20

[MU82]

Though it should be considered the minimum number of wins for any quality program, it's still nice to see "20" under the "W" column next to Marquette's name.

Because teams play so many games these days, it doesn't mean what it once did. Nevertheless, some schools (ahem, Northwestern) have NEVER won 20, so it's a nice round number that still makes me smile.

[IrwinFletcher]

Northwestern did get to 20 wins a year or two ago...

[bilsu]

It was 20 when McGuire was coach. 26 game season and no conference tournament. Today's equivalent is 25 wins. My definition of a successful season is to finish with less than 9 losses. MU has not done that since Wade. Last year made made sweet 16, but 22-15 is a terrible record.

[muwarrior69]

It's the new age of sports we live in. Regular season records don't count as much as thy used to. All you need to do is play well enough to make the post season. Need I say, Giants.

[Windyplayer]

MU has not done that since Wade. Last year made made sweet 16, but 22-15 is a terrible record.

Actually, it's not considering our strength of schedule. The committee seemed to agree. You can't look at record in a vacuum. If so, Murray State would be a front-runner to win the national championship.

I was actually really proud of our team last year. They had to constantly bounce back in an impossible conference season.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Actually, it's not considering our strength of schedule. The committee seemed to agree. You can't look at record in a vacuum. If so, Murray State would be a front-runner to win the national championship.

I was actually really proud of our team last year. They had to constantly bounce back in an impossible conference season.

EXACTLY!  I loved last year's team - it was full of newcomers to the program and players filling roles they had never had to before, but they grew up before our eyes and peaked at the right time.  SO many people whined and whined about our record last year, and while losing is ALWAYS frustrating, we simply had no "bad" losses.  9/15 losses were against top 25 KenPom Teams.  14/15 losses were against top 50 teams (the other was a road game against a fringe top 50 team Seton Hall that was much better with Hazell).  11/15 losses were road/neutral games against that same top competition.  Our four home losses were against teams ranked 7, 10, 23, and 42.  Our mirror opponents were National Champion UConn, 2 seed Notre Dame, and the aforementioned Seton Hall.  It's not like we let a bunch of chumps roll us last year.  We played a murderer's row and were better off for it by the end of the season.

[MU82]

Northwestern did get to 20 wins a year or two ago...

My bad. Should have looked it up. They won exactly 20 in each of their last 2 seasons, which ended in NIT bids. If the NCAA tourney can just expand to 96 or 128 teams, they just might make it!

My point is still the same: 20 wins isn't what it used to be, but it continues to be a positive thing to get that many (and many more).

[Pakuni]

It was 20 when McGuire was coach. 26 game season and no conference tournament. Today's equivalent is 25 wins. My definition of a successful season is to finish with less than 9 losses. MU has not done that since Wade. Last year made made sweet 16, but 22-15 is a terrible record.

So UConn (9 losses), Butler (10 losses), Kentucky (9 losses) and Virginia Commonwealth (12 losses) had unsuccessful seasons last year?

Anyone remember who was in the Final Four last year?

[Freeport Warrior]

My definition of a successful season is to finish with less than 9 losses.

Ditto. I think it will be very close. That's just 7 pre-tournament (BE & NCAA) losses if we don't win either tourney.

[Henry Sugar]

I was actually really proud of our team last year. They had to constantly bounce back in an impossible conference season.

That's kind of funny to me.  I disliked last year's team more than most, and then that got washed away with the S16 run.

Epic meltdowns (UL), inabilities to get stops (Vandy), inability to play ANY defense (Pitt, ND), home court blowouts (Cincy, SJU).  Last year's team was a lot of suck in many ways... washed away with the S16 run.

[bilsu]

So UConn (9 losses), Butler (10 losses), Kentucky (9 losses) and Virginia Commonwealth (12 losses) had unsuccessful seasons last year?

Anyone remember who was in the Final Four last year?

Maybe I stated it wrong. I am not saying that MU has not been successful. What I look to as a desirable goal is to lose less than 10 games. I think that is a sign of a very good team in the Big East. Without actually looking it up, there were probalby 5 Big East teams that did it last year. MU has never done it since they been in the Big East. I think the Badgers finished with 9 losses.

[RJax55]

That's kind of funny to me.  I disliked last year's team more than most, and then that got washed away with the S16 run.

Epic meltdowns (UL), inabilities to get stops (Vandy), inability to play ANY defense (Pitt, ND), home court blowouts (Cincy, SJU).  Last year's team was a lot of suck in many ways... washed away with the S16 run.

Add to that the blowout loss to Seton Hall. At the time, that game look to be a must or crucial win in order to make the tournament.

That's the beauty or flaw of the tournament, especially for coaches. Get bounced in the 1st round, your seat starts to get a little warm, win two games and you're a hero. The look of an entire season can change in a couple of days. Tough job.

[Dawson Rental]

Ditto. I think it will be very close. That's just 7 pre-tournament (BE & NCAA) losses if we don't win either tourney.

Actually, 6 pre-tournament (BE & NCAA) losses, since bilsu's criteria was less than 9 losses.

Whoops!  Now he's changed it less than 10 in a later post.

[bilsu]

Actually, 6 pre-tournament (BE & NCAA) losses, since bilsu's criteria was less than 9 losses.

Whoops!  Now he's changed it less than 10 in a later post.

I see that. It was suppose to be 9 or less.

[MUrugger]

Some had hoped for a little forgotten era history to appear here from time to time.  The 1977 championship team posted 7 losses (25-7).  It was the largest number that any National Champion had registered until that time.

Since then several, including last year's U-Conn Champs accumulated more (9).  The most?  Larry Brown and his 1988 Kansas squad cut the nets with a final record of 27-11.

[bilsu]

112 teams (almost 1/3) won 20 games last year.

[CTWarrior]

If you have a one in 3 chance to win 20 games then the odds of doing it 7 consecutive years is 2186 to 1 against.  Of course the odds for a power conference team that can schedule 8 or so automatic wins each year are not nearly that high, but 20 wins 7 years in a row is still pretty good.

[bilsu]

Kansas has the most in a row. They may be at 29.

[bilsu]

If you have a one in 3 chance to win 20 games then the odds of doing it 7 consecutive years is 2186 to 1 against.  Of course the odds for a power conference team that can schedule 8 or so automatic wins each year are not nearly that high, but 20 wins 7 years in a row is still pretty good.

The pure odds might be 2186 to 1, but there are over 10 teams that have won 7 in a row. 10 out of 340?.

[Silkk the Shaka]

The pure odds might be 2186 to 1, but there are over 10 teams that have won 7 in a row. 10 out of 340?.

CTWarrior basically conceded that when he said if you have a 1/3 chance to win 20 games in each season.  Heading into the last 7 seasons, MU has probably had at least an 85%+ chance of winning at least 20, aside from the Mo/Cubby/Hayward/Butler/DJO year.  For teams like Duke, UNC, and Kansas, those odds are higher.  For teams like DePaul, those odds are much lower.  Still impressive any way you look at it though.