Northwestern is going to be playing in the tournament. Northwestern is a school you definitely can make it to the tournament at! NIU is not. Especially since each year a ton of BigTen teams will make it and only one MAC team will make it. I’m sure it was part of the reason Hankerson went to Akron a legit chance to make the tournament.

(03-11-2023 12:19 AM)CollegeMan33 Wrote:  Northwestern is a school you definitely can make it to the tournament at! NIU is not. Especially since each year a ton of BigTen teams will make it and only one MAC team will make it.

Except considering the previous season finishes and having top two players leave, nobody considered Northwestern to be "a school you definitely can make it to the tournament" and yet a nucleus stayed. Considering the depth and quality in the Big Ten it is no surprise multiple teams make it whereas the MAC is like so many other conferences (ASUN, Big West, MAAC, etc.) likely to have only one school advance.

Whether or not you make it to the NCAA tournament has mostly to do with your won/loss record, and, more importantly, your quality wins and bad losses.

Playing in the Big 10, teams have an opportunity to play and beat a bunch of Quad 1 and 2 opponents. A good MAC team with a good record, however, might not have enough of a quality "wins" resume to make the NCAA tournament, however. That will depend on whether or not a MAC coach is willing to schedule tough non-con opponents.

(03-11-2023 12:19 AM)CollegeMan33 Wrote:  Northwestern is going to be playing in the tournament. Northwestern is a school you definitely can make it to the tournament at! NIU is not. Especially since each year a ton of BigTen teams will make it and only one MAC team will make it. I’m sure it was part of the reason Hankerson went to Akron a legit chance to make the tournament.

YES!!!! Go Flashes!

I got to thinking we might get two teams into the tournament with the Kent State win but looking over Toledo's schedule and results, I don't think they cut it. They're best wins are over UAB (who played for the C-USA championship) and Akron. I'm actually a bit surprised they don't get more of a push for the Vermont win especially on the road. Vermont is hard to beat anywhere but especially hard to beat in Burlington.

Then they really get hurt by losing to Kansas City.

Anyway...just open thoughts spewing on this thread on a slow Sunday. Beat Kent State once and either George Mason or Marshall and they possibly get in as an at-large. But not with this list of results.

Something I just ran across...

I've lamented a few times this season about Yazid (Zid) Powell and how he signed a LOI to come to NIU, then backed out of it and almost immediately signed on with Buffalo.

Well...he's back in the transfer portal. But not before thanking Coach Whitesell for "believing in me" and "giving me the opportunity" and then thanking his teammates (who he calls his "brothers") for "allowing me to go to war with you" and then his family for "being his support and standing behind every decision he's made".

Powell has 1 year remaining of eligibity. He spent 2 years at Harcum where he was good but never quite the scorer he was in high school but was still pretty highly thought of. At Buffalo this year, Powell had a good year playing in 28 games (16 starts) averaging 24.6 minutes and 13 ppg/4.1 rpg/2.7 apg shooting 41.8% FG (17.6% 3PT - 15 of 85) and 79.2% FT (103 of 130).

Its that 3PT percentage that most surprised me as he was much better his last year at Harcum (31.8% - 27 of 85).

Anyway, Powell has always been an attention seeker. He's the guy who, as a senior in HS, scored 81 points in a game as a tribute to Kobe Bryant and air balled his last FT so he stayed at 81.

He's immensely talented but clearly Buffalo is just a stepping stone to greater heights for him. I guess if 15 ppg gets you from Harcum to NIU and then to Buffalo...13 ppg at Buffalo should get you to....????

On twitter he has his transfer portal tape. TP4PT. He calls this transfer portal for playing time. He also says he has two years of eligibility. Like I said I will not be surprised by any transfer from NIU. Kids want to be in march madness they want playing time and money and they love being recruited. It’s a mess! In my opinion.

(03-12-2023 06:40 PM)CollegeMan33 Wrote:  On twitter he has his transfer portal tape. TP4PT. He calls this transfer portal for playing time. He also says he has two years of eligibility. Like I said I will not be surprised by any transfer from NIU. Kids want to be in march madness they want playing time and money and they love being recruited. It’s a mess! In my opinion.

Currently, you can't be surprised by any transfer and can't blame the coach either. We're talking about young dudes who often have an inflated sense of themselves and lean towards listening to people who say the best things...whether their true and realistic or not.

So, yeah...it's annoying but its the world we live in.

Btw, I thought I heard NCAA was going to start requiring a year of sitting out with a 2nd transfer. I haven't heard if that's actually going to happen (it should, imo) but would probably be faced with a lawsuit (which I think the NCAA could win). Although, I don't know how that would impact or include transfers from JUCO or lower levels of NCAA up to or down from D1.