tOfficial B1G basketball thread.

[dcZONAfan]

I'm fine with no permanent injuries...substantive minutes for benchers...and ignoring poll slides/rises for the next four weeks. and...

while it'd be just swell (although highly unlikely, imo) if my team goes on to cop a #1 seed?
to tell the truth, I don't really give a damn about that either. just...

as long as my team's got what I think it's got - and has it come the Dance...they'll be cutting net in Texas.

hope to see yall there too!

challenge accepted

 

[Smart]

Hey Bucky......the big boys are talking go back to the kids table

You realize I've seen Wisconsin beat Michigan in person more times in the last four years than Michigan has beaten us in the last 15 years. Other than last year, when you had a once-in-a-decade talent at point guard, you've won three NCAA tourney games in the last 20 years.

I'll take being a Wisconsin fan, thank you very much.

 

[H2S]

the state of STATE...

~ Senior Adreian Payne has missed 5 games now with planar fasciitis...won't play Iowa nor Georgetown...not expected back until 06FEB vs PSU...will be pins and needles until he returns and, especially AFTER he returns...
~ Junior Branden ('hand job') Dawson has missed the first of the next 8>10 games (iow: the rest of the fuckn season)...what he'll be come tourney time is a matter of speculation...
~ Senior Keith Appling is playing with an ongoing aggravated sprained wrist and back pains...G2G
~ Sophomore Gary Harris, while spectacular, is playing through omnipresent ankle/shoulder pains...G2G
~ Sophomore Denzel Valentine shows a little Magic, a little Draymond and a little Mateen in his play...kid's fun to watch (when he's not showboating.)

meanwhile, back on the bench...

Travis Trice has a sweet 3 and handles well; Alvin Ellis will likely be PG next year; Kenny Kaminski & Russell Byrd need minutes (both are sharpshooters first...messy otherwise); Gavin Shilling, Matt Costello and Alex Gauna are interchangeable 6'9" trees who will also benefit from Payne's & Dawson's minutes.

11 games left...the optimist in me says they'll go 8-3 (yall can fight about which 3 games we lose.)

 

[rmilia1]

~ Senior Adreian Payne has missed 5 games now with planar fasciitis...won't play Iowa nor Georgetown...not expected back until 06FEB vs PSU...will be pins and needles until he returns and, especially AFTER he returns...
~ Junior Branden ('hand job') Dawson has missed the first of the next 8>10 games (iow: the rest of the fuckn season)...what he'll be come tourney time is a matter of speculation...
~ Senior Keith Appling is playing with an ongoing aggravated sprained wrist and back pains...G2G
~ Sophomore Gary Harris, while spectacular, is playing through omnipresent ankle/shoulder pains...G2G
~ Sophomore Denzel Valentine shows a little Magic, a little Draymond and a little Mateen in his play...kid's fun to watch (when he's not showboating.)

meanwhile, back on the bench...

Travis Trice has a sweet 3 and handles well; Alvin Ellis will likely be PG next year; Kenny Kaminski & Russell Byrd need minutes (both are sharpshooters first...messy otherwise); Gavin Shilling, Matt Costello and Alex Gauna are interchangeable 6'9" trees who will also benefit from Payne's & Dawson's minutes.

11 games left...the optimist in me says they'll go 8-3 (yall can fight about which 3 games we lose.)

I said at the start of the year 14-4 would win the B10. Im still leaning that way but with Michigan already winning in Madison and East Lansing its hard to find 4 more losses on their schedule IMO.

 

[H2S]

I said at the start of the year 14-4 would win the B10. Im still leaning that way but with Michigan already winning in Madison and East Lansing its hard to find 4 more losses on their schedule IMO.

I know what you're saying...and I know it means a lot to most fans to see their team come out on top at the end of the regular season...even more so to win the conference tourney. I'm not one of them.

I hate the conference tourney...it's unnecessary, purely commercial and sometimes ruinous to teams that, otherwise, should be preparing for the Dance. It's like running a charity marathon days before competing in the Olympics...stupid.

