Things to be interested in as Northwestern plays Iowa

by Rodger Sherman on Feb 16, 2011 10:12 PM CST in Northwestern Wildcats Basketball

It's tough to get motivated, but alas, we must. Northwestern fans just got over the cognitive dissonance hump between being fans of a mediocre team and being convinced that that team was NCAA Tournament bound, now, we've presumably gone through all the stages of grief - I believe they're denial, bargaining, and FIRE BILL CARMODY - we have to remotivate ourselves, because, after all, we're not just going to sit here and NOT watch Northwestern basketball, knowing that there's... well, 10 months until relevant Northwestern basketball again.

So: I've provided reasons to want to pay attention, besides the obvious reason 0) You're a Northwestern fan. BECAUSE IT BEATS DOING A PREVIEW

1.Because some postseason is better than no postseason: NU has work to do to make the NIT. We're not proud of the NIT anymore, but it's better than nothing. But they'll need a strong finish to get there, and without beating Iowa tonight, it'll be near impossible. Which leads me to my second point...

2. Because we don't want to find out whether NU will accept a bid to the CBI. Good Jesus, I hope they won't, if given the opportunity.

3. Monitoring JerShon Cobb: If you ask me, he's been NU's best player as of late. I'd like to see some more progress from the freshman as we progress towards life without Michael Thompson - yes, they play different positions, but as of now, Thompson is the only guy who seems capable of creating his own shot against a Big Ten defender, and Cobb has shown signs off the dribble as of late. He'll need to gain some confidence and grow into his role as a third scorer next year. He's also been NU's best on-ball defender, but that's besides the point.

4. Just like football: How often do we get to do that? Rarely. NU has the chance for the clean football-basketball sweep over our black-hearted, gold-pantsed neighbors to the... uh... west, right? Being from New York, the Midwest still fully confuses me. You hear that? SCREW YOU, MINNESOTA.

5. John Shurna's quest to finish the year shooting above .500 from three: He's now slipped to .495. Iowa is not noted for its perimeter defense. C'mon, Johnny. Make history by setting the best record for a concussed 3-point shooter.

6. Bill Carmody's body language: It's the only sign of a good coach, according to people who aren't me.

7. DM. Ever consider the reason NU hasn't fired Bill Carmody yet is because he pledged to donate $1000 to whichever group brought the most dancers to tonight's game? Just a theory. Tavaras Hardy never said he'd pay anything.

8. Because if NU wins out, they'll be 9-9 in conference. Just joking.

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CBI

Northwestern basketball, with its inept history, is in no position to decline an invitation to a post-season tournament, no matter how little prestige that tournament carries.

I equate it to a virgin dude being offered a servicing by an uncomely young lass. Yes, it’s nothing anywhere close to your eventual goal. Yes, your friends are going to make fun of you. And yes, the whole experience will leave you humiliated and feeling dirty. But it’s a heck of a lot better than spending the night alone, and in the end, it gives you experience that could come in handy down the road.

by Loretta8 on Feb 16, 2011 10:25 PM CST reply actions

Some analogies are perfect. This is one of them.

I've got the brains. You've got the looks. Let's make lots of money.

by ckmneon on Feb 17, 2011 2:49 AM CST up reply actions

actually, not quite...

allow me to go into as much detail as i can considering i’m not going to refer in detail to various sexual acts since i’m using my government name as a handle. what you’re missing is that there are degrees of postseason play, and they’re not all the same.
the problem with your analogy is that here, our boy still makes it. no, it’s not the ideal situation, but it seems to me a lot like what happened is that he made the ncaa tournament, but got blown out by 30 in his first round. sure, his more experienced friends will make fun of him, but he’ll still know that he got in, pun intended. he made it to the tourney, crossed the finish line, nobody can take that away from him. that’s what we want as nu fans.
the nit let’s say our boy is with a girl, and he tries to go all the way, but gets thrown out – the girl isn’t down. instead, he offers they do another, still relatively enjoyable thing – not gonna explicitly say it, but i will say if 4-9 nu wins tonight and their next game, the nit committee will be like "hey, nu is 6 and 9! we should let them in our tourney! – that’s like the nit. still postseason play, but not the full deal.
let’s say he gets turned down for that. instead, she offers that she perform a relatively unenjoyable sexual act/postseason tournament – you know, the type that you could do by yourself sitting at home in mid-march rather than accepting the bid to the cbi. i’m of the mind to turn it down. yeah, you’re still a virgin, but, i mean, come on, this tournament has no idea what she’s doing and the whole ordeal is just kind of awkward. some might accept it and act like they’re enjoying it, but deep down inside, they’re not.

i thought about this for like a half hour, so, boom.

by Rodger Sherman on Feb 17, 2011 10:37 AM CST up reply actions

well done

by firebillcarmody on Feb 17, 2011 10:53 AM CST up reply actions

hahahaha

fantastic

by Loretta8 on Feb 17, 2011 11:02 AM CST up reply actions

although i will clarify

by “servicing”, i was referring to the act that you say could be done by yourself at home. the fictional virgin is by no means getting it in in my analogy.

by Loretta8 on Feb 17, 2011 11:04 AM CST up reply actions

great minds think alike

!!!
by which i mean two men on the internet both simultaneously compared the same semi-enjoyable sexual activity to the same unattractive college basketball tournament without consulting each other first. great work, loretta

by Rodger Sherman on Feb 17, 2011 11:19 AM CST up reply actions

so who is right?

you both compared the same semi-enjoyable sexual activity to the same unattractive college basketball tournament and yet came up with two different conclusions. now what?

basically “something better than nothing” vs. “too awkward and not worth it”

by firebillcarmody on Feb 17, 2011 12:34 PM CST up reply actions

i think the different conclusions

stem from the difference between how long we’ve followed the team. The first 9 years I followed NU basketball, they never made it to any postseason tournament, whereas theyve made the NIT the majority of the years Rodger’s been following them.

Essentially, I’m more desperate.

by Loretta8 on Feb 17, 2011 1:56 PM CST up reply actions

basically

there has to be something special about a cbi bid to make it worth it. for example, if you’re an 8th grader in a movie theater, its totally worth it. but normally, you should go nit bid or bust. its just not worth it.

by Rodger Sherman on Feb 17, 2011 2:43 PM CST up reply actions

Brilliant thread

I feel bad for anyone that forgets to read the comments!

by GoCats!!! on Feb 17, 2011 4:34 PM CST up reply actions

So many things right.

I must admit, there are games when I miss entire possessions because I’m watching BC stomp up and down the sideline, finally spitting what I can only be some complaint to Curletti (or Mirkovic) and Pelusic about Mirkovic (or Curletti), storming away, plopping in his chair and doing the really quick cross-legs-gesture-furiously-put-head-in-hand. Really, it’s a classic.

If we do win this, I can’t wait to go read BHGP. They were recently giving their two cents on the Northwestern-Nebraska “NU” conflict, and the “jNW” moniker was bandied about wantonly again. Beating them will just never get old.

As for your geography quip? As a Minnesotan, I just disagree. But I understand.

by MNWildcat on Feb 16, 2011 11:46 PM CST reply actions