I know it's early, but...

[Sycamores13]

I know it's early to be talking about the postseason, but just looking at the remaining schedule, and the lack of quality opponents we have played and remaining, it makes me think that they will likely have to have a really good conference record to even be in the discussion for an at large spot.

Thus far they have 2 good wins in notre dame and Belmont, and one bad loss in Tulsa.

Obviously the goal is to win the mvc tourney, but just for the sake of discussion, lets say we don't.

What do they have to do from here on out, who do we have to beat, who can we not lose to, and what overall and conference record do they need to be in the hunt for an at large?

 

[agrinut]

I know it's early to be talking about the postseason, but just looking at the remaining schedule, and the lack of quality opponents we have played and remaining, it makes me think that they will likely have to have a really good conference record to even be in the discussion for an at large spot.

Thus far they have 2 good wins in notre dame and Belmont, and one bad loss in Tulsa.

Obviously the goal is to win the mvc tourney, but just for the sake of discussion, lets say we don't.

What do they have to do from here on out, who do we have to beat, who can we not lose to, and what overall and conference record do they need to be in the hunt for an at large?

15 wins in conference and 2 wins in Stl to have a chance.

 

[Sycamores13]

15 wins in conference and 2 wins in Stl to have a chance.

Agree. I think they could lose 7 total games at the most... Maybe 6. And due to the weak rpi of the conference this year, we may need to beat Wichita twice. Hopefully you're bears are as good as their record shows but, I'm guessing they're not.

 

[agrinut]

Agree. I think they could lose 7 total games at the most... Maybe 6. And due to the weak rpi of the conference this year, we may need to beat Wichita twice. Hopefully you're bears are as good as their record shows but, I'm guessing they're not.

They have a decent teat today. Now that they are healthy again they should start to to pick up steam. Anything less than 13 MVC wins for the bears will be a disappointment. Crazy thing about this year in the MVC is we have 5 top100 teams but the bottom is so bad it's killing the overall perception.

 

[Daveinth]

I think to be in the mix we have to at the very least
Beat WSU, MSU and UNI once and sweep the rest . It's simple math the bottom of the league is really bad any slips with those teams will all but kill any chance . It is a direct result of a very soft pre-conference schedule. Had we had a better showing in St Louis this month we might have been able to afford a slip up but we sucked there, our schedule sucked , our conference sucks and I think in the end the lack of quality teams on our schedule will bite us in the ass.

 

[BlueSycamore]

REALITY: Wichita goes 16-2 (probable losses vs Sycamores & UNI). Sycamores claim 2nd place @ 12-6, which means that excepting the Shockers the rest of the league beats itself up all season long & no one else finishes better than 10-8. More than one team brings up the basement @4-14. This is not out of the realm of possibility as a team or two finishing 10-8 (3rd & 4th) must protect home court (winning 8 of 9, probably losing to Wichita) along with sweeping two other series (probably from the two 4-14 teams but even they will win those four at home from someone?)...............no small challenge. Keeping in mind that sickness & injuries can dramatically change the whole scenario. Good luck to all as everyone starts at 0-0 right now.

 

[agrinut]

15 wins with 1 against Wichita is the only way the sycs finish with a top50 RPI. I think they have to do that at the very least to even be thought of.

 

[ISUCC]

Golden tweeted ISU really needs 25 wins to be in the at-large discussion, that = 16-2 in MVC play. And really, that would only give us 23 D-I wins since we completely blew it in Alaska and had to play another D-II team

 

[bent20]

Not that it matters much, but I'm not sure Belmont is a good win. They've lost four in a row, including really bad losses to mediocre Denver and South Dakota State teams, and are 8-6. We lost at their place so that's basically a draw.

 

[ISUCC]

Not that it matters much, but I'm not sure Belmont is a good win. They've lost four in a row, including really bad losses to mediocre Denver and South Dakota State teams, and are 8-6. We lost at their place so that's basically a draw.

we need them to win the OVC for that to remain a good win. Some of the games they've lost recently were games they were without one of their starters, so that inevitably hurt them. They do have a good RPI yet and would be very competitive in the MVC

 

[SycamoreStateofMind]

Not that it matters much, but I'm not sure Belmont is a good win. They've lost four in a row, including really bad losses to mediocre Denver and South Dakota State teams, and are 8-6. We lost at their place so that's basically a draw.

