2020-2021 B1G Basketball Thread

[FearlessF]

I thought UNL would be better

hard to anticipate ANY team being this bad

[847badgerfan]

It's a screwed up year.

[MaximumSam]

Wiscy is still 11th on KenPom and T Rank.  Not exactly slumming it.  Nebraska, OTOH, yersh.  

[medinabuckeye1]

Yep. They Big Ten should let the Zags in as a basketball only member tomorrow.

I never suggested that. Let's just be a little more realistic about their challenges and accomplishments. They have only a very few somewhat challenging league games and being undefeated isn't THAT big of an accomplishment since they simply don't face the level of opposition that Baylor or any major conference team faces.

[bayareabadger]

I never suggested that. Let's just be a little more realistic about their challenges and accomplishments. They have only a very few somewhat challenging league games and being undefeated isn't THAT big of an accomplishment since they simply don't face the level of opposition that Baylor or any major conference team faces.

Is someone not realistic about their challenges and accomplishments? I don't think anyone worth much is saying "Hey, what Gonzaga has done, being undefeated at this point, is more impressive than what Baylor has done." (Yes, I know Gonzaga leads the polls, which is in part because the polls are stupid and not built on accomplishments anyway)

It just seems like a hobbyhorse that doesn't go anywhere. They don't "accomplish" more because the structure of the sport makes it impossible. Perhaps that is their challenge. I'm sure if you offered them a chance to get challenged more and gain more accomplishments, they'd say sign us up. But that won't be offered.

I suppose I might have been too snarky, but nit-picking have-nots just draws that out of me.

Edit: I will say, your critiques on the bottom part of the tournament allowed me to crystalize what I think is good about it, and I appreciate that greatly. 

[bayareabadger]

My roommate told me Iowa went up 13 in the first 7 minutes and I never went back to check on that game. 

But Iowa lost and Archie gets a rather nice pelt to hang on the wall. 

[medinabuckeye1]

My roommate told me Iowa went up 13 in the first 7 minutes and I never went back to check on that game.

But Iowa lost and Archie gets a rather nice pelt to hang on the wall.

Is Iowa in free-fall?

Not long ago they were closing in on a potential #1 seed. Now they have lost two straight and four out of five including getting swept by sub .500 IU and losing another home game (tOSU).

[ELA]

Is Iowa in free-fall?

Not long ago they were closing in on a potential #1 seed. Now they have lost two straight and four out of five including getting swept by sub .500 IU and losing another home game (tOSU).

And the one win was at home, over the 13th place team, in a game that MSU missed a game tying shot in the final seconds.

You have to play a LITTLE defense Fran.

[bayareabadger]

Is Iowa in free-fall?

Not long ago they were closing in on a potential #1 seed. Now they have lost two straight and four out of five including getting swept by sub .500 IU and losing another home game (tOSU).

The weirdest part of today's game is their offense seemed to have failed them. 

[MaximumSam]

Iowa is missing one of their better players in Frederick. Not much margin for error in this league.

[HawkFrenzy]

Is Iowa in free-fall?

Not long ago they were closing in on a potential #1 seed. Now they have lost two straight and four out of five including getting swept by sub .500 IU and losing another home game (tOSU).

2016 all over again. It's the Fran Fade I guess. 

[Abba]

Not sure about medina, but I think I am ready to put Illinois and Ohio State as locks.

[medinabuckeye1]

Not sure about medina, but I think I am ready to put Illinois and Ohio State as locks.

They are certainly awfully close if they aren't.

Illinois:
The Illini are 13-5/9-3. In theory the B1G is supposed to play 20 games meaning eight more for Illinois plus the BTT. If they were to play all of those their worst-case-scenario would be to end the season on a nine game losing streak and finish 13-14/9-12. I don't think that would get them in.

OTOH, with their February 11 game at Michigan now "postponed" there are only five more regular season games on their schedule and two of those are home games against NU and UNL. Additionally their five losses are all "good":

• Vs Baylor, neutral site by 13
• @ Mizzo by 3
• @ Rutgers by 3
• Vs Maryland by 3
• Vs Ohio State by 6

Even if they did lose all of those and their BTT opener they would finish 13-11/9-9. That just might be enough and obviously the chance of them losing home games to both NU AND UNL are pretty remote so they are at least REALLY close.

Ohio State:
The Buckeyes are 15-4/9-4 and, at least for now, they still have all their B1G games on the schedule. Thus, their worst-case-scenario would be to end the season on an eight game losing streak (including BTT opener) and finish 15-12/9-12. I'm not sure that would be enough in part because the Buckeyes' losses aren't quite as "good":

• @ Purdue by 7
• @ Northwestern by 1
• @ Minnesota by 17
• Vs Purdue by 2

The two Purdue losses aren't bad but the loss to Northwestern was to a weak opponent and the loss in Minneapolis is bad because the Buckeyes got drilled.

[MaximumSam]

Buckeyes a 1 seed on t rank right now, which is pretty crazy because we were questioning whether they would make the tournament earlier in the season.