Chances for NIU to salvage some of the season in MAC tourney are between slim and none, but it would be a tiny step forward to play and win an opening round MAC tourney game.....
If it's possible to have a "must win" game when you are 7-10 overall with 8 MAC games remaining and one OOC buster, this Herd game qualifies given TV audience and SVC presentation.
Go Huskies!
Victor,
It will be my first game attended this season. You best work some magic , convert your open threys, cut out the turnovers, play some D and send me home happy.
i dont think its a must-win...itd be nice to build confidence, but our next must-win game won't be until the 1st round of the MAC tourny.
I think it is. We need to right the ship a little.
Does every team make the MAC tourney?
G-FORCE Wrote:Does every team make the MAC tourney?
We'll need to win a play-in game to make it to Cleveland. Although we're out of the race for the MAC West, it's still important to win regular season games to try and get the most favorable matchup for the play-in. We're probably looking at a road game, unless we REALLY turn it up in the last few weeks and finish in the top 8. However, even as a road team, we could still get in a position to draw a beatable opponent and get to Cleveland.
For that reason alone, I'd say the Marshall game is a must-win. Beyond that, Marshall is clearly the worst team in the MAC this year, and if we were to lose to them, AT HOME :rolleyes: , it would be a huge step backwards for our program.
On a similar note, how do you all feel about the effort and fight this team has?
To me, it doesn't look like they've given up on themselves, which bolds well for the health of the program. I've been happy with the fight this season too. Compared to other Judson teams, this one has more scrap than before. I like the way that's going. Just seems like consistancy and protecting the basketball have been the main problems all year. Hopefully, some maturaty will cure that and they'll learn from their mistakes.
I also agree in that despite the so far losing record, this team shows a tremendous amount of heart. They have some good wins under their belt, a whole bunch of close losses, and yes, a couple of "big losses". However, as aforementioned, despite what the record may suggest, the Huskies were yet to really have been "dominated" unless you count the Kansas State game, including keeping it close both at home and away against a strong WMU team. They're playing pretty well, and when they catch fire, I believe they can play with any team in the MAC. The season's not yet over, and I'm still confident that the team has what it takes to pull it together toward the end of the season and make some mondo waves in post-season play! :)
Frustrating is the word when you watch this team play. They look great for stretches and seem to fall apart quickly and look bad for stretches. I mean really bad. Sometimes you shake your head and wonder what the hell happened. Still fun to watch and exhibit talent. They are young and should be pretty good next year.
Let's not forget how horrible the overall schedule has been. I know I heard Baker say on the BSU broadcast that the Huskies were playing their 10th away game out of the last 13 contests and he was right.
Remember, the last 3 MAC games are at home back to back to back.
Good way to finish but by that time they'll have played only 5 of the last 19 games at home.
I know that the schedule in the MAC will even out but how can a team not be tired with all of that travel by the time those three straight home games eveb things up. The damage may have already been done.
Someone needs to examine any future schedules more closely so that this cannot happen again.
sportsfan Wrote:Let's not forget how horrible the overall schedule has been. I know I heard Baker say on the BSU broadcast that the Huskies were playing their 10th away game out of the last 13 contests and he was right.
Remember, the last 3 MAC games are at home back to back to back.
Good way to finish but by that time they'll have played only 5 of the last 19 games at home.
I know that the schedule in the MAC will even out but how can a team not be tired with all of that travel by the time those three straight home games eveb things up. The damage may have already been done.
Someone needs to examine any future schedules more closely so that this cannot happen again.
This year, we have 16 away games and 11 home games. Why does it always seem that we play more away games than home games? What criteria are used to set schedules? Is it based on prior year record? Of our 11 home games, 4 are on weekends. This is no way to build attendance, that's for sure.
getting quality opponents to come to your place is not easy - especially if the risks/cost heavily outweigh benefits.
Schedulemeisters are oftentimes trapped and probably forced to offer nbetter teams two away games for getting one home OOC game. I suspect with so many bball games played within any given 7-10 day period, the various dates finals are scheduled plus all the travel etc , the schools located in urban areas with easier access / airports are likely to have an advantage. You would think $o doeS the RPI and money influence $cheduling. NOT ALWAYS !
BTW: The relatively lower RPI rating of Illini compared to polls ranking UI is due to their early games with several of the tiniest of cupcakes.....all home games. Delaware St....OaklandMI...., Chcago St..... and Longwood as late as 12/27/04....
Several other BT teams have like opponents on their padded home schedules .....
Like I started this post with: Finding many quality opponents willing to play at your house must not be all that easy....
It might be interesting and fun to research just how many home cupcakes are found playing @ Duke, WF , Kansas , Oklahoma and other powerful programs this season.
How did we actually get in bind with so few home games is still puzzling. Has this been a trend recently or an anomaly this season?