Big win or no big win, to me personally that's not what I was worried about.

I wanted to see how we played and how we would respond vs. a team that we should have beat once already. In that sense, one could argue that it was a big win - just by the way that we played.

So in the grand scheme of things it's probably not all that big of a win as
far as the Big Dance is concerned. But as far as our mindset heading into MVC play, have to feel good about this team.

They got better and that's really all you can ask at this point!

 

[bent20]

Big win or no big win, to me personally that's not what I was worried about.

I wanted to see how we played and how we would respond vs. a team that we should have beat once already. In that sense, one could argue that it was a big win - just by the way that we played.

So in the grand scheme of things it's probably not all that big of a win as
far as the Big Dance is concerned. But as far as our mindset heading into MVC play, have to feel good about this team.

They got better and that's really all you can ask at this point!

I agree with that. We've had some good confidence builders of late, but probably none as big as the Belmont win. I was speaking more to the original context of the "good win" statement, which was in regards to making the tournament. We have a lot of work ahead of us before that even matters.

 

[Alum90]

The Valley likely only gets one team in this year. My opinion is that we'd have to win the Valley and get 2 wins in tourney to be an at-large. Hopefully we'll be able to win the MVC tourney to secure a spot.


Big Blue Treedition

 

[Sycamores13]

we need them to win the OVC for that to remain a good win. Some of the games they've lost recently were games they were without one of their starters, so that inevitably hurt them. They do have a good RPI yet and would be very competitive in the MVC

I consider Belmont to be a good team, not great but good. They did beat North Carolina, and after watchin them play twice, they've got the talent to be a tournament team. They will probably only lose 1 or 2 conference games, if any. Notre dame will have a much better rpi by the end of the year. What we need is for 2 or 3 mvc teams to have a better than expected year (like Mizzou st, northern Iowa, maybe drake based on their record so far), and we need to sweep those teams. What we can't have is the let downs we've unfortunately gotten so used to when we play weaker teams.

 

[ISUCC]

I consider Belmont to be a good team, not great but good. They did beat North Carolina, and after watchin them play twice, they've got the talent to be a tournament team. They will probably only lose 1 or 2 conference games, if any. Notre dame will have a much better rpi by the end of the year. What we need is for 2 or 3 mvc teams to have a better than expected year (like Mizzou st, northern Iowa, maybe drake based on their record so far), and we need to sweep those teams. What we can't have is the let downs we've unfortunately gotten so used to when we play weaker teams.

It's interesting, people have been saying all year the MVC is down, weak, etc.... but actually we have 5 teams in the RPI top 100 right now (ISU is lowest of the 5 top 100 MVC teams). The MVC RPI is 11th, which is bad, but it's the bottom 4 teams that are dragging the MVC's RPI down to unprecedented levels this year.

but you're right, we can not have the letdowns and losses to bad teams this year (that we have grown accustomed to as you say). After the 2011 NCAA run this group has continued to disappoint us. Losing 6 of the last 8 MVC games last year and 9 of the last 16 MVC games 2 years ago has dampened the spirits of many ISU fans

 

[ISUCC]

The Valley likely only gets one team in this year. My opinion is that we'd have to win the Valley and get 2 wins in tourney to be an at-large. Hopefully we'll be able to win the MVC tourney to secure a spot.


Big Blue Treedition

gonna take a 16-2 or 15-3 MVC record, and 2 wins in the MVC tourney to get any at large talk, of just win in St. Louis and get 2 in

 

[SycamoreStateofMind]

gonna take a 16-2 or 15-3 MVC record, and 2 wins in the MVC tourney to get any at large talk, of just win in St. Louis and get 2 in

Scott if your going to get hung up all season on whats it going to take to get into the NCAA tourney you ought to not bother.

It's cliche but sports is all about one game at a time/one race at a time and you should know this. To put it in terms you would relate to, if you run well in the first 3 meets of the season but don't get any better the rest of the season it's not going to matter.

