Is anyone else sick of hearing that ND needs tonight's game more than Marquette? I have now read it on multiple sites and it's driving me nuts. I agree that it would be devastating for ND to lose tonight and continue the fall they are in right now (which I'm personally loving every minute of!!). However, there is a lot on the line for Marquette as well. Coming into this game everyone is doubting our record and just how good we truly are given the level of competition we've faced so far in the season. A win like this in a rivalry game, on their court, when facing them when their backs are near the wall, would be a huge win and a statement win that can carry heavy momentum heading into Saturday's showdown with Georgetown (another team that's going to be awfully hungry and in need of a quality Big East win). Don't underestimate just how big of a game this really is. In the past we usually would've dropped an easy early conference game (got through that), and now with this big of a game we historically struggle to truly come through and continue our ascent, but I'm thinking this year is something different. This is a special group of guys we've got and I can't wait for the rest fo the season!!!
WE ARE MARQUETTE!!!!
ND does need this more than we do in the current context of the standings, etc. But frankly, they're going to start winning games soon as their schedule gets softer and we'll start reading things about how they turned it around by concentrating on defense or some other such nonsense when in reality the only thing that has changed is that they will be playing easier teams.
Marquette's basketball team doesn't need to prove anything to anybody. What they need to do is win as many games as they possibly can to maximize their seed in the Big East tournament and the NCAA tournament. I'd estimate our chances tonight given everything to be something like 1 in 3, but that is still a solid chance, and a chance to win a big game in a tough environment is all the incentive our boys need.
Quote from: CTWarrior on January 26, 2009, 04:38:13 PM
ND does need this more than we do in the current context of the standings, etc. But frankly, they're going to start winning games soon as their schedule gets softer and we'll start reading things about how they turned it around by concentrating on defense or some other such nonsense when in reality the only thing that has changed is that they will be playing easier teams.
Marquette's basketball team doesn't need to prove anything to anybody. What they need to do is win as many games as they possibly can to maximize their seed in the Big East tournament and the NCAA tournament. I'd estimate our chances tonight given everything to be something like 1 in 3, but that is still a solid chance, and a chance to win a big game in a tough environment is all the incentive our boys need.
totally disagree with your second point. We need to show we can beat quality teams. That has been the rub in the national media, so far we have not played any of the top teams in our conference.
You wait and see how many Doug Gotleibs rant about how over-rated we are if we lose tonight.
This just in: It's one hour until tipoff and ND is already in the bonus.
Quote from: ecompt on January 26, 2009, 04:58:10 PM
This just in: It's one hour until tipoff and ND is already in the bonus.
Halftime report: someone just fouled Harangody after the half ended on the way back to the locker room.