How MU gets Double bye in BET

[Big Daddy 84]

I have been accused of drinking too muck kool-aid at times, but I have enjoyed watching this year's team almost as much as 2003..(almost). I just spent a few minutes reviewing the remaining games for those teams ahead of us in the BE and there is a legitimate possibility...some probability that MU can finish #4 in the BE:

Pitt current 7-4  7-games left goes 4-3  final 11-7
LU current  6-4  8-games left goes 4-4  final 10-8
ND current 6-5  7 games left goes 4-3   final 10-8
GT current 8-4 6 games left goes 3-3    final 11-7

MU current 6-5 7 games left goes 5-2 final  11-7
MU must bet PITT as one of the wins.

If this occurs MU, Pitt, GT all finish with same record and MU would have wins over both an no loses...and would win the Tiebreaker and would be the 4Th seed.

The opposite scenario from last year is occurring for MU..we had the tough stretch at the end, this year we had it earlier.  Those above MU have a much more difficult schedule to finish the season then MU does.

Buckle-up it is going to be a "WANG DANG DOODLE" down the stretch....

[MauraDay]

A long shot, but interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[MUBurrow]

Interesting thought, is the double bye always a good thing?  Say that we just miss out on the 4 seed, end up at 5 and play a team like cincinnati or south florida or some other bubble team with our first game.  At that point, we would be better rested and be able to wear out and potentially beat another bubble team.

Meanwhile, if we are the four seed, we would likely get a tournament team like ND or Louisville who are likely on the bubble or just over it.  We lose that game without winning any in the BE tournament, some other bubble circumstances roll the wrong way, and all of a sudden we might be out.

Maybe a top 4 seed would automatically be enough to get us in though. I don't know, just shooting the breeze on it.

[dsfire]

If we ended up #4 at 11-7 in the BE, we'd be solidly off the bubble and just working on seeding in the BET.

That said, we'd need some help for Georgetown to finish 3-3.  Getting the 4 seed would be much more likely if we were able to finish 6-1... but no gimmes at this point.

[Ready2Fly]

MUBurrow - we get the 4th or 5th seed in the BET, there is no more bubble, regardless of BET results. There is only IN.

[LAZER]

I don't think it's that crazy.  I would say it's unlikely however.  If MU goes 5-2 and beat Pitt and L'Ville it could defintely happen given the remaining schedules.  And L'Ville and Pitt have shown they're vulnerable to a slip up, although Marquette has too.

Obviously a lot would have to go right, but definitely conceivable.

L'Ville: @SYR, GTown, @Marquette, @UConn, SYR
Pitt: WVU, @Marquette, @ND
G'Town: SYR, @L'Ville,@WVU

[HoopsMalone]

I would not want to be Georgetown right now.  Their schedule is just as bad as ours.

To be honest, the game I am most worried about is USF because of Jones getting by our guards and finding himself at the rim with no shot blocker.  Lazar could pick up some cheap ones helping on Jones. 

If we win Saturday, I will have a lot of confidence in 5-2 and have a decent shot at 6-1.

[bamamarquettefan]

Actually, this is certainly possible. In fact i noted over a week ago that the actual game-by-game predictions on www.kenpom.com actually has predicted MU would finish 4th since then based on this scenario.  We need to keep rooting for Nova though, because as a two-time opponent they really help our RPI every time they win, but also because with their tough stretch the rest of the way we don't want to take any chance on them dropping into a tie with us and adding 2 losses to the "miniconference tie-breaker".

I agree completely that this team is incredibly run to watch.

[mileskishnish72]

 I like the scenario, but things are confusing - I guess tonight we're Mountaineer fans.

[Badgerhater]

Just win.

[copious1218]

I like the scenario, but things are confusing - I guess tonight we're Mountaineer fans.

Maybe, but I am going to be greedy and hope MU can finish 3rd in the Big East.  Even if Pitt wins, we can catch them next Thursday by beating them (if we beat USF Saturday).  We need help to catch WV and with their games remaining: @ Pitt, @ Prov, @ UCONN, @ Nova, and home for G'Town, we certainly have a chance even though WV has the tiebreaker on us.  Pitt winning would also make our game next Thursday bigger since they would likely move up in the rankings by beating WV.  In short, I'm rooting for PITT!

[Ahoya06]

Buckle-up it is going to be a "WANG DANG DOODLE" down the stretch....

Outstanding...

[dwaderoy2004]

I like the scenario, but things are confusing - I guess tonight we're Mountaineer fans.

absolutely.  Even if we win out, we would need WVU to lose three more games.  Probably not gonna happen.  But we can most certainly catch G-town, even if we lose a game or two.  in the meantime, let's knock pitt out of our way.

[ErickJD08]

Actually, if we win against Pitt, the double bye is not a crazy thought.  Pitt game is huge, not only for the double bye cause, but I think it pretty much locks us into the tourney.

[muarmy81]

Actually, if we win against Pitt, the double bye is not a crazy thought.  Pitt game is huge, not only for the double bye cause, but I think it pretty much locks us into the tourney.

+1

Pitt game is a great resume booster for our tourney hopes.

[4everwarriors]

Does IU's win over Pitt lock them in as well?

[ErickJD08]

Does IU's win over Pitt lock them in as well?

No, but we need one more quality win to lock things barring an absolute collapse.  IU has been a disaster all season.