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Post by agibson on Nov 30, 2010 8:00:24 GMT -5
I'm amazed at how quickly Butler's beat writer, David Woods, seems to have soured on the team. He talks about how they should now focus on the Horizon League schedule, seems to say they have almost no chance at an at-large, that it's almost impossible they'll be nationally ranked again this year, etc.
He seems to have soured on Butler almost more quickly than the national media.
Nored's apparently out again for the Loyola game. Wednesday's game is surely a big chance for Loyola.
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Post by stlvufan on Nov 30, 2010 23:05:32 GMT -5
I'm amazed at how quickly Butler's beat writer, David Woods, seems to have soured on the team. He talks about how they should now focus on the Horizon League schedule, seems to say they have almost no chance at an at-large, that it's almost impossible they'll be nationally ranked again this year, etc. He seems to have soured on Butler almost more quickly than the national media. Nored's apparently out again for the Loyola game. Wednesday's game is surely a big chance for Loyola. I thought it was a measured response to a season so far that is -- I'm guessing -- leading to major trauma over on the Butler board. He's basically saying what has always been true, really of any ranked team, not just a mid-major ranked team: the margin of error is slim before you are fall back a bit. Personally, I suspect that Butler is still the #1 team in the HL, it's just that there's every reason to believe the difference between them and the #2 spot is a lot smaller than it was last year. It might be just as slim as it was 2 years ago or 3 years ago, but I would still expect the auto-bid to be awarded at Hinkle Fieldhouse this coming March. I'm thinking Woods would say the same. On the other hand, you lose to Evansville at home and your chances of an at-large bid take a significant hit, there's no question about it. They might be much better by the end of February, but because they got blown out of Louisville and blew a 12-pt lead at home, their resume is already suspect -- that's how fragile this stuff is with the selection committee. Maybe it *is* somewhat more pronounced for a mid-major, I don't know.
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