TSN Mike on Butler and Gonzaga's NCAA Chances

[pizza delivery]

And MSU for that matter. Not looking good, according to Palm:

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2011-01-28/february-a-crucial-month-for-three-familiar-teams


And this year, the party might go on without all of them. No Zags. No Sparty. No romantic references to historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. The committee might have to check the guidebook to see if the event is permitted to occur under those conditions.

Michigan State is 12-8, 36th in the RPI, riding a three-game losing streak and playing .500 ball in the Big Ten.

Butler is 14-7, 42nd in the RPI, has lost two of its past three and is a 1½ games behind Cleveland State in the Horizon League standings.

Gonzaga is hurting badly: 13-8, 78th in the RPI, losers of three in a row and, stunningly, sitting at .500 in the West Coast Conference the Zags have owned for more than a decade.

February is just days away. Lots of teams begin dreaming of March at this time of the season, but these three have no choice but to focus intently on the long, short month ahead.

Read more: http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2011-01-28/february-a-crucial-month-for-three-familiar-teams#ixzz1CO494HKq

[smileyy]

We'll see Michigan St. come March, I'm pretty sure. Butler and the Zags? I'm not so confident...

[xavierj]

We'll see Michigan St. come March, I'm pretty sure. Butler and the Zags? I'm not so confident...

Really? They will be lucky to win 15 games. They are in a world of hurt. Just kicked off one of their starters 2 days ago and lost last night to a bad Michigan team at home.

[Snipe]

That is one list of teams I would usually be proud to be a part of. I hope we don't make that list this year. Winning tomorrow solves a lot of problems with the resume.

[GuyFawkes38]

That is one list of teams I would usually be proud to be a part of. I hope we don't make that list this year. Winning tomorrow solves a lot of problems with the resume.

yes, we still don't have a good road win. That's something that the selection committee has emphasized for the past few years.

I don't think we match up well with the spiders. But the good thing is that we have a couple more opportunities for good road wins if we lose tomorrow.

[THRILLHOUSE]

Really? They will be lucky to win 15 games. They are in a world of hurt. Just kicked off one of their starters 2 days ago and lost last night to a bad Michigan team at home.

MSU is definitely reeling right now, but I'm not gonna bet against Izzo. They will make the tourney, but this could be the year their S16 streak ends.

[ThePowerOfX]

Butler lost today at Valpo...

[Muskied]

Karen must be super fired up now........posers

[X-band '01]

Just how good will Butler be when Xavier returns to Hinkle next season? It won't be as fun beating up on a crappy Butler team up there.

[xubrew]

Really? They will be lucky to win 15 games. They are in a world of hurt. Just kicked off one of their starters 2 days ago and lost last night to a bad Michigan team at home.

yes. they're on their normal final four pace.

start off ranked high.

lose early, and drop in the rankings.

play steadily and consistently.

go into another slump.

turn things around, and get in safely, but not as a top seed.

advance to the final four.

the michigan state way. in the past six or seven years (too lazy to look it up to be certain) in two final four and one additional elite eight appearances, sparty has been seeded 5th or worse.

[whitesox]

It is a really weak bubble this year. If Michigan State goes 9-9 in the Big 10, they will be in the tournament.

Butler is done after their loss today. Their conference is deeper this year than it has been in the past, too, so winning the conference tournament will be difficult. I don't think they make the tournament.

Gonzaga is in huge trouble, too. They probably have to about win out the regular season to have much of a realistic shot. The Santa Clara and San Francisco losses really killed them- before that they had no bad losses (though I suppose their Kansas State loss is looking worse and worse) and a couple solid wins (us, Marquette on a neutral court). That's all you need to make the tournament this year.

[Xavier]

Damn. I chanted "N-I-T" to them as they walked off the court at the Cintas.... Should have been chanting "C-B-I"

[xudash]

Just how good will Butler be when Xavier returns to Hinkle next season? It won't be as fun beating up on a crappy Butler team up there.

The hell it won't.

I would like for nothing more than to beat them by 30 there next year, sending them back to the stone age, which ended when Hinkle Hall was completed.

[pizza delivery]

Welp, they both made it. I wouldn't look past either team in the first round either.