The Knight to Cats Blog

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Cats Snubbed for 69th Straight Year

For the 69th consecutive year the Northwestern Wildcats Men's Basketball team will not appear in the NCAA Tournament.  But this was not just another year, not just another snub.  This stuck in the gut.  And yet, I didn’t hear Dickie V on ESPN whining for us like he did “those poor kids at Syracuse.”  Please they won a National Title 4 years ago.  Nobody there is poor.   Let's break down the Cats resume:

1. Non-Conference Schedule- The Cats got off to a blazing 10-3 start. Their most dramatic victory of the season came in a 41-39 thriller against a Division III White Christian school called Wheaton.  It was also probably their most impressive win, and one that I thought would have swayed the committee to include the Cats.  Their defense was superior throughout the early season, holding 3 Non-Con opponents to under 40 points.

He was no Fiddler on the Roof, but Michael Fiddler almost led Division III Wheaton to the win over a Big Ten 'House 

 
2. Big Ten Performance- 2-14 is just one way to look at the Cats Big Ten performance.  But I'm more of a numbers guy, not a W-L guy.  The near upset of Wisconsin was a historic performance by the Cats.  If it weren't for one of the insufferable Landry brothers picking a fight with Vincanity Scott, I think they would have finished the Badgers off.  What's also not to be overlooked is their 1 Conference road win at Minnesota, basically on par with Illinois who somehow made the tournament.

3. RPI- I just scanned the RPI, and thought we came in at a stunning 169.  But then I realized that was actually Northwestern State (who we pounded by the way).  We slid down to 178, just ahead of American University, who I had no idea had a basketball team.  But most people don't know NU fields a squad anymore either.  Either way, the Cats still almost make the top half of the country.

Let's take a look at how the Cats did against NCAA Tourney teams.
Stanford- basically beat them
Wisconsin- I tell people they beat them
Illinois- they are terrible
Michigan State- one pass away
Ohio State- didn't play them
Purdue- never heard of them
Indiana- way, way overrated

This is the resume of a Champ, or at least a team deserving a write-up about their latest snub.