I didn't see Psyllos limp off, but I wasn't at the game. I just rewatched the broadcast and Petrakis took all the draws late, but he appeared to injure his leg and hopped off the field on one leg after the last face off of the game with about 4 minutes left. Psyllos was on the sidelines for the entire 4th quarter with his helmet on and appeared to be walking ok when they panned the bench during time outs. It could be that both Phyllis and Petrakis are beat up or maybe neither.VeryRustyRed wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2024 1:20 pm Not to get way ahead of things, but.....
I'm convinced that this season will be far and away the most competitive in recent memory (other than 2019) for at-large bids in to the NCAA tournament. There are definitely multiple "good" teams that are not going to make it. For example, Syracuse who was #4 prior to losing to Cornell will be really close unless they win the brutal ACC. Army, as high as #1 at some point and still relatively highly ranked better win the Patriot or I don't think they make it - they have a very low SOS. After this weekend, Michigan is out. And the Ivies could have as few as two in (the AQ and 1 at-large). My guess is that both Georgetown and Denver both get in.
So what does this mean for Cornell?
-Needless to say, I hope they beat ND this Sunday. But assuming they don't, unless they beat Harvard...OR win the Ivy League Tournament, I think they are out. No way will they get an at-large with 6 losses (3 current losses, ND, an ILT loss + the Harvard game). Harvard is legit this year under Byrne. And they may be a more difficult (personnel) match-up than any of Cornell's previous Ivy opponents. I think it's huge that the Cornell-Harvard game is at Schoellkopf.
-So here is a controversial thought: Anyone attending the Cornell-Brown game could see that by the 4th quarter, Psyllos was really beat up. Limped off the field and Petrakis took the remaining FOs. If he's not a medical scratch and is "all in" about playing vs. Notre Dame, would Coach B consider sitting him on Sunday, to maximize his recovery for the Harvard game? Something to think about.
LGR
I agree that Cornell likely can't lose to ND and Harvard and make the tourney without winning the ILT. On the other hand, with wins over Harvard and Dartmouth and a 1st round ILT win, they are likely in. That is why the hosing in the Denver game was and is still so maddening to me. A win in that game and Cornell is a top 5 team and would be on the verge of clinching a spot in the tourney soon.
As it stands, I don't see much difference in teams 3 through 13 or so in the rankings. They all have some top 5-20 wins and losses. That means Cornell is likely to get screwed in favor of some ACC or B10 school as in the past based on the ever present biases in favor of those leagues. This is especially true now that we are at the end of the season and most remaining games are in conference. Is Duke's resume really worthy of a 4 ranking now? How is it better than teams 5-12? Cornell has had some bad luck with other games, such as Penn State losing to Maryland and Hopkins. It hurts the RPI. I have a feeling we are going to hear discussions about "good losses" in early May.....again.
