There's no way a story could do this game justice. It's tough to write after a night like this, but here are our three pointers....
Northwestern punches its ticket
Northwestern punches its ticket
NORTHWESTERN PUNCHES ITS TICKET
- Thread starter lou v
- Start date
All nice efforts but still fall short of doing justice to the historical significance of the moment. I prefer " The Play ." Does justice to both Tap and Pardon ... as well as James and Collins. Don't forget the coach who drew it up. It's vague on the surface. But if you don't know "the play" you don't know NU hoops. So many angles and contributors and so much context to the story. Details like a still young Collins saying hell no to the suggestion of playing for OT. Against Michigan no less. On the cusp of possibly having to say "wait till next year." The Play. " I like it. It didn't have a name coming out of the huddle. Seems fitting we keep it that way.
GOUNUII
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I just finished watching the game on the Big Ten replay. OMF God!!! Bryce Drew couldn't have executed that play better! Time to check my shoe size so I can buy my dancing shoes! The Cats are going dancing!! 
1.7 seconds now. Miracle finish ahead??
Alaskawildkat, Yesterday at 7:59 PM
chicagocatfan24, NU Houston, DaCat and 4 others like this
Name of the Play?
I'll just go with "The Miracle" since that is what I was channeling it to be in my posting on the 2nd Half Game Thread with 1.7 seconds to go.
Alaskawildkat, Yesterday at 7:59 PM
chicagocatfan24, NU Houston, DaCat and 4 others like this
Name of the Play?
I'll just go with "The Miracle" since that is what I was channeling it to be in my posting on the 2nd Half Game Thread with 1.7 seconds to go.
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The cats needed this win badly and got it. They deserved it, and should enjoy it.
But I do NOT get all this assurance that NU has ALREADY EARNED an NCAA AL bid, REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING ELSE, that happens to the cats OR TO OTHER TEAMS.
Everyone should know that conference T introduce a lot of uncertainty since they allow teams that everyone thinks are discarded for the AL bids to "steal" a bid by winning their T. The odds aren't high, but it CAN happen and HAS happened. If AQ's go to unexpected teams that reduces the number of spots for "bubble" teams to get in.
As of now, NU is in SIXTH PLACE in the B1G. If selection were today, in order for NU to get an invite at least five other B1G teams would need to get in. Certainly possible. But considering that the B1G has NO team in the top 15, and only 2 in the top 25, it is far from certain that the B1G gets that many bids.
I'd say the cats are NOT YET IN. They do have a good shot. But it depends on a lot of factors. And winning only 3 of their final TEN games in a WEAK B1G will NOT impress many committee members.
To be virtually certain to get in THEY NEED PURDUE. Without it, all sort of things can happen that can leave them out of the T.
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Dude, give it up. They're in. It's over. I know you think of yourself as a genius, but you're not smarter than every single media member and college basketball expert from coast-to-coast who do this for a living. Every. Single. One. Last night was your cue to disappear again and not show up until the Cats lose a big game. Sometime next year, maybe.
Lou- a brilliant recap of the game. The "Then all hell broke loose" paragraph epitomized your passionate and illustrative writing style we get to read so often here on Wilcat Report.
Great job Cats! And once again, great writing Lou.
Great job Cats! And once again, great writing Lou.
Louie, you know that he could magically disappear. It is easy. Want me to show you how to do it? It really would not be a big loss. A bunch of folks around here would probably appreciate it.
I used to expect a free beverage from the Louie, gave up on that a long time ago, and I thought I would get a key to the executive men's room, nope that never happened, now he teases me with a pay hike which I still have not seen.
NU gets left out if there are about 10-15 bid thieves AND they lose their next two games. How many bid thieves do we have in a given year? Five? Maybe someone besides Wichita State or Illinois State wins the MVC and they get three bids. Maybe Texas-Arlington gets an at-large if they don't win their conference. Someone outside of Gonzaga/St. Mary's wins the WCC. That could be three right there. After that, we're looking at teams like Iowa winning the Big 10 tourney or N.C. State winning the ACC. Or Oklahoma winning the Big 12. Sure, one of those could happen, all could happen, but you have to have a lot of that stuff happening all at once for a team that is probably around 33rd or so (out of about 46 teams to get in from multi-bid conferences) to drop out of the running. The numbers were tough to deny before last night, even though no NU fan was feeling comfortable about it. After last night, it's over. They have done it. I suggest naysayers should move onto the next hill they want to die on.
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You NEED to GO AWAY.
(And now, can we all just please stop responding to Feli's garbage? Please?)
This may help you Feli. It's an article on the 11 teams that are basically on the bubble. This was written BEFORE we beat Michigan.
Meaning, we weren't on the bubble before, and we are most definitely not now. As poor as you believe the B1G to be, the fact of the matter is that we're going to send seven to the tourney, most likely. Six for certain.
Anyways, look at the list, and tell me that any of these teams would be picked over NU. We're in.
http://www.foxsports.com/college-ba...wake-forest-indiana-illinois-marquette-022717
It kills me to come close to Felis' position on any debate, but ...
