Anyone who thinks that the extra rest we'd get by not playing in the final tomorrow is crazy, in my eyes. A one seed is up for grabs. A win against our cheating rivals is on the line. Pride is on the line. A potential championship is on the line. Sure, we can cite the 2015 team that managed to win the NCAAT after losing its first game in the ACCT. But that team had already sealed a number 1 seed and only had 4 losses after the ACCT loss to the Irish. This year's squad has six losses and can't afford another without missing out on a top seed. People cite UNC last year. Well, the same logic applies. UNC snagged a one seed despite losing to us in the semis. I don't see any path to a 1 seed if we don't win tonight. The 2013 team also lost its first game in the ACCT and lost a 1 seed in the process. The result? We had to play Louisville in the Elite Eight. A one seed would have helped us avoid Louisville until either the semis or the final. That Duke team was playing excellent basketball. Louisville might well have been the only team that could have beaten us that year. And if we had met Louisville on a different day in a different arena at the Final Four, who knows what would have happened? As Kedsy has noted many times, getting a one seed, regardless of where we end up, dramatically increases our chances of making the Final Four. The 2010 team probably needed to win the ACCT to secure a 1-seed. Despite a paper thin rotation, that team gutted out three wins for the ACCT, got a 1-seed in the process, and went on to win the whole thing. Who knows if that team wins it all if it ended up as a 2-seed. Our chances to make the Final Four are diminished if we don't win today. Plus, we've had games in awful environments even when we haven't been shipped to the western bracket. The 2010 team had to play Baylor in a semi-away game in Houston and then had to play what was basically a true road game to beat Butler for the title. So there's no guarantee we won't end up with a difficult match-up geographically speaking even if we stay in the East or the South.
I could MAYBE see wanting an extra day of rest if we knew for certain it would mean a perfectly healthy Wendell come next weekend. But we're not even guaranteed that. Meanwhile, WE'RE PLAYING UNCheat! Perhaps I could justify seeing the upside in a loss to Clemson, UVA or some other ACC school. But NOT to UNC. Never.
Finally, if there is any chance at all that we might be without Wendell for a few games in the NCAAT, it is waaaaay better that we get some extra games in without him now. The timing is slightly different this year, but the 2001 team steamrolled UNC in the ACC Title game and honed its Boozer-less style of play in the process. That team was even thinner without Boozer than this year's team is without Wendell (J-Will, Mike D Jr, Shane, CDu, Casey Sanders, and the original BadI'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this. Nate James were basically the entire rotation) and played a more fatiguing style (hyper-pressure MTM defense), yet they were able to recover in time to bring home Championship #3 after also winning the NCAAT. So if Wendell is going to be out or if he will play but his contributions will be limited, I want as many chances to figure out how to manage that . . . preferably by winning games at the same time.
Who needs a moral victory when you can have a real one?