<p>As you know, only one major conference team has never been there, and this is the closest they have ever come. Are the Evanston hopefuls that hopeful? Do you guys even care? As a prospective student, I'm just trying to feel what's going on over there.</p>
<p>No, they will not.</p>
<p>Yes we care. 1 more win, likely in. 2 more and we’re a lock.</p>
<p>I have seen the professional “commentators” talk about this. Some say NU is one of the last four in, some say one of the last four out. I would hope they would give the RPI rankings some serious thought and the SOS and see how close some of these losses were to top 20 teams. They will play Minnesota in the first round and split with them during the regular season. I agree with arbiter213 that they will be a lock if they win two, but the problem is that the second game will be against the #2 seed…</p>
<p>Giterdone spends his time sitting in his UMich dorm hating on Northwestern on talk.collegeconfidential.com. He’s silly. </p>
<p>It’s really exciting for everyone on campus. The team showed up to DM after coming back from their Iowa game and everyone went wild. After the Ohio State heartbreaker, we sort of had this moment of “oh, crap” but we’re trying to cross our fingers and hope we get through. It’s a big deal on campus and up until Ohio, almost everyone felt this was the year. Now we’re not so sure but still hoping.</p>
<p>With our performance vs. Ohio State, albeit a loss, the tournament committee can’t turn away from what we’ve accomplished. If we win the opener of the Big Ten and beat Michigan in the second round, we’re a lock. </p>
<p>It’s pretty difficult to be a team three times within a year.</p>
<p>Bubble
10char</p>
<p>Here’s their resume:
*Top-10 Strength of Schedule in the Nation
*Beat Michigan State (6)
*Lost to Ohio State (11) on buzzer beater
*Lost to Michigan (10) twice in overtime
*No “Bad Losses”
*Beat Seton Hall
*Lost 4 games by a total margin of 7 points
*8-10 record in B1G (widely considered toughest conference in the nation)</p>
<p>…Why not?</p>
<p>Not to mention the Pac 12 should only get one bid at this point. LOL @ Cal and Arizona.</p>
<p>BeastMode,
Actually only one “bad” loss, to Minnesota on their home court.</p>
<p>^They’re still RPI top 100, so not a “bad loss” by NCAA definitions.</p>
<p>Win against Minny in the B1G Tourney and there’s about a 50/50 chance depending if there are any “bid thieves” or if other BCS bubble schools behind NU go on an extended run in their conf. tournaments.</p>
<p>2 wins in the B1G Tourney and the 'Cats are likely in barring some unlikely results in conf. tournaments.</p>
<p>For the past 3 years, every team from a power conf. with an RPI under 50 has made the NCAAs and there are only 12 teams who don’t have a loss to a team with an RPI of 100 or more.</p>
<p>In their 5 games against the B1G co-champs, NU beat MSU, lost to dOSU on a last second shot, took UM to OT twice (also lost to PU and UI on last second shots and was tied w/ IU at Bloomington w/ less than 2 minutes) - so if things are close, I think the decision-makers will take this into consideration.</p>
<p>If the 'Cats had managed to pull out one of this narrow losses, the 'Cats would pretty much be in w/ 1 win in the B1G Tourney.</p>
<p>Not having Jershon Cobb for most of the season has really hurt - since he and Crawford are the 2 best defenders on the team (also hurt that Marcotullio was bothered by turf toe and then missed a couple of games due to a concussion), but Cobb is now starting to get his legs back and is starting to get back in the flow of the offense.</p>
<p>If the 'Cats get by Minny, it would be sweet-justice in beating UM in the 2nd round after the 2 losses in OT.</p>
<p>Quick question from someone who is totally ignorant of the ways of college sports.</p>
<p>How do schools like NU compete AT ALL with schools that are 5X larger AND have far lower academic standards?</p>
<p>I have never understood how that can work.</p>
<p>As our history demonstrates, ineffectively.</p>
<p>It can be done, even if not consistently. We are talking about making it to the Big Dance for the first time so it’s not an excuse for us. We should have the expectation that it’s not a matter of if but when it will happen. Notre Dame and Stanford have done it. Harvard is decent this year. </p>
<p>On the other hand, Duke shows the short-cut Northwestern could take: significantly lowering the admission standard for basketball players. But since the program has no one with even a fraction of the influence and power that coach-K has, it has to be done the hard way.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Or, on the other hand, Northwestern shows the short-cut Duke could take: significantly lowering the admissions standard for football players.</p>
<p>Except not? Duke HAS significantly lower admissions standards for Football players than NU does, and Duke is still godawful.</p>
<p>^ Yep, in an effort to make Duke FB more competitive, Duke now allows one-third of its FB players to only meet the minimum NCAA academic requirements.</p>
<p>And as for Duke BB…</p>
<p><a href=“Back%20then,%20when%20the%20subject%20came%20up%20periodically,%20I%20called%20it%20the%20“myth%20of%20Duke%20admissions.””>quote</a></p>
<p>Sure, some of Duke’s recruits were, and are, first-rate students. But the Blue Devils have signed many players over the years that Stanford could not touch.</p>
<p>In my mind, that’s one reason Duke has been so successful in signing McDonald’s All-Americans: It’s a world-class private institution with the admissions flexibility of, say, a state school.</p>
<p>I won’t get into names of the players Stanford couldn’t touch, because it’s not fair to them and because I’ve got the data:</p>
<p>According to figures released by the NCAA for players who were in college in the late-90s thru mid-00s — the latest figures available (trust me: it hasn’t changed significantly) — here are the admissions figures for Duke and Stanford men’s basketball recruits:</p>
<p>Duke average GPA: 3.13
Stanford average GPA: 3.46</p>
<p>Duke average SAT: 968
Stanford average SAT: 1123
[/quote]
</p>
<p>[Stanford</a> vs. Duke basketball: The difference in admissions standards | College Hotline](<a href=“http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2008/11/05/stanford-vs-duke-basketball-the-difference-in-admissions-standards/]Stanford”>Stanford vs. Duke basketball: The difference in admissions standards - College Hotline)</p>
<p>Duke’s nos. put them in the middle of the pack of the ACC.</p>
<p>Also, ND’s academic standards for FB and BB recruits is closer to UM than it is to NU.</p>
<p>Mom:</p>
<p>First of all – the disadvantage only applies in a few sports – Men’s Football and Basketball, to name 2. If you look at other sports – Women’s Lacrosse, for example, Northwestern is a powerhouse and does well thank you.</p>
<p>Even with the major sports, there are many student/atheletes who realize that they probably will not go Pro, and that getting an education is their first priority. Other student atheletes may choose a school like NU, because they realize that they have a better opportunity to actually play there (would you rather start at NU or sit on the bench for two years at Ohio State.)</p>
<p>As a result, although NU is not a powerhouse (ala Michigan) in football, it can recruit very respectable and competitive teams.</p>
<p>Stanford gives the appearance they will go to a great extent to win at all sports. They constantly tout “home of champions,” etc. They sure have the bucks. As a local, I have read details and quotes over the years (in our breathless, fawning VERY local sports coverage) from various sports players there that do not indicate superior intelligence, IMO.</p>
<p>It was very enjoyable to sit in the audience at Stanford’s lacrosse stadium recently watching # 1 Northwestern women’s lacrosse handily beat #6 Stanford in the season opener. I had not seen lacrosse for years and it was entertaining and I liked the Northwestern team.</p>