9 Seed, Win at PSU, OSU win vs Wis, Rutg win at Ind #10 Seed, Win at PSU, Ind win vs Rutg #11 Seed, Loss at PSU, Ind win vs Rutg #12 Seed, Loss at PSU, Rutg win at Ind Rutgers (7-12) --Remaining: at Ind #9 Seed, Win at Ind, PSU win vs Ill #10 Seed, Win at Ind, Ill win at PSU #11 Seed, Loss at Ind, Ill win at PSU #12 Seed, Loss at Ind, PSU win vs Ill Nebraska (5-14) --Remaining: vs Iowa #13 Seed Northwestern (4-16) #14 Seed ---- MOST LIKELY BRACKET (as of Saturday) ----------------------------9 lnd ________Winner ----------------------------8 Minn 1 Mich St 12 Rutg/13 NU ---Winner ________Winner ----------------------------5 Wisc 4 Mary ---------------------------10 PSU ________Winner ----------------------------7 OSU 2 Pur 14 NW/11 Ill --------Winner _______Winner ----------------------------6 Iowa 3 Mich Bold/Italic teams are locked into their seeds Game times Wednesday: 5:30 and ~8:00 / BTN Thursday: 11:30, ~2:00, 6:00, ~8:30 / BTN Friday: 11:30, ~2:00, 6:00, ~8:30 / BTN Saturday: Noon, ~2:30 / CBS Sunday: 2:30 / CBS

Former NU opponent Western Illinois starts Championship Week on a good note - they upset South Dakota State in Summit quarterfinals, 79-76. Unfortunately, Mike Daum will end his college career in the NIT. Fortunately for UNO, they're now the clear-cut favorite in the Summit Tournament.

Pretty obvious one of 3 things is going on here. CU is knowingly cheating ... and they're really bad at it, based on on-court results. CU was trying to cheat but didn't actually succeed ... which, in the current college hoops environment, is almost more pathetic than actually cheating. A CU assistant coach went rogue and the AD and Gregie knew nothing about it ... which is pretty damning to those two that they have no idea what's going on in their program ... and, of course, you'd have to ignore the several direct phone calls from Dawkins to Gregie over a short period of time. Highly unlikely. Also pretty funny that the AD has no comment on Thursday "until we have more information" - then after TCU and LSU suspend coaches related to this latest information, CU suddenly finds its moral compass and suspends its assistant coach. ? Boy, they must have found a ton of information in less than 24 hours to go from "no comment" to a suspension.

https://www.omaha.com/creighton/plus/shatel-after-latest-allegations-creighton-s-bruce-rasmussen-and-greg/article_8141dcab-7211-5c55-8e16-7f5d94768471.html Don't worry. The OWH isn't changing its blue leanings. It's not a hit piece. He mentions 4 times how CU always does things the right way and 2 more times how he's sure the AD and Gregie didn't knowingly cheat. ?

Apparently, Roby will wear Copeland's #14 jersey with Cope's name on the back Sunday. I like it. Really nice tribute to Cope. Just shows what kind of young man Roby is.

So we'll play Wednesday at 5:30 on BTN. If we aren't the first team eliminated, we'd play at ~ 2 pm Thursday and Friday, both on BTN. Set your DVRs now.

PSU Wednesday and Indiana Thursday winning on the road certainly changed the look of the projected bracket. One game left for each conference team, so things are pretty clear now. We are now locked into #13. (Sigh. I remember at one point this season wondering if we'd be wearing red or white in the NCAA first round. Now we're wearing red on Wednesday of the B1G Tourney. Unbelievable.) It's now more likely we'll play Rutgers Wednesday. If RU somehow wins at Indiana, then we'd play the Illinois at PSU loser. If we win Wednesday, our Thurs/Friday opponents will be Wisconsin and Maryland, but the order in which we'd play them is still up in the air. Michigan St (15-4) --Remaining: vs Mich Best: #1 Worst: #3 Most Likely: #1 Purdue (15-4) --Remaining: at NW Best: #2 Worst: #3 Most Likely: #2 Michigan (15-4) --Remaining: at MSU Best: #1 Worst: #3 Most Likely: #3 Maryland (12-7) --Remaining: vs Minn Best: #4 Worst: #5 Most Likely: #4 Wisconsin (13-6) --Remaining: at OSU Best: #4 Worst: #5 Most Likely: #5 Iowa (10-9) --Remaining: at NU Best: #6 Worst: #7 Most Likely: #6 Ohio St (8-11) --Remaining: vs Wisc Best: #7 Worst: #9 Most Likely: #7 Minnesota (9-10) --Remaining: at Mary Best: #6 Worst: #8 Most Likely: #8 Indiana (7-12) --Remaining: vs Rutg Best: #9 Worst: #11 Most Likely: #9 Penn St (6-13) --Remaining: vs Ill Best: #10 Worst: #12 Most Likely: #10 Illinois (7-12) --Remaining: at PSU Best: #8 Worst: #12 Most Likely: #11 Rutgers (7-12) --Remaining: at Ind Best: #9 Worst: #12 Most Likely: #12 Nebraska (5-14) --Remaining: vs Iowa #13 Seed Northwestern (4-15) --Remaining: vs Pur #14 Seed ---- MOST LIKELY BRACKET (as of Thursday) / assuming all home teams win, other than Purdue at NW ------------------------------------9 lnd ________Winner ------------------------------------8 Minn 1 Mich St 12 Rutg/13 NU -----------Winner ______Winner ------------------------------------5 Wisc 4 Mary -----------------------------------10 PSU ______Winner -----------------------------------7 OSU 2 Pur 14 NW/11 Ill --------------Winner ______Winner -----------------------------------6 Iowa 3 Mich

