The Big Ten Topic

cyric612
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I worked with KKyutzy for a long time and when he first got me interested in the game they had a great group of coaches in the great northeast in smith and had a lot of this kind of stuff going on.  My conference stayed pretty active and did predictions and such for awhile it definately add's another level to the game and you do learn more about your team and the teams in the conference and just the different ways people go about building a team.
7/13/2010 1:38 AM
cyric612
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The Badger Report....Season Outlook

Starting at pg is jr Antonio "Double A" Austin.  Not a huge scoring threat but look for him to get more chances to shine as he takes over the starting role.

Starting at sq is one have of the ham brothers  Donald Witham.  Witham looks to be a major contributer in the badger frontcourt as he enters his jr season and takes over a starting spot on the roster

Starting at sf is sophmore Lee "LB" Beus.  Lee is a solid overall player who doesn't excell in any one area but holds is own in just about all areas.

Starting at PF is Wisconsins only Sr and a 5 th year senior at that David "it only costs one" Shilling.  Shilling looks to continue his good work on the boards and provide a consistant scoring option.

At the C position we find Sophmore Frank "The Tank" Lasley.  Lasley looks to add on a productive freshman campiagn that saw him start every game and put up decent scoring numbers.

Coming off the bench in the backcourt we find freshman Mark Swims and Redshirt freshman Marshall Burnham, The other half of the ham brothers.  Both players will look to grow into bigger roles as they reach their potential

Backing up Beus at SF will be Highly touted freshman Ronald "Sureshot" Davis who will look to take advantage of his deadly outside game and outstanding athletism to make an impact for the Badgers

The Frontcourt is rounded out by a trio of big men let by super sophmore Kaseko "i'm not a watch" Abdullai.  The international superstar trailed only MSU's Aaron collard in points for freshman last season finishing with a very respectable 9.7 ppg.  Abdullai will look to continue his torrid scoring and beef up his rebounding numbers as he is groomed for the starting pf spot.  William Pemberton and Walter Triche will see decent time at the center postion backing up Lasley Both have strengths and weaknesses but are very solid overall.

Coach Cyric is looking forward to a fun season watching his young team grow and hopefully give it a good run at a conference championship.  Given the teams youth he is trying to avoid putting too much pressure on the team to really go far in the NT but by the time it roll's around hopefully the young guys will be holding there own.

7/13/2010 2:00 AM
goofypook
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Big Ten Outlook-WOLVERINE STYLE
EAST-

1-MSU- What can I say, the Spartans are Loaded and ready for a deep Tourney run!
2-Wisconsin- This team is Deep!!  Look for the Newbies to intergrate well into the system.  Look for the Freshman Swims legal issues to be a distraction ;)
3-ND- The Golden Domers season could Hinge on how they play on the Road this season! Another 0-11 Road Campaign and Coach Gordon Ferris can kiss the rest of his hair GOODBYE!!
4-UM-Couldve went Iowa here, but coach Goofypook is much better looking than Coach Wvyjack!
5-Iowa-SEE ABOVE
6-Minn- For the second straight season the team will be run into the ground by Coach SIM, how does this guy continue to find work!
 
 
 
West-
1-Northwestern- No one is buying Coach Scottstevens poor me act! This team is loaded and primed to do big things!!
2-Illinois-By the time conference play roles around, the seniors on this team are gonna take over in a big way!
3-IU- Brings a very solid team this season and should have no problem competing for the top spot in the west.
4-OSU-The Buckeyes will have a long road ahead of them, but word out of Columbus is that they hit the weights hard this summer, and plan to bring a hard nose style of ball this season----We shall see!
5-Penn St-Sr. Leadership will be key for the Nitnay Lions. This team is extremely inexperienced, but could shock some folks as they look to future greatness!
6-Purdue- Not sure if the Probation Cloud is still in the Minds of the players?
7/13/2010 9:50 AM
tmacfan12
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Posted by goofypook on 7/13/2010 9:50:00 AM (view original):
Big Ten Outlook-WOLVERINE STYLE
EAST-

1-MSU- What can I say, the Spartans are Loaded and ready for a deep Tourney run!
2-Wisconsin- This team is Deep!!  Look for the Newbies to intergrate well into the system.  Look for the Freshman Swims legal issues to be a distraction ;)
3-ND- The Golden Domers season could Hinge on how they play on the Road this season! Another 0-11 Road Campaign and Coach Gordon Ferris can kiss the rest of his hair GOODBYE!!
4-UM-Couldve went Iowa here, but coach Goofypook is much better looking than Coach Wvyjack!
5-Iowa-SEE ABOVE
6-Minn- For the second straight season the team will be run into the ground by Coach SIM, how does this guy continue to find work!
 
