BTT

[boilernuke]

Last year going into the BTT I was ok if Purdue would have bowed out early to rest for the NCAAs and already with a Big Ten title in hand. Never want the Boilers to lose, but i was ok with a BTT early loss. This year, not collecting a title and perhaps little less expectations with NCAAs, I'm really pulling for the Boilers to grab a BTT title. Would be a great consolation prize and perhaps help a little with seeding (maybe the last game doesn't help mu h with seeding due to timing, but if they are playing in the championship game, might as well win it). Am I alone in this thinking?

 

[BBG]

Full disclosure: I've always hated the BTT ... You go through this thing and then have to turn right around and head for the NCAAT ... to me it just seems detrimental and I think has caused the conference as a whole some issue in the past when there were a ton of early exits. The B1G tends to beat up on one another like no other conference.

That being said..

 

[Chi-Boiler]

Last year going into the BTT I was ok if Purdue would have bowed out early to rest for the NCAAs and already with a Big Ten title in hand. Never want the Boilers to lose, but i was ok with a BTT early loss. This year, not collecting a title and perhaps little less expectations with NCAAs, I'm really pulling for the Boilers to grab a BTT title. Would be a great consolation prize and perhaps help a little with seeding (maybe the last game doesn't help mu h with seeding due to timing, but if they are playing in the championship game, might as well win it). Am I alone in this thinking?

I think we'd all LIKE to see them win the BTT. Of course. How could we think otherwise, right? And I agree with you that without the regular season title, being able to hang a banner for a BTT championship would ease that pain. But grand scheme of things, I'd like to get right from 1 to 9 and get prepped for the week after. The conference tournaments, in the bigger leagues anyway, just don't mean what they used to. It's all about the NCAA Tournament to me. In this era when the big conferences keep controlling more and more of the pie, we know that you don't have to be that high in the conference to make the NCAAs in the first place. The mids, the smalls, ok there it's important.

 

[Smokestack91]

If Braden has to play 38-40 minutes a game, I don't see how we can win 4 days in a row. I think it would be best to go in with a plan to play Braden 28-30 minutes and let the chips fall where they may. It would also be good experience for CJ/Gicarri to run the show.

 

[rgarlitz]

Full disclosure: I've always hated the BTT ... You go through this thing and then have to turn right around and head for the NCAAT ... to me it just seems detrimental and I think has caused the conference as a whole some issue in the past when there were a ton of early exits. The B1G tends to beat up on one another like no other conference.

That being said..

Interesting that you mention the B1G Tournament possibly contributing to early NCAA exits. I remember hearing the exact opposite argument back in the mid-90s when the B1G was one of the few remaining leagues without a tournament (the Pac10 was another holdout, if I recall). Anyway, the prevailing argument 30 years ago was that B1G teams would benefit from a single-elimination event before the NCAA Tournament.

As for this year's tournament: I agree with the OP. Purdue could use some positive momentum going into the NCAA Tournament

 

[PaBoiler78]

Full disclosure: I've always hated the BTT ... You go through this thing and then have to turn right around and head for the NCAAT ... to me it just seems detrimental and I think has caused the conference as a whole some issue in the past when there were a ton of early exits. The B1G tends to beat up on one another like no other conference.

That being said..

agree

 

[DrEss]

I would have to believe the players, and especially the big 3, want to win the BTT this year, to somewhat “make up in their minds”, for the regular season’s missteps.

I agree with planning to scale back BS’s minutes, amap. That said, I kind of like their tournament path of potential competition. I hope they can get to the Final game and win it, more-so, for them.

Re: the NCAA tournament, a Sweet 16 is what I hope for and expect, unless we have a terrible round of 32 matchup. Anything better than that would certainly be gravy.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

I am for rest, injury-risk free basketball, and a nod to the late Gene Hackman on Thursday. Painter ought to send out

Rayl
Waddell
Berg
J. Furst
King

Should any of those horrible B1G refs or commissioner's office sleazeballs look askance at Painter, he can declare "My team is on the floor."

 

[Schnelk]

I am for rest, injury-risk free basketball, and a nod to the late Gene Hackman on Thursday. Painter ought to send out

Rayl
Waddell
Berg
J. Furst
King

Should any of those horrible B1G refs or commissioner's office sleazeballs look askance at Painter, he can declare "My team is on the floor."

Lusk as the 6th man!

 

[tjreese]

If Braden has to play 38-40 minutes a game, I don't see how we can win 4 days in a row. I think it would be best to go in with a plan to play Braden 28-30 minutes and let the chips fall where they may. It would also be good experience for CJ/Gicarri to run the show.

I'm not sure Matt would be comfortable with only 30 minutes, but I agree with the intent...maybe 34. CJ and Giccari are NOT Braden, but think they are pretty good. Similar could be said for Trey and so you need to steal a few minutes each half preferably in the middle of each half where you do use some clock, but team on floor uses energy on O and D to buy time. Trey and Braden at start and finish of each half with small break timed with TV timeout, but ready to go in if rest is only a minutes...and then try it again in the middle of each half. One problem is if Trey is out...who scores inside or can we get perimeter players going to basket more?