I was looking at a few bracket projections this morning and it seems like we're hovering around an 8 or 9 seed. We could lose to Purdue and our first round BTT game as long as we don't draw Rutgers as a 6-seed, and it's still hard to imagine us falling out of the tournament entirely. But we would be sweating on Selection Sunday.
Say we lose to Purdue, then land a 7-seed and a game with Nebraska. Were we to lose to Neb, rpiwizard.com projects us to have an RPI of 56. That's high for an at-large team. Then you add the growing national backlash against the weak Big Ten, a perception confirmed by the committee including no B10 team in the top four seeds announced last month. Then you throw in a surging Illinois, which is a game at Rutgers away from going 9-9. I think we have a better top win that Illinois and lack a loss like their home loss to Winthrop, but they put additional pressure on the bubble.
Yes, Seth Davis and many others proclaimed it's done, and it probably is ... but I'd say it's somewhere around 80-85 percent. I don't think we're 100 percent in the tournament right now.
I was looking at a few bracket projections this morning and it seems like we're hovering around an 8 or 9 seed. We could lose to Purdue and our first round BTT game as long as we don't draw Rutgers as a 6-seed, and it's still hard to imagine us falling out of the tournament entirely. But we would be sweating on Selection Sunday.
Say we lose to Purdue, then land a 7-seed and a game with Nebraska. Were we to lose to Neb, rpiwizard.com projects us to have an RPI of 56. That's high for an at-large team. Then you add the growing national backlash against the weak Big Ten, a perception confirmed by the committee including no B10 team in the top four seeds announced last month. Then you throw in a surging Illinois, which is a game at Rutgers away from going 9-9. I think we have a better top win that Illinois and lack a loss like their home loss to Winthrop, but they put additional pressure on the bubble.
Yes, Seth Davis and many others proclaimed it's done, and it probably is ... but I'd say it's somewhere around 80-85 percent. I don't think we're 100 percent in the tournament right now.
Illinois can claim to have the "tie breaker" over NU, thanks to their sweep. But don't be shocked if they win a few games in the BTT. It's the exact kind of team that "steals" bids. Talented but under-performing teams that somehow start getting it together toward the end of the season. They reach the conf T with their backs against the wall, thinking it's their very last chance to "salvage" their season, while others go there thinking they are already in and can afford to relax. A few days later, a bid is "stolen". There are other teams like that...potential bid thieves that can severely complicate the path to the T for middle-of-the-pack major conference teams like NU.
Enjoy the moment ! That was the best feeling I have ever had leaving Welsh Ryan with my family and friends in over 40 years of attending games. There were so many years where I left the arena shaking my head wondering when will we win the close game or how did we blow that lead (eg. recent Indiana game). I felt the program was on the upswing under BC but plateaued out and was never able to be a plus.500 Big Ten team.
That has now changed under CC. I was so impressed by how our team bounced back after the devastating loss in Indiana to win last night. I feel great about the direction of the program. They played with grit and determination on both ends of the court. A miracle finish made it special. They have Big Ten caliber athletes who can compete. I plan to savor the game and the feeling that we are finally going to the Dance. Enjoy the Moment ! This will be the equivalent of going to the Rose Bowl back in 1996.
That has now changed under CC. I was so impressed by how our team bounced back after the devastating loss in Indiana to win last night. I feel great about the direction of the program. They played with grit and determination on both ends of the court. A miracle finish made it special. They have Big Ten caliber athletes who can compete. I plan to savor the game and the feeling that we are finally going to the Dance. Enjoy the Moment ! This will be the equivalent of going to the Rose Bowl back in 1996.
I am another vote for "The Play." The simplicity of the two words confirm how unique that play was at that point in the game in that point of the season with so much at stake.
There is not another one like it. It is "The Play."
Or another one here: http://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2017/03/01/bubble-banter-its-a-busy-night-for-bubble-teams/
Northwestern (RPI: 50, KenPom: 37, No. 9 seed): The Wildcats are dancing. Thanks to the play of the year. Check this out.
So, NU IS in the bubble? That's the first team he mentions in his "bubble banter" article.
Anyhow, these people are entitled to their speculations. Only the committee WILL know who is in/out. WILL KNOW...because they don't YET have enough information to know. Not only do they need the results of the final reg season games, but also the results of the CRITICALLY important conf T, which not only award AQ (with the possibility of "bid theft"), but also involve conference games which are individually considered.
It's simply speculation to say that any unranked mid-packish team is ALREADY in. Too many unknowns remain!
You are one sick puppy. Go get help before you hurt yourself or someone else.
Breaking my own "only idiots respond to Feli" rule one last time...
"The Wildcats are dancing." Can you not read or do you just have such an inferiority complex that you have to keep working hard so everyone to think you're just that much smarter than everyone else?
Believe it or not, that loss to Winthrop is not their worst, as Winthrop is actually RPI 74. Losing two games to Penn State (RPI 95), which they also did, is worse than that.