 
 
West-
1-Northwestern- No one is buying Coach Scottstevens poor me act! This team is loaded and primed to do big things!!
2-Illinois-By the time conference play roles around, the seniors on this team are gonna take over in a big way!
3-IU- Brings a very solid team this season and should have no problem competing for the top spot in the west.
4-OSU-The Buckeyes will have a long road ahead of them, but word out of Columbus is that they hit the weights hard this summer, and plan to bring a hard nose style of ball this season----We shall see!
5-Penn St-Sr. Leadership will be key for the Nitnay Lions. This team is extremely inexperienced, but could shock some folks as they look to future greatness!
6-Purdue- Not sure if the Probation Cloud is still in the Minds of the players?
lol at 4
7/13/2010 10:53 AM
scottevans21
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Wildcat Write-up:  Conference Preview

Better late then never right?  For the first time in Northwestern history the journalism majors have missed their deadline.  The professors have instilled singapore-style caning as a punishment.  Rest assured it won't happen again.  Without further ado, here is how the conference is guaranteed to shake up, starting with the East:

1.  Michigan State - The run of consecutive Sweet 16's won't end this year.  tmac is one of the best coaches and recruiters in the country and this team is poised for a deep run.  Aaron Collard might be the best player in the conference but he won't have to do it alone in East Lansing.  MSU goes 10-deep with a bench that is better than some teams starters.  The part of this team exciting the fans the most is the fact that only 1 of the 10 players that will see court-time is an upperclassman; and he's a junior.  If the young guys can gel at the right time they might be celebrating more than a conference championship at season's end.

2.  Wisconsin - Schilling will lead this team that willchallenge for the division title.  As the only remaining piece from their national title run he will make sure the younger guys know what they are playing for and will hold everyone accountable.  This is a solid team whose depth and great coaching will be the key to their season.

3.  Michigan - goofypork is a proven winner with a solid team to work with this season.  Carl Stevens is a star who might just turn in his maize and blue after this season.  He will lead a solid group of players to the top half of their division and a National Tournament berth.

4.  Notre Dame - Coach Ferris enters his 3rd season in South Bend looking to return to the postseason.  The Irish might be a little thin on the front line but have a chance to play into April.

5.  Iowa - wvyjack moved a few hundred miles east and is looking to build a winning tradition in Iowa City like he has every other stop of the way.  Iowa has a really good starting lineup but their bench play will determine where they finish.  If the bench can keep them in the games the Hawkeyes have a chance to move up this list.

6.  Minnesota - The last remnants kkyutzy's tenure remain but that's about it.  Simmons and Cook are amazing talents sure to be wasted this season.  As bad as this year looks the future is even worse.  This once national power has been run into the ground with poor coaching and recruiting.  Whomever the next Gopher coach is, they will have a long uphill battle in one of the countries toughest conferences.

And in the West (PSU????):

1.  Illinois - ledfoot has 9 postseason appearances and 9 20-win seasons in his 9 years at Illinois.  The guy can flat out coach.  This will be the difference in the three-horse race in the West.  Well, this and Anthony Lachapelle.  Lachapelle is a stud among studs for Illinois.  The talent and experience (5 seniors) will put Illinois over the top.

2.  Indiana - Top to bottom Indiana is one of the most athletic and best defensive teams in the conference.  They have good guard play and solid bigs.  Historically the Hoosiers have fared well within their division and this year should be no different.  Having Kent Setzer return for his senior year will be the edge the Hoosiers need for a bye in the conference tournament.

3.  Northwestern - The Wildcats return 11 players from a team that finished 5th in the country last year losing only 6 games.  Unfortunately for their fans the player they lost was a three time Conference POY.  Northwestern returns a team full of good, but not spectacular players.  If Coach Evans can find a rotation that works they could challenge for another conference championship.  Having 9 players with a defensive rating of 95 or higher (7 at 99 or better) should help their chances.

4.  Penn State - As I write this I'm still trying to figure out how Penn State is in the West.  If I were splitting up the Big 10 I would have put Minnesota, Iowa, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Notre Dame in the West.  This would leave Indiana, Purdue, MSU, Michigan, Ohio State, and PSU in the East.  I don't have a map in front of me but this seems like a more natural geographic split and would keep the traditional rivals together.  Maybe WIS should hire me?  But, I digress, senior leadership should slide PSU into the 4th slot out West.  The NIttany Lions are on their way back and have a solid core to work with.  The frontcourt should be the difference for PSU in a good way at times this year.