 

[rmilia1]

I know what you're saying...and I know it means a lot to most fans to see their team come out on top at the end of the regular season...even more so to win the conference tourney. I'm not one of them.

I hate the conference tourney...it's unnecessary, purely commercial and sometimes ruinous to teams that, otherwise, should be preparing for the Dance. It's like running a charity marathon days before competing in the Olympics...stupid.

I wish my team won the B10 enough that I wouldnt care about winning it LOL. Alas when you win it once every 20 years it is important to us. At least we have a few conference tourney titles in the last decade I guess.

 

[H2S]

there's a point in this mess somewhere...

I wish my team won the B10 enough that I wouldnt care about winning it LOL. Alas when you win it once every 20 years it is important to us. At least we have a few conference tourney titles in the last decade I guess.

In the last 15 years, MSU only has 1 more B1G Title than Iowa does (3-2)...but 11 more Dance Appearances (15-4); and the four best MSU Dance showings (after the Natty in 2000) all came following early outs in the B1G Tournament - imo, giving them more time to prepare for what really mattered.

Year / B1GChamp / postseasonMSU / psIOWA / psOSU

2013 / OSU / S16 / NIT / E8 (MICH lost to WIS in the B1G quarterfinal round...ended RunnerUpNC)
2012 / MSU / S16 / NIT / FF
2011 / OSU / 1st / - / S16
2010 / OSU / FF / - / S16 (MSU lost to MINN in the B1G qf round)
2009 / PUR / RunnerUpNC / - / 1st (MSU lost to OSU in the B1G semifinal round)
2008 / WIS / S16 / - / NIT
2007 / OSU / 2nd / - / RunnerUpNC
2006 / IOWA / 1st / 1st / 2nd
2005 / ILL / FF / 1st / - (MSU lost to IOWA in the B1G qf round)
2004 / WIS / 1st / NIT / -
2003 / ILL / E8 / NIT / -
2002 / OSU / 1st / NIT / 2nd
2001 / IOWA / FF / 2nd / 1st (MSU lost to PSU in the B1G qf round)
2000 / MSU / NC / - / 2nd
1999 / MSU / FF / S16 / E8

 

[wiskyisgood12]

So, I was thinking about this yesterday, and I kind of wanted to get other people's thoughts. The Big Ten is considered one of the best basketball conferences, and is considered one of the worst football conferences. What are conference basketball teams doing that football teams aren't? At first I was thinking, is it non-conference scheduling, but the differences between basketball and football non-conference schedules are huge and probably shouldn't be compared. Is the recruiting from basketball to football significantly better? I don't know, maybe. I don't think it's significantly better. Is the coaching better? Again, I don't think it's significantly better.

I open it up to you guys, why is Big Ten basketball better than Big Ten football. Maybe this should be it's own thread. I'm just curious as to what the conference can or should look at that Big Ten basketball does to make it so good that the conference needs to look at with football.

 

[rmilia1]

So, I was thinking about this yesterday, and I kind of wanted to get other people's thoughts. The Big Ten is considered one of the best basketball conferences, and is considered one of the worst football conferences. What are conference basketball teams doing that football teams aren't? At first I was thinking, is it non-conference scheduling, but the differences between basketball and football non-conference schedules are huge and probably shouldn't be compared. Is the recruiting from basketball to football significantly better? I don't know, maybe. I don't think it's significantly better. Is the coaching better? Again, I don't think it's significantly better.

I open it up to you guys, why is Big Ten basketball better than Big Ten football. Maybe this should be it's own thread. I'm just curious as to what the conference can or should look at that Big Ten basketball does to make it so good that the conference needs to look at with football.

