Ugly win over Minnesota Saturday but it counts the same in the standings. It's good to have won over 2/3 of our games and be back to .500 in the Big Ten. I'd say we're at the point now where we have a >50% chance of making the NCAAs. Our RPI actually dropped to 44, so I guess we're still right in the middle of the bubble (RPI 40-50). I feel comfortable asserting that Illinois will beat any team with a >125 RPI on the road and a >50 RPI at AH. I'm also sad to say that I expect Illinois to lose to any team with a <20 RPI at AH and a <75 RPI on the road. That gives us 4 automatic wins (@NW (145), NW (145), Michigan (56), @PSU (200)) and 1 automatic loss (@Indiana (18)) in the remaining schedule and puts us at 9-6 in the Big Ten. That leaves 1 "swing" game:
3/3 @Iowa (85)
What we've seen is that Michigan is getting a lot worse while Iowa seems to be improving rapidly. The game at Iowa is looking a lot tougher than I originally expected. I feel better about our chances at getting in with a 9-7 record and a win in the Big Ten Tournament. In future editions of NCAA Quest I will start to take a closer look at how the Big Ten is shaking out and what we'll be up against in the Big Ten Tournament.
I'd also like to announce that I purchased a plane ticket to Chicago for 3/9-3/12 so I am planning on attending the BTT. I don't have tickets left so if there are Illini fans out there with extras, please let me know.
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