Maybe the other 13 teams don't get the memo and show up at Madison Square Garden again as a tribute to Delaney retiring. Well, make that 12. We're probably OK if Northwestern shows up in Chicago.

Because Indiana, PSU, Rutgers and Illinois basically have a round-robin in the final week, their seeds are pretty fluid. I'd imagine they'll all go 1-1 vs each other, but if Indiana gets swept, that helps us.

Not surprisingly, the news is not good for dear ol' NU. We are locked into playing Wednesday, and it's looking like a date with PSU is on tap. Still a chance we could get to the #11 seed and play NW, which would be far more preferable. Michigan St (15-4) --Remaining: vs Mich Best: #1 Worst: #3 Most Likely: #1 Purdue (15-4) --Remaining: at NW Best: #2 Worst: #3 Most Likely: #2 Michigan (15-4) --Remaining: at MSU Best: #1 Worst: #3 Most Likely: #3 Maryland (12-7) --Remaining: vs Minn Best: #4 Worst: #5 Most Likely: #4 Wisconsin (12-6) --Remaining: vs Iowa, at OSU Best: #4 Worst: #6 Most Likely: #5 Iowa (10-8) --Remaining: at Wisc, at NU Best: #5 Worst: #8 Most Likely: #6 Ohio St (8-10) --Remaining: at NW, vs Wisc Best: #7 Worst: #10 Most Likely: #7 Minnesota (9-10) --Remaining: at Mary Best: #6 Worst: #9 Most Likely: #8 Illinois (7-11) --Remaining: vs Ind, at PSU Best: #7 Worst: #12 Most Likely: #9 Rutgers (7-11) --Remaining: vs PSU, at Ind Best: #7 Worst: #12 Most Likely: #10 Indiana (6-12) --Remaining: at Ill, vs Rutg Best: #9 Worst: #13 Most Likely: #11 Penn St (5-13) --Remaining: at Rutg, vs Ill Best: #10 Worst: #13 Most Likely: #12 Nebraska (5-14) --Remaining: vs Iowa Best: #11 (W vs Iowa, 2 losses by Ind, 1 loss by PSU) Worst: #13 Most Likely: #13 Northwestern (3-15) --Remaining: vs OSU, vs Pur #14 Seed ---- MOST LIKELY BRACKET (as of Tuesday) ----------------------------9 lll __________Winner ----------------------------8 Minn 1 Mich St 12 PSU/13 NU ---Winner ________Winner ---------------------------5 Wisc 4 Mary --------------------------10 Rut ________Winner --------------------------7 OSU 2 Pur 14 NW/11 Ind ---Winner ________Winner --------------------------6 Iowa 3 Mich

NU 89 Iowegia 88

Exactly. You never retain a coach based on what a roster may or may not look like the following year, especially in modern college athletics, where players transfer just as often as they stay. The coach being retained or fired should be based entirely on results up to that date. It's better to rip the Band-Aid® off and start anew than try to project what the team may look like if he stays ... because by the time the transfer dust settles, you may be starting anew anyway, even if the coach is retained. (The Band-Aid® brand approves this message.)

We do have a game tomorrow. MSU is only a 14-pt favorite somehow. They're 15-1 at home. T-Allen will not play. That should make things easier for us.

Uh, no. This decision is over and has been obvious for weeks. The only decision left is how quickly he is fired after the final buzzer sounds after our B1G Tourney loss and who the next coach is.

NU 60 MSU 51