In other words, the cream rises to the top. If we deserve to make the BD we will - if not, we won't. All this lame ass talk of how many wins we will need and not need is a waste of time. Worry about each game and lets just see how things play out.

Its flat out disrespect to the rest of the MVC to think that the Sycamores will only lose 2 or 3 games. What are you going to do 10 games into conference play when were are 6-4 you going to throw the flag in or
You going to come on here and say, "well the Sycamores have to win out to have a chance at the at-large".

I am a glass half full kinda guy, I know it's not your style! But please... The constant reminder of what our record "needs" to be is silly, last time we talked (Saturday) you aint on the selection committee.

 

[meistro]

Scott if your going to get hung up all season on whats it going to take to get into the NCAA tourney you ought to not bother.

It's cliche but sports is all about one game at a time/one race at a time and you should know this. To put it in terms you would relate to, if you run well in the first 3 meets of the season but don't get any better the rest of the season it's not going to matter.

In other words, the cream rises to the top. If we deserve to make the BD we will - if not, we won't. All this lame ass talk of how many wins we will need and not need is a waste of time. Worry about each game and lets just see how things play out.

Its flat out disrespect to the rest of the MVC to think that the Sycamores will only lose 2 or 3 games. What are you going to do 10 games into conference play when were are 6-4 you going to throw the flag in or
You going to come on here and say, "well the Sycamores have to win out to have a chance at the at-large".

I am a glass half full kinda guy, I know it's not your style! But please... The constant reminder of what our record "needs" to be is silly, last time we talked (Saturday) you aint on the selection committee.

I was just getting ready to post something like this. I want us to take it one game at a time and get better each time out. Who knows at this point what it will take to get in the tourney. We're not the only team who has lost a game they shouldn't have and won't be the last. The Alaska tourney didn't turn out like we wanted but we have to move on. I hope we play up to our potential and have a great conference season, it could be a lot of fun. There's no doubt in my mind that if we keep getting better and peak at arch madness time, we can win 3 games in 3 days and the at large won't matter. I hope we continue to play like we did Saturday, cause that was fun to watch.

 

[Sycamores13]

Scott if your going to get hung up all season on whats it going to take to get into the NCAA tourney you ought to not bother.

It's cliche but sports is all about one game at a time/one race at a time and you should know this. To put it in terms you would relate to, if you run well in the first 3 meets of the season but don't get any better the rest of the season it's not going to matter.

In other words, the cream rises to the top. If we deserve to make the BD we will - if not, we won't. All this lame ass talk of how many wins we will need and not need is a waste of time. Worry about each game and lets just see how things play out.

Its flat out disrespect to the rest of the MVC to think that the Sycamores will only lose 2 or 3 games. What are you going to do 10 games into conference play when were are 6-4 you going to throw the flag in or
You going to come on here and say, "well the Sycamores have to win out to have a chance at the at-large".

I am a glass half full kinda guy, I know it's not your style! But please... The constant reminder of what our record "needs" to be is silly, last time we talked (Saturday) you aint on the selection committee.

There's no issues with discussing it. If you're not interested in the discussion then don't participate. I think it is a topic that some are interested in. While I understand that you have to go game by game, I don't think it hurts for fans to look at the big picture and make projections. We all know that in order to make the tourney, since we don't have the luxury of playing a big 10 schedule, they have to take advantage of the opportunities they do have. What's wrong with talking about that?

 

[SycamoreStateofMind]

There's no issues with discussing it. If you're not interested in the discussion then don't participate. I think it is a topic that some are interested in. While I understand that you have to go game by game, I don't think it hurts for fans to look at the big picture and make projections. We all know that in order to make the tourney, since we don't have the luxury of playing a big 10 schedule, they have to take advantage of the opportunities they do have. What's wrong with talking about that?

Whats wrong with it is I know Scott (ISUCC) perhaps as well as anyone on this forum and when they struggle I'm going to get a text that says, "Well now we've got to win out" and I will have to talk the man down off the cliff. It's hard for me to reason with anyone when I have to talk myself down off the cliff.

In other words, talk about it all you want but don't come on here and bitch to me when it doesn't happen. This team isn't going to only lose 2 or 3 MVC games, simply will not happen! They are going to lose 6 or 7 MVC games.