B10 Tourney Bracket

Submitted by Braylons Butte… on
http://bigten.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/big10/sports/m-baskbl/… As thought, M is 7 v. Iowa at 10. 2nd round matchup looming vs. Illinois. M has a good shot at a run here (I think Illinois is more beatable than Purdue would have been). MSU/Wisconsin/OSU, the 3 teams we have trouble with, are all on the opposite side of the bracket, so we could see the finals if we play to potential.
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mcfors

March 8th, 2009 at 10:37 PM ^

I agree. We should be able to beat Iowa without much issue, and the Illinois game could go either way (esp if we figure out a way to stop that tall drink of water Teasdale). I wouldn't be surprised to see Purdue get upset at some point, they seem to be pretty inconsistent. EDIT: I just realized that if we beat Iowa we have to play Illinois the next day. They'll be well-rested and we don't play as well without 3 days rest. Look at the difference between the Duke game the day after UCLA on a neutral court vs. the game at home w/ sufficient rest. I'd put our chances at 20 percent if we get to the 2nd round.

Joined: 12/08/2008

MGoPoints: 139

Braylons Butte…

March 8th, 2009 at 10:43 PM ^

That was UCLA, followed by Duke...a bit harder than Iowa followed by Illinois. Regardless, the issue is focus, not energy, in my opinion. These are young D1 athletes. Injuries aside, they should be able to play a game 3-4 nights in a row. I trust Beilein to have em motivated---and as always, our success depends on how our 3's are falling.

Joined: 11/30/2008

MGoPoints: 180

jokenjin

March 8th, 2009 at 10:46 PM ^

Is anyone else worried about Iowa or am I the only one? They did beat us the last time they played us and beat a pretty hot, although inconsisten Penn State. Should we win? Absolutely, but I would not look past them at all.

Joined: 07/29/2008

MGoPoints: 371

Yinka Double Dare

March 9th, 2009 at 11:22 AM ^

Yes. They have Cyrus Tate back now, and beat us the last time (though we should have won that one). All of their conference wins were at home though. In fact, they only won two games outside of Carver-Hawkeye (K-State on a neutral court, The Citadel on the road). Lose this one and it's NIT, I'm pretty sure. Horrid last impression.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 9777

Tater

March 8th, 2009 at 11:44 PM ^

And will take it further. If they can't win at least one game, they will deserve the NIT. I am hoping they make the finals. I really think one win guarantees the NCAAT, but would love to see them have a chance to win the BTT. They will probably draw a team that gives them problems if they make it that far, but anything can happen in one game. A revenge game against MSU, who they really have no business beating with Big Ten refs and such a size disparity, would be really entertaining, especially if they pulled off the mammoth upset.

Joined: 08/13/2008

MGoPoints: 30584

Tacopants

March 9th, 2009 at 12:18 AM ^

There really wasn't a good draw to get. Northwestern will play their hearts out to try and get their first ever NCAA bid. Indiana is playing a home game. Iowa, who has beaten M, was probably the best we could hope to get.

Joined: 07/06/2008

MGoPoints: 3579

dankbrogoblue

March 9th, 2009 at 12:32 AM ^

including Indiana (like Tacopants said, since it's a home game for them). So it bodes well for us that three teams that we couldn't beat home or away are on the other side of the bracket. The finals are a definite possibility. We've shown we can beat the 3 teams we would most likely face on the way to the finals (Iowa, Illinois, and Purdue). I'm not getting my hopes up, but I'm definitely going to watch these games knowing that we have the ability to beat those teams.

Joined: 11/12/2008

MGoPoints: 4021