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Post by motorcitysam on Feb 26, 2018 23:26:32 GMT -5
Lindy's Preview predicts the 2017-18 Big Ten this way: MSU NW Minnesota Purdue Michigan Maryland Wisconsin Iowa OSU PSU Illinois Indiana Rutgers Nebraska No surprise that the Spartans are ranked that high, but the high rankings of Minnesota and Northwestern give an indication of another down year for traditional Big Ten standouts such as Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio State. Nebraska is expected to continue finding their level after a surprise NCAA tournament bid a few years ago. I won't mind seeing Nebraska finish in last place; their head coach made an unprofessional crack about Tubby Smith on social media last year and, as anyone who knows me can tell you, I can hold a grudge forever. www.btpowerhouse.com/2017/9/6/16257940/65-days-big-ten-basketball-lindys-preseason-conference-ncaa-predictions-michigan-state-spartansIt's interesting to take a look at the Big Ten Standings as the regular season has drawn to a close. MSU won the conference, as many expected, and set a record for most regular season wins by a Spartan team. However, Northwestern and Minnesota, picked by Lindy's to finish second and third, dramatically failed to meet expectations, finishing tenth and eleventh. Injuries played a role in the Gophers demise, as did the fifth player loss to sexual misconduct allegations of the Pitino era. The Wildcats demise was more puzzling, as they didn't have the excuse of mass player absences to fall back on. It was a down year for many of the normal contenders, with Maryland, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin all finding themselves in the bottom half of the standings. Nebraska managed to take advantage of that, finishing in fifth place at 22-9, 13-5. Michigan finished in fourth place. Stat that surprised me: In Coach John B's 11 years at Michigan, this is only the third time he has finished the regular season with single digit losses. www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/conferences/standings/_/id/7/big-ten-conference
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Post by motorcitysam on Feb 26, 2018 23:39:30 GMT -5
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 1, 2018 12:18:06 GMT -5
Seriously, why is the Big Ten tournament in New York. I know the answer is obviously MONEY, but does the conference make that much more money in New York than they would at a more centrally located venue like Indianapolis or Chicago? Is a New York venue simply a concession to teams like Rutgers and Maryland?
The question came to my mind as I was watching the lead up to today's Big Ten tourney action and a Big Ten shill was railing against fans who were questioning the tourney being in New York. Per the shill, the move to New York was strictly to benefit the players, because they get the experience of playing in Madison Square Garden. Okay...
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 1, 2018 18:29:21 GMT -5
Seriously, why is the Big Ten tournament in New York. I know the answer is obviously MONEY, but does the conference make that much more money in New York than they would at a more centrally located venue like Indianapolis or Chicago? Is a New York venue simply a concession to teams like Rutgers and Maryland? The question came to my mind as I was watching the lead up to today's Big Ten tourney action and a Big Ten shill was railing against fans who were questioning the tourney being in New York. Per the shill, the move to New York was strictly to benefit the players, because they get the experience of playing in Madison Square Garden. Okay... The Big Ten tournament will be in Chicago and Indianapolis the next two seasons. Michigan's play by play announcer was campaigning for Detroit and Little Caesar's Arena to get a shot hosting during the radio broadcast of Michigan's win today.
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 1, 2018 22:18:17 GMT -5
Northwestern ends the season with seven straight losses and finishes at 15-17, 6-12. Last year saw them make the NCAA tournament for the first time and expectation were high. Along with Minnesota and a few other squads, NW is one of the most disappointing teams in the nation this season. www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401020034
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Post by motorcitysam on Apr 7, 2018 17:46:58 GMT -5
The conference got a boost from Michigan's run to the NCAA championship game, but overall it was a disappointing season for the Big 14. Michigan State won the regular season championship, but surprisingly lost to Syracuse in the NCAA tournament. Purdue was hot early and got hot late, but a key injury helped bounce them out of the Big Dance. Ohio State was better than expected, going 25-9, but also didn't make it past the first weekend of the tournament.
Nebraska had a good won/loss record, but didn't make the NCAAs and got dropped in the first round of the NIT. Usually solid programs like Iowa and Wisconsin finished under .500 in conference and overall. Illinois and Rutgers continued to struggle. Maryland and IU were stuck in the middle of the pack. Trendy picks Northwestern and Minnesota, both of whom were picked in the preseason top twenty by some publications, crashed and burned like the Hindenbug.
On the plus side, Penn State won the NIT.
All in all, the conference needs a bounce back season in 2018-19.
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Post by motorcitysam on Apr 30, 2018 22:28:19 GMT -5
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Post by motorcitysam on May 4, 2018 19:56:09 GMT -5
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Post by motorcitysam on May 5, 2018 18:16:12 GMT -5
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Post by udballer on May 6, 2018 11:00:24 GMT -5
They're both just treading water until the Buckeyes regain conference dominance. ๐
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Post by motorcitysam on May 6, 2018 16:44:58 GMT -5
They're both just treading water until the Buckeyes regain conference dominance. ๐ The future is bright for the Buckeyes. I think Chris Holtzman is a very good coach, and he has recruited at a high level already for OSU. Their class of 2018 has a couple of ESPN top 100 players and a couple of other four stars. And last month they got a verbal commitment from Alonzo Gaffney in the class of 2019. www.espn.com/colleges/basketball/recruiting/school/_/id/194/class/2018I might have to try to get up to Crisler for a game this season.
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Post by motorcitysam on May 6, 2018 20:00:18 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2018 22:14:25 GMT -5
If MSU does lose all three declarers to the draft as the article projects, I don't think they finish second, but rather probably closer to fourth, maybe third. Nebraska returns a ton and has good home court advantage, but I can't put that sort of faith in Tim Miles yet. Purdue lose a lot but I really like them still, maybe not top tier but in that fifth or sixth spot. OSU I think is going to have a bit of a comedown year but they'll be DANGEROUS in 2019-20 especially with Gaffney. Also this list was written before Langford announced so IU will definitely jump up. The bottom half of this conference feels impossible to predict. I think Rutgers will FINALLY move out from last place but who drops down I'm not sure. I think Iowa hinges on Cook and/or Moss coming back, Northwestern's recruits help them immediately, I find it hard to believe that Minnesota could be worse last year even without Mason, so I guess that leaves Illinois? But they have Ayo Dosunmu coming in too. In conclusion, the Big Ten is a mess. I think depth wise it's better than last year, but in terms of top tier teams it might be just as weak. I could see only four or five bids once again. As for my Wolverines? Well, I'd rather not risk a jinx on them.
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Post by motorcitysam on May 7, 2018 16:51:57 GMT -5
If MSU does lose all three declarers to the draft as the article projects, I don't think they finish second, but rather probably closer to fourth, maybe third. Nebraska returns a ton and has good home court advantage, but I can't put that sort of faith in Tim Miles yet. Purdue lose a lot but I really like them still, maybe not top tier but in that fifth or sixth spot. OSU I think is going to have a bit of a comedown year but they'll be DANGEROUS in 2019-20 especially with Gaffney. Also this list was written before Langford announced so IU will definitely jump up. The bottom half of this conference feels impossible to predict. I think Rutgers will FINALLY move out from last place but who drops down I'm not sure. I think Iowa hinges on Cook and/or Moss coming back, Northwestern's recruits help them immediately, I find it hard to believe that Minnesota could be worse last year even without Mason, so I guess that leaves Illinois? But they have Ayo Dosunmu coming in too. In conclusion, the Big Ten is a mess. I think depth wise it's better than last year, but in terms of top tier teams it might be just as weak. I could see only four or five bids once again. As for my Wolverines? Well, I'd rather not risk a jinx on them. I think Nick Ward comes back for Michigan State, but that's just a guess. I doubt he is getting much in the way of objective encouragement to go pro. I have no faith in Tim Miles, and I expect Nebraska to take a tumble this season. Generally, I agree with your overall point: The Big Ten is kind of a mess.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2018 19:55:50 GMT -5
If MSU does lose all three declarers to the draft as the article projects, I don't think they finish second, but rather probably closer to fourth, maybe third. Nebraska returns a ton and has good home court advantage, but I can't put that sort of faith in Tim Miles yet. Purdue lose a lot but I really like them still, maybe not top tier but in that fifth or sixth spot. OSU I think is going to have a bit of a comedown year but they'll be DANGEROUS in 2019-20 especially with Gaffney. Also this list was written before Langford announced so IU will definitely jump up. The bottom half of this conference feels impossible to predict. I think Rutgers will FINALLY move out from last place but who drops down I'm not sure. I think Iowa hinges on Cook and/or Moss coming back, Northwestern's recruits help them immediately, I find it hard to believe that Minnesota could be worse last year even without Mason, so I guess that leaves Illinois? But they have Ayo Dosunmu coming in too. In conclusion, the Big Ten is a mess. I think depth wise it's better than last year, but in terms of top tier teams it might be just as weak. I could see only four or five bids once again. As for my Wolverines? Well, I'd rather not risk a jinx on them. I think Nick Ward comes back for Michigan State, but that's just a guess. I doubt he is getting much in the way of objective encouragement to go pro. I have no faith in Tim Miles, and I expect Nebraska to take a tumble this season. Generally, I agree with your overall point: The Big Ten is kind of a mess. I agree on Ward, I'd be surprised if he declares. I also agree on Nebraska, but man, that team just has so much talent. If Miles can't do something with this team this year I think he's gotta go.
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