Northwestern VS Minnesota... who do you want to win?
hey everyone just wanting to see others opinion on who they want to see Michigan play on Friday. For me i would rather see them play Minnesota. Northwestern kinda scares me it took UM overtime twice to beat them, i just don't have a good feeling about doing that 3 times in a season. what do you guys think?
I really don't want to have Michigan play Northwestern either. Otoh, I would like to see them make the NCAA tourney, and I don't see that happening unless they beat Minn.
So I would lean that direction. However, I would think that Northwestern will rep us better in the Dance!
I don't think at this point it would matter which team we beat to the selection committee. As long as we don't get bounced in the first round we will most likely be a 3 seed.
Minnesota does not scare me at all- so I would not mind playing them.
NW does scare me- but I'd like to see them play in the tourament- so I hope they get another win. Plus if we win the tournament maybe we can get a 2-seed if everything else goes right- and we tkae the toughest road- which is NW, OSU, MSU
I don't want to see Michigan have to play another tough, overtime game against NW and then have to face Ohio in the next game. MIchigan will have to expend a lot more energy against NW than Ohio will have to expend against whoever they play.
I want MIchgan to have a full tank of energy for Ohio. They will need every bit of it to beat Ohio on a neutral floor. Sullinger and Thomas are the best duo in the league, and makes Ohio very tough to beat. Michigan did a great job on Sullinger at Crisler, but Thad Matta is a very good coach, and can be counted on to make adjustments.
In Michigan's favor: teams only see JB"s system once or twice a year, while everyone else runs systems that are quite similar to each other. JB gives MIchigan the same advantage that a left-handed boxer has.
I'm not suggesting for a second that Michigan won't have to play hard to take care of business against Minnesota or NW, but a neutral-court win over Ohio would make a huge statement and give the Wolverines a great chance to make another statement in the championship game.
It would make a year that has already exceeded expectations even better.
I think it would be a easier road through Minnesota. But I am a closet NW fan and would love to see them make the tournament. So I am going for NW to advance and lose to us in the second round.
I'd rather play Minnesota, but I want Northwestern to make the tournament. I'll feel bad if we rip their heart out again. (Not that I'll feel good if we lose either).
NW would be a tougher out, especially with them on the bubble and trying to break the streak. That said, I think playing them would be the better game to watch.
It's not even a question. After two comeback wins against NW in OT, do you really think we want to go up against them again? No thank you. Sorry, Wildcats, I unfortunately hope you have to wait another year to make it to the big dance.
Minnesota is who we want to play, but I'd say it is unlikely. NW caught a huge break with Ralph Sampson being sidelined with a knee injury.
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7657936/minnesota…
Northwestern a 3rd time scares me but I want to see them in the tourney. As long as they don't lose to Minnesota they should be fine so I'll go for the Wildcats.
...will be ridiculously motivated to win that game. Michigan might be the signature victory they need to seal their invite. Plus, two heartbreaking OT losses.....
Give me Minnesota please.
so I'd love for Northwestern to win as many games as possible. But there's no chance I'd root for NW to beat Michigan. So I hope NW wins convincingly over Minn, before losing in another heartbreaking overtime to the Maize and Blue.
And then we crush Ohio State in the semifinals and Michigan State in the final.
Being a Dayton alum, I'd like as many teams off the bubble as possible in hopes we can beat Xavier and steal a bid. Go Gophers.
Yeah I've got to say that I would rather play Minnesota. It's tough to beat a good team 3 times in the same season, plus I kind of like their streak of tourney misses. I guess it's all of the schadenfreude that the blog has exposed me to...
Except winning a basketball game isn't really random, so I'm not sure that it would really apply here. Gameplans can change over three games, thus altering the odds of a given team winning.
Northwestern always feels like a good underdog to root for. Minnesota is just kinda...there.
I want Northwestern to make it to the NCAA tournament. Obviously, they give Michigan fits (and everyone else.) But I just don't want Rodger Sherman from Northwestern's Sippin on Purple to die. The best scenario is:
- Northwestern slaughters Minnesota, punching the Wildcat's ticket to the Big Dance.
- Michigan beats Northwestern in a third OT game, and goes on to beat Ohio decisively.
- Northwestern makes it to the Sweet Sixteen, and Michigan beats them in a 4th OT game.
No, I don't really want Michigan to go through more OT games with NW. But I do want NW to make it to the NCAA's for the first time ever. This year with Shurna might be their best chance. It would also give a bit of job security to Bill Carmody, who has done a great job with limited players and limited resources.
Not sure why this is trolling, but I agree with you. Northwestern is a very likable team and I would love to see them make the tourney this year.
Yes, an OT game is precisely what I want one day before playing OSU.
With you as well. Also not sure why any of that is trolling. Bogus people.
I want to see NW in the NCAA Tourney and that this year with Shurna is their best chance to MAKE it and actually WIN while "dancing". Go Blue, but if they have to dump a game in March, make it early and to NW to get them a bid.
Forget the "underdog" team I like to root for stuff. This is Michigan and we're going after the Big Ten Conference Tournament title. That's what we're going after. I want the easiest road possible. I don't want to have to play another OT and have potentially tired legs against Ohio. I want a quick, clean easy win.
As of right now, Minnesota is the team we can probably beat.