5.  Purdue - mcauley has been a bad boy lately and it might have hurt the Boilermakers this past offseason.  Purdue has a good starting lineup but will their lack of depth hurt them too much?  

6.  Ohio State - OSU is a good team but this is a great conference.  As of right now, the Buckeyes just don't have what it takes to challenge for the title.

Pre-Season All-Conference Team:

PG - Collard, Michigan State
SG - Setzer, Indiana
SF - Lachapelle, Illinois
PF - Stevens, Michigan
C - Cook, Minnesota
7/14/2010 11:18 PM
scottevans21
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Wildcat Write-up:  Northwestern Season Outlook

The Wildcats are coming off a disappointing finish to the best season in their schools history.  Northwestern fizzled down the stretch a year ago after hitting the #2 spot in the polls just before a contest with Big 10 bully Michigan State.  The Wildcats would get their chance at revenge in the conference tournament final only to taste defeat again.  Regardless, they were awarded a #1 seed for their efforts throughout the year.  After a convincing first round victory the Wildcats ran into a hot Hawaii team who was mis-seeded as a 9.  When it was all said and done Northwestern came in as the number 5 team in the country with a 25-6 record.

Gone from last years squad is Douglas Kennedy.  Kennedy was the 3-time Conference POY and will be tough to replace.  Luckily for the Wildcat faithful (if there are any) Kennedy is the only player gone from last year and the Cats look to be loaded for another National Tournament appearance.  The strenghth of this year's team will have to be defense for Northwestern to achieve their goals.  Of the 11 players who will see the court 9 of them have a defensive rating of 95 or higher; 7 of those players are rated 99 or better.  Coach Evans preaches defense and a team mentality; if the players buy in again this year they could continue the success Northwestern fans are looking for.

Coach Evans knows every guy wants Double D's and that's why Junior Dexter Dever returns for his second season as the starting PG.  Dever is lightning quick and plays in his opponents shorts.  He isn't just a PG though as he can knock it down from the outside and is solid from the line which should help close games out.  As long as DD is able to keep his turnover's down the Wildcats should be fine with him at the point.  Dever will be backed up by Richard Jeske.  Jeske has been a solid contributor in his 4 years and will be expected to control the floor while the second unit is out there.

Ronald Keith will start at the Wildcats deepest position, SG.  This is Keith's 3rd year as a start but his first at his natural position.  Northwestern will need Keith's stats to measure up to his ratings this year as he will be counted on to fill in some of the scoring left by the departed Kennedy.    If he is unable to score as needed he will be in danger of losing his spot on a team that's very deep at this position.  Keith will also be asked to step in at the SF spot when the Wildcats run their 3 guard sets.  Backing up will be Fred Tung and Terry Wallace.  These guys should be able to score at will against other teams second units and will be counted on to provide scoring from the bench in a big way.

SF is a position Coach Evans has a hard time recruiting.  Without a true "3" on the roster Northwestern will be counting on Senior PF Alfred Smith to fill in.  This is a position of strength for other teams in the conference and Coach Evans will quickly make the changes necessary if Smith doesn't work out here.  Smith's speed, athleticism, and defensive ability should  be good enough for this position.  Along with matching up with some of the conferences top players while out of position Smith will be counted on to add scoring as well.  With the preseason All-American nod Smith has a lot of hype to live up to.  As previously mentioned, Ronald Keith will be the primary backup here.  Filling out the remaining minutes will be Terry Wallace.

Northwestern is young but talented at the PF spot.  Former 5-star Ronald Montgomery will be the starter at the beginning of the season.  Montgomery has started in each of his first 2 seasons but his lack of stamina has limited him to only 16 minutes a game.  When he is in there Montgomery is tough to stop but to average at least 10 points and 8 boards he will need to stay on the court.  When he does need a breather Smith will occasionally slide over to his natural position and SO James Grell will step in, although he will be there for his defense and not expected to score. 

The 5 will be a position of strength for the Wildcats for the foreseeable future.  Junior Charles Barreto will be counted on to score and shut down the other teams centers.  Barreto has great ratings for a center and could finish as an All-Conference performer.  Backing him up will be Grell and SO Ernest McNutt.  McNutt is a scorer and defender but will be undersized at the 5. 