Well A) Its cyclical. For quite some time the B10 was considered one of the best CFB leagues and seen as a mediocre basketball league aside from a few teams. Hell as recently as 2007 the league only sent 4 teams to the tourney. B) Its easier to recruit for basketball. You simply dont need as many players. 1-2 great recruits can make you an instant contender in CBB. In CFB you need to have way more than that. C) Historically speaking the B10 is just a better basketball league than a football league. Aside from Michigan and OSU ( and now Nebraska and PSU ) all the other schools in the league have had far superior success in basketball as opposed to footbal and even Michigan and OSU have had great BB success. The B10 had 8 of the top 15 basketball programs of ALL TIME in the historical compilation done by ESPN and Sagarin a few years ago.

 

[ericd7633]

So, I was thinking about this yesterday, and I kind of wanted to get other people's thoughts. The Big Ten is considered one of the best basketball conferences, and is considered one of the worst football conferences. What are conference basketball teams doing that football teams aren't? At first I was thinking, is it non-conference scheduling, but the differences between basketball and football non-conference schedules are huge and probably shouldn't be compared. Is the recruiting from basketball to football significantly better? I don't know, maybe. I don't think it's significantly better. Is the coaching better? Again, I don't think it's significantly better.

I open it up to you guys, why is Big Ten basketball better than Big Ten football. Maybe this should be it's own thread. I'm just curious as to what the conference can or should look at that Big Ten basketball does to make it so good that the conference needs to look at with football.

The coaching for basketball IMO is much better than the coaching for football. Ohio State and Penn State have better football coaches IMO and Thad Matta has a top 10 program at Ohio State right now, but at every other school the basketball coach is better IMO.

Also, IMO the B1G is helped by the one and done rule. Rarely, do B1G teams lose their underclassmen to the draft after one year. The one program that did Ohio State after the 2007 season went to the NIT in 2008, so the consistency is there, and you can actually build a program with upperclassmen. That's why the B1G has done so well OOC the last 4 years, and then you just beat up on each other in conference. It may also be why the B1G hasn't won a title since 2000, because the elite of the elite talent is elsewhere. But the NCAA Tournament is a big crap shoot anyways, you never know what's going to happen.

Also mediocrity in football is much for visible than in basketball. Alot of mediocre teams make the tournament, which signifies the strength of a basketball league, while going 6-6 in football signifies weakness, at least from a B1G perspective. Perfect example of this: Michigan football finishes 2 games under .500 in B1G play, gets blown out in their bowl game, so the B1G must suck. Minnesota basketball finishes 2 games under .500 in B1G play, but wins their opening round game in the NCAA Tournament, so the B1G must be good. Neither team was any good, but football gets more exposure.

 

[dcZONAfan]

The Midwest is basketball country, not football country.

The southeast is football country, not basketball country.

Hence the big difference between the B10 and the SEC in those two sports

 

[ericd7633]

Also from a perception standpoint, you can get away with playing a bad non conf. schedule in basketball, but not in football.

 

[BigAppleBadger]

I like that Wisconsin is now likely underrated in the rankings, based on the fact that their losses came back-to-back-to-back. That's a much more comfortable place to be than having the expectations which come from a 16 game win streak.

 

[Lions=TeHsUcKs]

Well Iowa had a terrible loss.. Might not even be ranked next week..

 

[NDHoosier101]

B1G action tonight:

Penn St. @ #24 tOSU 7:00pm

Northwestern @ #14 Wisky 9:00

 

[MI Nightmare]

B1G action tonight:

Penn St. @ #24 tOSU 7:00pm

Northwestern @ #14 Wisky 9:00

Penn State tappin that Bucknut ass early....way early... Sickem Lions!

 

[MI Nightmare]

Penn State hanging around there at Walmart Arena.

 

[MI Nightmare]

Should be Penn State ball, 42.4 left, and tied at 62. Somebody buy Coach Chambers a beer.

 

[MI Nightmare]

Craft doesn't even get a shot off. Nuts are sinking like a stone... wow.

PSU 71 ... OSU 70

 

[NDHoosier101]

Craft doesn't even get a shot off. Nuts are sinking like a stone... wow.

PSU 71 ... OSU 70