Wow do I hate this tournament
- Thread starter wildcatcoaster
- Start date
"Will always"? If there's a program that everyone should've learned to never say "Will always" about, this would be the one.
The only exception I can remember was the first dance team, beating two opponents en route to the semis. But other than that, the BTT is usually brutal.
We lost two starters and Wisconsin when they want to be is a good team.
We’re probably not going to get far in the tourney but for our program making it is all that matters going forward in building a winning culture.
I likewise hate it. We are, far and away, the worst in the BTTT. Also it's a meaningless money grab. But if we ever won it...
If we had a fully healthy team I believe this squad, more than last year or the First Dance team, was well-suited to make a run. Elite PG surrounded by three sharpshooters, a rim protector and a crafty sixth man.
We are doing our very best but with Blake Smith and Luke Hunger we are not the same threat night in and night out.
We will always have a shot with Boo but our paths to victory are fewer and narrower.
We are doing our very best but with Blake Smith and Luke Hunger we are not the same threat night in and night out.
We will always have a shot with Boo but our paths to victory are fewer and narrower.
There was a graphic prior to Berry's injury that showed up as the least injured team amongst the top "X" number of teams.
And then....
Hunger actually was a nifty little small help on the offensive end, which has never been his problem. He had a better game than usual defensively but… that’s a low bar.
His potential is obvious if the game will ever slow down for him.
He needs to get jacked in the off-season, he's still far too weak and was getting pushed around in the lane all game.
The problem with this tournament is that, even if you win, you still just played at least 3 games in 3 days leading up to the real tournament. Yes, a Big Ten title would be amazing, and I’d have preferred we won today.
But for a roster as beat up as this one is, we can’t afford any more injuries (and narrowly escaped one with Boo, which would be devastating, and Preston, which would leave us with one functional center). Do we really need to go bang tomorrow with Purdue? If we were at full strength, I’m confident we’d give them and Illinois or whoever on Sunday good games. But we’re not, and outside of pride we weren’t raising our seed line without beating Purdue.
It might be more important for us to get everyone the extra rest, come into the Dance having played once in almost 2 weeks, by some miracle Nicholson is able to play even a little, and hope that the trio of Brooks/Borg/Martinelli can produce the secondary scoring we saw against Minnesota rather than laying it all Boo’s feet.
Zero reason to be steamed tonight. We’re going dancing!
But for a roster as beat up as this one is, we can’t afford any more injuries (and narrowly escaped one with Boo, which would be devastating, and Preston, which would leave us with one functional center). Do we really need to go bang tomorrow with Purdue? If we were at full strength, I’m confident we’d give them and Illinois or whoever on Sunday good games. But we’re not, and outside of pride we weren’t raising our seed line without beating Purdue.
It might be more important for us to get everyone the extra rest, come into the Dance having played once in almost 2 weeks, by some miracle Nicholson is able to play even a little, and hope that the trio of Brooks/Borg/Martinelli can produce the secondary scoring we saw against Minnesota rather than laying it all Boo’s feet.
Zero reason to be steamed tonight. We’re going dancing!
It’s almost like you read all of my posts for the past week and agreed.
Well put, sir. This is a solid post. You get a like!
IMO the bigger problem is he just gets caught off mentally frequently. Way out of position, behind passes, slow to rotate, etc.
Nonsense. At full strength the Cats would have won today. But I agree, the BTT is redundant. No reason for it to exist.
We have probably the worst record in the BTT. 14 times we have been beaten in our first round game. Good thing we did not need a strong performance to punch our ticket.
Except it wasn't a first round game. They got two byes and so it was a quarter final.
It was OUR first round game. And we have failed in OUR first round game most of the time.
I just find it amazing that in the 25+ years the B10 has had a tournament we (and this includes women) have NEVER once caught lightning in a bottle and made it to the finals.
While this is undoubtably true have you ever been at the UC (and I’ve heard it’s even better at Indy)? It’s legitimately a very fun event for fans, and it’s unique to get all of our fan bases in one location for an event like that. That’s honestly good enough of a reason to play it as any.
It’s sports. NONE of it “matters.” The conference tournaments are a very fun tune up for the main event of March madness, and every year some bubble team goes on a run and plays their way in during them. It kinda sucks for the small major conferences where if a team goes on a run it takes the earned bid away (part and parcel: Montana State just won their third Big Sky tournament in a row and is going dancing, but went 17-17, 9-9 this season, which is a tough pill to swallow for an Eastern Washington team that went 15-3 in conference), but NU isn’t in that boat.
This entire endeavor is for fun and entertainment. Sitting in the stands today watching the end of the MSU-Purdue game was a blast, especially as the majority of non-interested fans in attendance slowly became Michigan State fans as they challenged Purdue.
This isn’t world peace, it’s a fun ramp up for the tourney.
Yep, we haven’t had success in the conference tourney, but I absolutely love it.
The NCAA tourney is better (obviously), but there’s something special about conference tourneys too. Winning in a tournament format against the teams you face all year is a hell of an accomplishment.
The NCAA tourney is better (obviously), but there’s something special about conference tourneys too. Winning in a tournament format against the teams you face all year is a hell of an accomplishment.
I have literally only cared about the BTT when we’ve needed to win it to get into March Madness. I always held out hope that “this would be the year”… until 2017 when we had it largely clinched and maybe needed one conference tournament game (we needed two).
There are smarter ways for the P5 conferences to run their tournament. It’s somewhat ridiculous that a team could theoretically beat 3 or 4 other bad conference teams to win an automatic bid.
Maybe that was the case when the Big Ten was still truly the Big Ten with a Midwestern feel.
Adding four PAC-12 teams along with Rutgers and Maryland… good luck making @Fighter of the Nightman happy with 20 teams across the country and only a few will be truly represented.
I agree that there was something special about the Big Ten Tournament when this felt like the conference we grew up with. Jason Wright singing the national anthem one year at the United Center was pretty cool. But those days are long gone… for now.
Plus Boo got hurt.
The other 3 teams weren’t missing their all time point guard, their third best player, and their Big Matt.
We are limping into the postseason. I’m still holding out hope for hot shooting hands and a surprise Sweet 16 next week.
We still haven’t lost a first round game in our entire NCAA conference history. Let’s keep that streak alive!
The entire league shouldn’t make the tournament. Think of it as a professional leagues with playoffs. In a major conference cut the bottom half. In a mid major they all get their shot.
I agree that the entire league shouldn’t make it.
Also, there should be no stigma for sitting out if you’ve clinched a bid.
Purdue, NU, and Michigan had little to gain in the BTT if anything. Why risk injury to the players?