Overall the expectations on campus are high.  Northwestern has a very good team but they lack a superstar.  The division is tough this year with Illinois and Indiana as good if not better than Northwestern.  Any of those three could win the division.  If Northwestern wants it to be them they will have to shoot the ball better than they have throughout their careers and play the type of defense they are able to.  Realistically anything less than a top 3 finish in their division and a national tournament berth would be a dissapointment.  This is an experienced team that should be playing on the second weekend of the tournament for the first time in the schools history.  As long as the coach doesn't mess this up it should be a fun year in Evanston!
7/15/2010 12:01 AM
cyric612
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Badger Report:  First half of OOC
After the first 5 games of the season Coach Cy is happy with how his team is progressing.  The Badgers started with a tough match up against preseason #19 Florida State on the Road and were beaton fairly soundly.  FSU has gone on to a 5-0 record and a #6 National ranking to start the season.  The Badgers followed that up with a win at home against Marquette and road wins vs St Johns and Albany.  To finish the first half of the ooc schedule the Badgers returned hom to face unbeaten and #15 ranked Seton Hall and came away with a 15 point win.  Starting 4-1 with 3 road games and games against 2 nationally ranked teams has given the team some confidence for the next stretch of games that starts with 3 road games the third being against #17 Arkansas and then Two home games to finish off the OOC with game 10 being against an always strong Kansas Jayhawk team.
So far the stats for the team have been divided nicely with Kaseko Abudalli leading the team off the bench with 13 points per game and Shooting gaurd Donald Witham not far behind at 11.8 ppg.  Frontcourt starters Shilling and Lasley also contribute 9.6 and 9.4 ppg.
Lasley and Shilling lead the team in rebounding with Lasley pulling in 6 per game and Shilling at 5.8  Marshall Burnham is leading the team in assists at 3.4 per game While Antonio Austion is leading the team with 1.4 steals per game.  Walter Trich clocks in at 1.2 blocks per game to lead the team in that category despite limited playing time.  Overall the team is shooting .498 from the field and 65 percent from the free throw line.  Coach Cy has been seen putting his players through extra Free throw practice in an effort to get the percentage up into the 70's.  All in all the Fans are pretty fired up over the Badgers start and look to a strong finish to the out of conference season.
7/15/2010 12:00 PM
tmacfan12
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Spartan Report: Non-Conference Update

Expectations. Every team goes into the season with them. Some teams have huge expectations, while some are only expected to win a few games. When a team starts out ranked number 10 with several Big 10 coaches picking them to win the east, it's expectations are going to be pretty large. And early on this season, Michigan State certainly did not look like they would live up to its expectations.

Starting off the season, Michigan State beat a solid Chicago State program at home 61-49. Hype started off his career with 11 points, however he was the lone bright spot in this very sloppy game. From there, MSU welcomed number 2 Syracuse into their home gym, fully expecting to be competitive and possible beat The Orange. The result, a 60-48 loss, was discouraging. Fortin and Collard played decent, but were not the stars that Coach expected them to be. Then, rock bottem. MSU traveled to Davidson and somehow lost to the Wildcats by the score of 68-58. This would be the only win Davidson got in non conference.

After the terrible loss, Coach went off. He reminded the players of "The Streak" and how they were going to be the ones to end it. He questioned AC and Spark's manhood. He screamed at the frosh and reminded them that they were not in high school anymore. And above all, he changed their play style. No longer would The Spartans play halfcourt man/press and a normal tempo on offense. Now they were going straight man to man and were going to push the ball every chance they got. The result? They started to win.

It began with a home win over UMass, 85-68. Don had 23, Spark had 20, AC had 15 and 7 assists and MSU was begging to gel. Up next was an away victory over SE Missouri State, 105-61. AC dropped 26 with 5 assits and Spark has 17 with 8 rebounds. But the real story was Hype and JC. JC had 21 and 7 rebounds while Hype had 19. The win gave The Spartans all the confidence in the world as they went to play Old Dominion at home, coached by none other then Ex-Michigan Coach Fencer. Even though they have a solid team, they gave MSU no trouble and the score ended up being 97-63. Spark had 27 and 6 while Hype had 18 off the bench. And with that win, The Spartans ended up believing they were better then they were and almost got upset on the road against New Mexico. The final score was 72-60 with AC having 18 while Spark had 16 7 rebounds and 4 assits. After recieving a few harsh words, Michigan State was reading to stomp on Northern Illinois and they did just that. When it was all over, the score was 134-68. Spark had 43! and 6, Don had 25 5 and 4 steals, and JC had 18 with 2 blocks. The win brought MSU to Clemson, their last true test in non conference play. MSU more then passed the test as they dominated, the final score being 81-50. