They're ranked at 18-4 with no bad losses.
Said it on the B1G board but I'll say it here too. Over the next 2 weeks they have @Purdue, @Wisconsin and Maryland. I want to see how they do versus the teams at the top. With that said, I think this is the year they finally end the drought.
They're really only 3 wins away. It'll take an epic collapse (a la the one year Clemson started 17-0 but missed the tourney), but with NU's history it's a coinflip.
Illinois (the state) used to be a mainstay in the NCAA Tournament. Haven't had a team qualify since 2013. Looks to be the year for IlSU & NU.
(01-31-2017 08:21 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote: [ -> ]They're really only 3 wins away. It'll take an epic collapse (a la the one year Clemson started 17-0 but missed the tourney), but with NU's history it's a coinflip.
Illinois (the state) used to be a mainstay in the NCAA Tournament. Haven't had a team qualify since 2013. Looks to be the year for IlSU & NU.
Agreed. As much as it pains me as an Illini guy, they're right in position to get in for the first time. Cubs winning the World Series, Northwestern making the NCAA Tournament, cats and dogs living together... the world is a different place.
Hell has officially frozen over.
(01-31-2017 09:59 AM)DexterDevil Wrote: [ -> ]Hell has officially frozen over.
I think the Cubs winning the World Series took care of that one. Northwestern getting to the NCAA Tournament is more like a blizzard after hell has frozen over.
when you consider that the average BigTen team has about 50% odds of making the tourney each year since 1985, the odds that NW has not made an NCAA torney ever in its history are almost infinitesimal.
like 2 to the power of 30.
the odds of NW never making a tourney so far are 1 in 1.07 Billion!
(01-31-2017 05:42 AM)TerpsNPhoenix Wrote: [ -> ]Said it on the B1G board but I'll say it here too. Over the next 2 weeks they have @Purdue, @Wisconsin and Maryland. I want to see how they do versus the teams at the top. With that said, I think this is the year they finally end the drought.
Wake Forest, Dayton, and Indiana help, but, yeah. Any of the ones on the road will cement them and catapult the seeding. B1G's been known to get a few less deserving teams into the tournament because of their road performances during the conference season, but Northwestern has been generally consistent, and the B1G isn't necessarily having its best season (having MSU and Indiana on the bubble is showing just how those two can carry the conference metrically); I think the games are winnable. Maybe all of them. Even if they come up short in all three of those games, they should only need three games to get them to that locked space.
I never did understand that about the Big Ten. Like, the moment you hit ten conference wins, you were "safe." This year, there isn't so much "dirt," as many of the schools will at least put up a fight, but few are standing out, too. Ten is ten, I guess...good enough for the committee, it seems.
It's quite amazing they have never made the tournament. Hell ECU has made it twice
Has Northwestern ever been good at anything athletically? LOL. One hell of a women's lacrosse school I guess. Northwestern is one of those schools who making the NCAA or making a bowl is a fantastic season.
Championships[edit]
NCAA team championships[edit]
Northwestern University has won 8 NCAA national championships:[19]
Men's (1)
Fencing (1): 1941
Women's (7)
Lacrosse (7): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
I say it would take a monumental collapse for them to miss it.
Let's compare them to Cincinnati:
Good wins for UC: Xavier (16), SMU (27), Iowa State (44, road), 4 wins against RPI 50-100
Good wins for NW: Dayton (33, neutral court), Wake Forest (29), 5 wins against RPI 50-100
Losses for UC: Butler (5, road), Rhode Island (48, neutral court)
Losses for Northwestern: Butler (5, road), Minnesota (23), Notre Dame (25, neutral), Michigan State (45, road)
Cincy is a lock, although our remaining schedule is weak enough that we could theoretically miss the tourney if we lose 6-7 of our last 10 and lose in the first round of the AAC tourney.
But Northwestern doesn't have that problem. All of their remaining games are against a top-100 teams except Rutgers (#117). If they lose every top-100 game left, they'll be 19-13 (8-10 in Big Ten) with 7 wins against top-100 teams and 2 big OOC wins. With the strength of the Big Ten this year, that's a tournament team.
