I must admit that I fell for what now appears to be a trap of misplaced optimism. This season feels like another disaster...and it is...but as I thought about it this weekend, the more it seems that our tourney hopes were simply a mirage of scheduling and perception.
We all know by now that last year's 13-5 B1G record was somewhat of a fraud based upon the fluke of scheduling. The tournament committee deemed it as such in excluding Nebraska and even the NIT committee made them a #5 seed.
However, I think many of us felt that the team was simply disrespected and this led to irrational expectations for 2018-2019.
And now, with the season in full collapse, we should also look back upon the earlier victories and revisit their significance. When you do, you'll see that 3-10 and 13-11 is about what we should have expected all along.
DONU beat Seton Hall by 23 on November 14. It looked like a great win at the time since SH was a tourney team last year. They are 5-6 in Big East, 14-9 overall and projected for the NIT.
DONU lost to Texas Tech by 18. That was supposed to be OK because TT was expected to contend for the Big12 title. They are 7-4 and 19-5.
Winning at Clemson was supposed to be a huge win because of Clemson's Sweet 16 run last year. Clem is currently 5-5, 15-8 and squarely on the bubble.
Beating Creighton by 19 and OKSt by 23 were supposed to be a sign of how good DONU had become. The Bluejays are now 4-7 and 13-11 while The Pokes are dead last in the Big12 at 2-8 and 9-14.
Then in early B1G play, the team collapsed in losses at Minnesota and Maryland and got rolled at Iowa.
And all of these results...including last year...included Isaac Copeland!
My point is that we stink. We weren't very good last year and, thus, the same players aren't very good this year, either. As fans, we willing bought a bill of goods that this team was/is talented and that they were going to finally win a game in the NCAA tourney. Looking back now, it's clear that this was all a case of extreme optimism and over-expectations.
Seven years in, the lack of talent and depth is unacceptable. Tim Miles seems like a nice man. He'd make an excellent neighbor and drinking buddy. However, he must be fired shortly after the final buzzer sounds at the B1G tourney on March 13.
We all know by now that last year's 13-5 B1G record was somewhat of a fraud based upon the fluke of scheduling. The tournament committee deemed it as such in excluding Nebraska and even the NIT committee made them a #5 seed.
However, I think many of us felt that the team was simply disrespected and this led to irrational expectations for 2018-2019.
And now, with the season in full collapse, we should also look back upon the earlier victories and revisit their significance. When you do, you'll see that 3-10 and 13-11 is about what we should have expected all along.
DONU beat Seton Hall by 23 on November 14. It looked like a great win at the time since SH was a tourney team last year. They are 5-6 in Big East, 14-9 overall and projected for the NIT.
DONU lost to Texas Tech by 18. That was supposed to be OK because TT was expected to contend for the Big12 title. They are 7-4 and 19-5.
Winning at Clemson was supposed to be a huge win because of Clemson's Sweet 16 run last year. Clem is currently 5-5, 15-8 and squarely on the bubble.
Beating Creighton by 19 and OKSt by 23 were supposed to be a sign of how good DONU had become. The Bluejays are now 4-7 and 13-11 while The Pokes are dead last in the Big12 at 2-8 and 9-14.
Then in early B1G play, the team collapsed in losses at Minnesota and Maryland and got rolled at Iowa.
And all of these results...including last year...included Isaac Copeland!
My point is that we stink. We weren't very good last year and, thus, the same players aren't very good this year, either. As fans, we willing bought a bill of goods that this team was/is talented and that they were going to finally win a game in the NCAA tourney. Looking back now, it's clear that this was all a case of extreme optimism and over-expectations.
Seven years in, the lack of talent and depth is unacceptable. Tim Miles seems like a nice man. He'd make an excellent neighbor and drinking buddy. However, he must be fired shortly after the final buzzer sounds at the B1G tourney on March 13.