It’s not likely. Chicago sits at 7-13 right now, with 10 (scheduled) games remaining.

With Chicago States “inverted” independent schedule, there are 3 non D1 home games still to play.

Opponent Location NET
Oklahoma State A 137
UTEP A 249
Fairleigh Dickinson A 319
Stetson A 205
East-West H -
St Xavier H -
Duquesne A 80
South Carolina State A 331
Eastern Kentucky A 318
Indiana-Northwest H -

By the ratings, if Chicago takes care of business against lower rated teams, they should finish around 13-17.

Stetson is 205 NET, but Chicago has already beaten them earlier in the season by around 20. It’s conceivable CSU could also beat them on the road.

There is a possibility of a couple added games in the Cougars schedule, including one more allowed non D1 game.

A minor upset over, say UTEP along with an added game or 2, and finishing over .500 is a realistic possibility for this squad. Teams that are only a game or two over .500 regularly make some of the lower post season tournaments like the CBI/CIT.

It’s crazy to think, and it may not be likely to happen, but it’s nice to think about as a distant possibility at this late stage of the season.

At least it gives us something to play for, even if it is only an outside chance.

Some who may cruise by here and read, but don’t follow lower level teams much might kind of chuckle that I’m even here talking about a post season possibility for a team like Chicago State. On the surface, I get that.

First, as I stated above, any talk is based on them getting some more wins and reaching .500, which as I showed above, is a possibility.

But I ran across a really interesting article that gave me some good insights. (Thanks to dbackjon for posting it in another forum) A Cougar opponent both last season and this season, Southern Indiana made the CBI last season with a 16-16 record and a 285 NET ranking. So now I am actually sure it’s realistic. That is likely right in the neighborhood of where Chicago State might finish.

https://www.courierpress.com/story/sport...677206007/

Why would tournaments select a team like that? In USI’s case, they aren’t eligible for the NCAA tourney yet due to their transition status, but I feel like Chicago could get a similar treatment by playing as an Indy still.

I think we saw that in this years Volleyabll squad getting a post season selection. It’s not pity, but a certain level respect the selection committee and other coaches and AD’s everywhere have for how hard it is being independent and still putting together a decent season. And being second chance tournaments anyway, they do have a bit of a mission to help give their selectees a bit of a boost.

(01-05-2024 01:18 AM)Todor Wrote:  Why would tournaments select a team like that?

I figure that except in the case of the NCAA where everything is pretty much locked in, it comes down to economic$.

Hopefully we can get Cardet playing within the team as opposed to an individual for the rest of the year. If so, then they have a legit shot of finishing .500. But when he goes 5-20, jacking up contested threes and trying to drive with no real path.. it flat out hurts the team.

(01-06-2024 07:16 PM)joshadam84 Wrote:  Hopefully we can get Cardet playing within the team as opposed to an individual for the rest of the year. If so, then they have a legit shot of finishing .500. But when he goes 5-20, jacking up contested threes and trying to drive with no real path.. it flat out hurts the team.

I think we are seeing that trend develop. The offense actually looked pretty good against Kansas State. And much of the game versus Oklahoma State.

The catch is, K State wasn’t really playing too well in most of that game. And Oklahoma was playing with a big lead nearly all of that game, so those may not be perfect examples. However, they are both decent, high levels squads, so I still take it as a very good sign that the offense was showing a marked improvement against those level of teams.

I think the trend is going to continue to develop for the Cougars the rest of this season. Cardet getting better defense played on him versus OK State and essentially being shut down could be a good a thing. Not only because he may learn something, the coach can obviously notice difference, and the the rest of the team sees that they don’t have to depend on him for everything and can run things pretty well even if he isn’t scoring at all.

The teams have shown some good improvements lately. If they maintain those and continue to improve, there are are opportunities for this team to get some good wins.

Ok, the team is now 9-15, 289 in the NET pending a bump from beating Stetson, NET 183, on the road. 6 scheduled games remain.

3 non D1 home games

And 3 road games-
Duquesne- NET 80
Eastern Kentucky- 231
South Carolina State- 335

Looking at Duquesne, they are a team Chicago State can beat. Looking at their top 100 NET ranking, that looks pretty good. But they have lost their last 4 games against D1 teams, are at the bottom of the A10, facing a lot more losses, and likely to be struggling when they host the Cougars.

Eastern Kentucky, they are a team whose NET rose dramatically to (231) after playing and getting blown out by Purdue and Alabama. They have won 4 straight now that they are in ASun play, but looking at who they have played, they are not a very good team by any stretch. Until January 4, they had only beaten 1 D1 team. Think about that.

South Carolina State is the classic trap game. They are 4-14, with only 2 D1 wins, NET 335 right now. But honestly, when I saw them versus Oklahoma State, they played pretty well and stayed in the game. They didn’t look that bad.


Win those 6 games, and Chicago State would be 15-15. Add a fourth non D1 game, which I think is likely, and the Cougars could still finish above .500. That would be such a huge accomplishment.

And even if they can’t win all of their remaining D1 games, winning most of them would mean the Cougars will have more wins than they have had since 2009 when the team finished 19-13 and had the last winning record for the program.

(01-16-2024 05:34 AM)Todor Wrote:  And even if they can’t win all of their remaining D1 games, winning most of them would mean the Cougars will have more wins than they have had since 2009 when the team finished 19-13 and had the last winning record for the program.

With no seniors on the roster.