NW is a bad match-up for us. Go Gophers.
Yeah, I'd echo what others have said so far. I'd rather play Minnesota than Northwestern, but I also want Northwestern to make the dance. I'll be pulling for Northwestern.
Gimme NW. I want them to make the toruney, and hopefully a win over Minnesota would clinch that. I also want to face them again and beath them not in OT, just to prove we can.
I would want to play Minny, because I don't want to face NW and their zone D. The last game it gave Burke all kinds of problems and forces us to rush bad shots. With Sampson out for Minny, I would think that is a much more favorable match up. Howeva, I would like to see NW make their first ever NCAA tourney, so I guess I am kinda torn. So, Minny is better for UM, but I am rooting for NW because it is a good story and good for the B1G.
Although Minnesota will be an easier game for us, I too am a closet northwestern fan. I'd like to see them make the tourny and a first round win might get them there.
Xavier is 2-7 vs Top 50 and ODU is 1-4. Not sure you want to go with the Northwestern lacks quality wins argument with those schools.
Northwestern has how many losses by one or two points in the hardest conference in the country? It's not a "travesty" that NW is 1-10 in the Big Ten, it just shows how incredibly difficult their schedule is and how many heartbreaking losses they have. Xavier has one more top 50 win. And when you compare top 100 wins: NW has five and Xavier has six.
Not sure why you are calling ODU a good basketball school either. They aren't making the tournament and aren't even in the conversation.
I hope Michigan plays Minnesota because they are a much better matchup. If the Wildcats had sealed the deal on a couple of those close losses they may not be in this situation right now.
I'd rather see NW win just because they should be in the tourney and I just don't like Tubby Smith-led teams (I just never liked those 90's Kentucky teams). Also, Minny has the type of height and size that can really hurt this team; NW, despite being a tough team this season, just feels more beatable.
I'm hoping its an epic 4 overtime or more game that tires both teams out so whoever comes out will barely be able to walk against M tomorrow.
Because I was going to post, "Minnesota. In 6 OT."
What's the matter with you, rooting for a mere 4 OT? And you forgot to root for a fire alarm at 3 am in the winning team's hotel too.
It's time for Northwestern to make the tournament. I won't even be that upset if they beat us. (read: I'll only need a 6 pack to cope instead of a 12.)
I won't even be that upset if they beat us.
You know, the truth is, I want Michigan to win. I ALWAYS want Michigan to win. But theoretically, if a good fairy said to me, "You will win all but one game, but you get to choose the team you will lose to," I would choose Northwestern. That undoubtedly doesn't make any sense, so don't parse this post too deeply. Nonetheless, I would be LEAST upset if Michigan lost to NW. (By contrast, I can't CONCEIVE of the circumstance where I'd not be upset losing to Ohio or MSU.) I'd like to see Northwestern succeed. If Stanford can do it, and Michigan can do it, I'd like to see Northwestern get better in the major sports.
I felt bad for Northwestern last time we beat them. If we play them tomorrow, I'll still want Michigan to win, but if we lose, I'll be happy for Northwestern that they probably got the late season signature win they needed to make the tournament.
Also, how awesome is it that we're the team that can provide a signature win instead of being the team looking for one??
I want N'W to get their first NCAA Tourney appearance. I don't care who we play though. If we can't beat N'W for a third time, we don't deserve to win the B1G Tournament anyways.
Obviously we want to play Minnesota. For some reason our team does not seem to match up well with NW. God speed Golden Gophers, God speed.
Does anyone else feel like if NW gets into the "tournament" as a 12-seed but loses their first game they didn't actually make it? I consider the first day to be play-in games and until you make the round of 64 you didn't make the tournament.
PS: I hate that it's 68 teams. What's the point, those teams aren't going to win. I know the point is money but how many people really watch those games? I thought I'd boycott but I guess I'd watch NW.
If they sneak in one of the last spots, it might seem like a pity bid. They need to break the streak and not be one of the last four in.
Ask VCU. They went from the play-in game to the Final Four.
I thought the play-in games were for the 16 seed? I honestly am so opposed to the growth of the tournament I haven't bother to understand the implications, so I'm probably wrong.
EDIT: NM. took the 5 seconds to learn the system.
My preference would be Minny, but I'd be ecstatic if Minn-NW goes into OT. If we have to play NW, I want to face a very tired Shurna that logged 40+ minutes the previous day. NW's bench is thin (as is ours), so fatigue will definitely be a factor.
This is the huge advantage of a top-4 B1G finish. As a bye team, you can watch other teams maul each other on Thursday while you sit around drinking protein shakes at the hotel.
I want NU to make the tournament, so I hope they win today and then lose against us. They might be a tougher matchup, but the positive of that is that their RPI (48) is much better than Minnesota's (91), so if we were to lose to them, it probably wouldn't affect us much in the committee's eyes. We're pretty much locked into a #3 seed regardless.
The BTT is pretty much a win-win scenario for us. If we lose before Sunday, that just means more rest time. The only real pitfall would be to face, and lose to, one of the bad RPI teams in the league.
I love that NW hasn't made the tourney. It's hilarious! May they live on forever in infamy.
So I have to root for the greater good, the team with the better shot at the title.
I want NU in the dance, but they won't win the B1G tourney, so I'll be pulling for Michigan.