No bad losses, but their best wins are Dayton and Wake.
Remaining schedule:
@ Purdue
Illinois
@ Wisconsin
Maryland
Rutgers
@ Illinois
@ Indiana
Michigan
Purdue
I can see them losing @ Purdue, @ Wisconsin, Maryland, Purdue, and maybe Michigan. That would put them at 23-8/22-9, with their only decent wins being Dayton, Wake, and a sweep of Indiana. Their current conference standing is inflated due to the fact that almost all of those wins have been against the bottom half of the Big Ten (2x Nebraska, Ohio State, Rutgers, Iowa, Penn State).
In terms of them making the tourney...
It will probably depend on bid thieves/how soft the bubble is, but IMO they would definitely have to avoid a landmine in the first round of the conference tourney. I think they ultimately need 2 conference tourney wins to break the drought though...
...which I don't see happening. Northwestern: First Four OUT.
(01-31-2017 04:49 AM)_C2_ Wrote: [ -> ]They're ranked at 18-4 with no bad losses.
Nah...they got whipped by Whiskey tonight. They'll continue to get whipped.
Cheers!
(01-31-2017 10:11 AM)goofus Wrote: [ -> ]when you consider that the average BigTen team has about 50% odds of making the tourney each year since 1985, the odds that NW has not made an NCAA torney ever in its history are almost infinitesimal.
like 2 to the power of 30.
the odds of NW never making a tourney so far are 1 in 1.07 Billion!
Yeah, really though. You'd think that in all their decades of playing basketball in the Chicagoland area that eventually they'd get a good enough player or two to get lucky one year under a decent coach. Good for them if they make it though, hiring an assistant from Duke was the right hire for them a few years back.
If NW wins at least 4 more then they'll be no worse than 22-9, 11-7 in conference, and even with only 2 top-50 wins, it would be very surprising if the committee left any Big Ten team with that record out. Has a Big Ten team with at least 11 conference wins and 20 overall wins ever been left out, since the NCAA field was expanded to 64?
(01-31-2017 12:55 PM)p23570 Wrote: [ -> ]Has Northwestern ever been good at anything athletically? LOL. One hell of a women's lacrosse school I guess. Northwestern is one of those schools who making the NCAA or making a bowl is a fantastic season.
Championships[edit]
NCAA team championships[edit]
Northwestern University has won 8 NCAA national championships:[19]
Men's (1)
Fencing (1): 1941
Women's (7)
Lacrosse (7): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
They were great at football for several years in the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's. 1936 was arguably their best year in college football history when they beat National Champion Minnesota and went 7-1.
(01-31-2017 11:50 PM)Wedge Wrote: [ -> ]Has a Big Ten team with at least 11 conference wins and 20 overall wins ever been left out, since the NCAA field was expanded to 64?
Can't think of one.
I had to be reminded about 2008-9 Penn State being one of the few/only 10/20 snubs. They were 10/21.
(02-01-2017 01:08 AM)HarmonOliphantOberlanderDevine Wrote: [ -> ] (01-31-2017 12:55 PM)p23570 Wrote: [ -> ]Has Northwestern ever been good at anything athletically? LOL. One hell of a women's lacrosse school I guess. Northwestern is one of those schools who making the NCAA or making a bowl is a fantastic season.
Championships[edit]
NCAA team championships[edit]
Northwestern University has won 8 NCAA national championships:[19]
Men's (1)
Fencing (1): 1941
Women's (7)
Lacrosse (7): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
They were great at football for several years in the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's. 1936 was arguably their best year in college football history when they beat National Champion Minnesota and went 7-1.
Not to mention the mid 90'sin football
Outright Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl in 1995 season.
Co-Big Ten champions in 1996 and 2000.
Basicly they have been decent in football since 1995. Better overall than ILL, Minn, Purdue, and Indiana.
Their 1 problem is they would never win their bowl game, until recently where they have won a couple.
