Cats #20
- Thread starter ChicagoAlum84
- Start date
No respect.
Anyone wanna bet we finish the year in the top 10?
Yeah, yeah, REEL FANZ WANTS IT MOAR!
You mean please try hard to have Scottie Lindsey - and the whole roster - available and at 100% for both Illini games.
Any year that our basketball or football team finishes the year higher in national rankings than our academic rankings by USNews/world report, it can be affirmed to be a quite kick *** year for the Cats. I think we were tied for #12 this year. I hope we finish in the Top ten for the next 20 years!
Last edited:
Who cares what these bloggers are saying? Bryant McIntosh just was interviewed by Dave Revsine on BTN and responded to his question about what is next for NU and he said, preseason tournament championships, Big 10 championships, Big 10 tournament championship and yes, he said it ... trip to the Final 4. So let's not focus on irrelevancies such as our academic ratings versus our basketball ranking or the size of the arena or the trip to Allstate Arena or the mysterious 13th scholarship or the fact that MSU is big. Reach a little higher or strive a little higher and deeper with your posts. And think about what Bryant just said and realize how lucky we are to have him as the floor leader. And remember that he is only reflecting what the coaches have drilled into him for 4 years. We no longer settle in sports at NU, we play for championships. We have a coach who realizes that the goal is to cut the nets down and not settle for a below .500 Big 10 record but be an upper tier Big 10 team in contention for titles. Isn't that a great feeling!
Illinois @ Northwestern is the first Big Ten game of NU's season, on Dec. 1.
Here's a fun hypothetical: Suppose NU is undefeated up to that point (7-0). How high will they climb in the rankings?
It will depend on how we do at Purdue in the Sunday game. (The Illinois game is Friday). Rankings come out Monday/Tuesday. Illinois is picked about 10th in the B1G. Purdue is consistently picked top 4 in the B1G.
There will be no boost if a top 25 NU team beats a middling Illini team at home and then loses at Purdue. We would probably stay where we already were in the rankings.
The Creighton (home) and GA Tech (away) games are better opportunities for good wins than the Illinois game.
Sorry. I hope I'm not spoiling your "fun hypothetical."
I meant what NU could be ranked going into the Illinois game. Not coming out of it.
I imagine there'd be a lot of hype for the game in the local press if NU were ranked, say, #17 or so heading into an in-state rivalry game. Could make for a Good Friday night crowd in the Chicagoland area.
Ah. I'll bet we'd be borderline Top 10 if we were to start 7-0 with wins against Creighton, at GA Tech and (most likely) against Texas Tech on a neutral court. (TT will beat BC, right?)
Do you expect it to happen? I am an optimist and dreamer, but I realistically expect we'll lose a game or two by then. I hope not!
Someone on the Illini basketball board asked about Dec. 1 game tickets and another member replied that "tickets are going fast and game could be a sellout." Is this fiction?
I was curious so I went to the NU Sports ticket site. Looks to me like they are selling tickets in just 4 sections on the second level, sections 202, 203, 210 and 211. Seats are limited in the sections. But I think that will limit the attendance to around 8,000, coincidentally the capacity of the old WRA. I wonder if they release more seats if they sell out the current sections?
I admittedly haven't had a chance to read up on the noncon slate, so not sure how much Creighton (#28 in KenPom to end last year), Texas Tech (#41) and Georgia Tech (#77) gained or lost. Creighton and Georgia Tech did receive votes in the Coaches Poll, I noticed.
Long story short: I think this NU team will be solid and can beat anyone. As BMac said at Big Ten Media Days today, they want to "win big," and I think they'll do that a lot. If they're able to embrace having a target on them, then sure, I think they could be 7-0 heading into the Illinois game. That would be great local press for Chicago's Big Ten Team.
Good addition. Supposedly NU is going after 4-star offensive linemen and if successful, maybe they can beat upper tier Big 10 teams. Let’s hope. Maybe they can hire former NFL offensive line coach Tony Wise to develop the offensive linemen or pay Jay Hilgenberg or Jimbo Covert to coach our offensive linemen. Or not.
No chance, zero, that we lose two to them this year, (or one if we don't meet them in the BTT). They lost basically ALL their scorers from last season.
Last edited:
