What is our ideal scenario for B1G tourney?
Is everyone around here hoping that the team wins the B1G tourney?
I am actually hoping we don't. Even with teams like last year's UConn included, I don't think the NCAA tourney records of the teams that win the major conf tourney championships is not that great. MSU is famous for not doing well in B1G tourney, then making some serious runs in the NCAA. B1G games are so physical, I think you pay a price for every game that you play. I would argue that it is better to keep some in the reserves, get more rest and get ready for NCAA next week.
All I want out of this tourney is to lock up the #3 seed. I think we do that with the win over Minn tomorrow. After that, if we play a ton of bench players in the semi and lose, I would be pretty satisfied.
What say you?
Disagree. It would give us a better seed, and we'll have a good few days to rest.
Also, life is not just about the NCAA tourney. These guys want to win the Big Ten Tourney too. You always want to win.
But even if we won the tourney, we would not be better than a #2 seed. I don't think there is any difference between #2 and #3 seed. There is significant difference between #3 and #4.
We also got the share of the regular season title. I am pretty satisfied with that. I want us to go as far as we can in the NCAA at this point.
Stop comparing our program to their program.
I would rather win the B1G tourney and "only" make the Sweet Sixteen than lose in the semis and the Elite Eight. Further, I'd rather win the B1G and then take each further game as it comes, hopefully rolling up a few more wins.
I don't know about that proposition. I think I'd take the Elite Eight. The NCAA tournament is simply a bigger deal than the BTT.
(Now if you were talking about the regular-season Big Ten title and a Sweet 16 vs. no title and Elite Eight, I'd probably take the former.)
Yeah, I think I would agree with you every year but this one. Being in a three-way tie with MSU and Ohio I would love to get the tie-breaking win of the conference tournament. Also, being able to hang the banners is a more tangible accomplishment for Novak and Douglass' final year. Then again, this debate is nice to have based on how I thought this year might go before it started.
I agree. It would be spectacular to take that tourny championship as the "tie-breaker" for the season in the Big Ten. It's going to be a tall order for us to win the National Championship or even to get to the Final Four without a dominant big man, although if we keep shooting the way we have been we'll definitely have a shot. Take the banner. I don't see the argument for wanting to lose in the semis based solely on the history of the tournament champions. Don't live according to statistics.
I want to win every game we play. Winning the B1G regular season and tourney would be huge. We would get a two seed and would be favored to get to at least the Sweet Sixteen.
...that is all...
Yep. Beaten to the punch.
I want the BTT Championship. To start replacing all those banners that were taken down. (They can keep the NIT one, that's fine.)
Exactly, I think we should be in Banner Collection Mode.
It makes me sad looking at the rafters in Crisler and seeing it look so empty, especially knowing that there used to be more (I miss the NIT one too). Replacing the 1998 Big Ten Tournament banner would mean a lot to me.
Although, we still need to replace a couple Final Four banners, so if the tradeoff was BTT Champion and Elite 8, or lose the BTT and make the Final Four, I would take the latter.
But why not go for them all?
That's ideal... to see a team most of us thought would most likely just get to the tournament, wind up with a 2 seed!? Yeah, winning...
Michigan beats Minnesota 137-9
Iowa beats MSU 239-2
Wisconsin beats Indiana 2-1
Purdue beats Ohio 111-4
Michigan beats Purdue 300-1
Iowa beats Wisconsin 2-0
Michigan beats Iowa 298-5
I'm with you, but would be pretty disappointed about letting Illinois get that point. And also by falling short of the 300 mark in the final.
No, I want to beat MSU and OSU to end any discussion about who the best team in the Big Ten is. We'd have winning records against them on the season and have proven ourselves to be the best in the tournament.
I don't know if it would end discussion. Branden Dawson's injury gives Spartan fans an out.
IIRC, they were the ones trying to injure our QB in a win-at-all-costs manner. A win is a win is a win regardless of injury.
This applies to both tournaments as well, incidentally. To paraphrase, "Coffee is for winners!"
But, doesn't Pryor drive the eighty thousand dollar Mercedes here?
I'm confused. It doesn't take much more energy to win a game than to lose one, so if you make it to the championship game, you might as well win it.
Losing the first game would suck.
Losing the second game would mean a loss to OSU.
I don't really see a choice here.
I would take a BTT championship and only a run to the sweet 16 than losing early in the BTT and winning another game to get to the elite 8. With that said I don't think winning the BTT would really put us at a disadvantage because there is a few days rest.
5 of the last 6 national champions won their conference tournament.
Win the damn tourney, fellas.
We would be the regular season and tourney champs of the consensus best conference in the NCAA.
Too many losses. Not enough hoes.
I don't know you, so don't know whether I like you or not (I'll give you the benefit of the doubt), but I do know that this is crazy talk.
how in the fuck can you call yourself a fan if you don't want your team to win their conference tourney? DUMB
I want to win this thing even if it takes something out of us. That's partly b/c having a BTT title would be cool and partly b/c that probably would mean getting neutral court wins against OSU and MSU.
Let's just win this f$#$king tournament. MOAR BANNERS PLEASE!
Who wouldn't want to win the B1G tourney. Just one more thing to say we won, plus isn't winning the conference every teams goal from day one. That is in all sports.
Are you serious?
U fo M winning it and further proving that we are back and can play with the big boys.
Is it unfair for me to assume that you've never played any competitive sport ever? Why would any athlete ever not want to win?!
Win the NCAA Tournament in 2013. Simple.
You should send Mr. Novak an email and warn him that if the team advances too far in the B1G Tournament, he might be fatigued for the NCAA Tournament. You will be doing an enormous service for us all.
only way i would be happy with a loss in the BGT is IF we were the NCAA Champs!!!
Every single year at least 5 of the tourney winners from the 6 major conferences have failed to win the national championship.
You obviously never played sports, because there is no way in hell I would ever go half ass in a tournament game.
Stop overanalyzing everything. You could also make the argument that if they lost right away in the big 10 tournament then they would have had to long of a time off between games and be rusty. A true Michigan fan would want them to win EVERY game.
The OP's ideal BTT scenario:
All I want out of this tourney is to lock up the #3 seed. I think we do that with the win over Minn tomorrow. After that, if we play a ton of bench players in the semi and lose, I would be pretty satisfied.
My ideal scenario:
We beat Minnesota tomorrow 23423-3 and get our bench players plenty of run and give Blake McLimans plenty of chances to catch His Very First rebound. Zack Novak spends the second half on the bench flirting with Margot Robbie via Twitter.
We beat Ohio State Saturday; the halftime score is 31-3. The final score is 40-34. Ohio State makes a furious second half run that is ultimately thwarted when Trey Burke crosses over Aaron Craft on an and-one so badly that Craft skulks back to Ed Rife's parlor in shame and gets a tattoo on his bony pale thigh that reads "Trey Burke skunked me in the B1G tournament and all I got was this lousy floor burn"
We beat MSU Sunday by some indeterminate score that is so lopsided that Zack Novak in his postgame interview wryly notes that the ratio between our score and theirs is equal to pi... but only to the first 48 digits. It's only because of the free throws M makes when Izzo is tossed with his second technical five minutes in. Novak punctuates the rout when he goes airborn on a through-the-legs dunk. He's flagrantly fouled by Derrick Nix's oversized ass, but fortunately lands safely in the lap of Margot Robbie sitting courtside. Before Novak can speak, Ms. Robbie squeals "Yes! Of course"
Brady Hoke nods and points in their direction.
Which would all of you prefer?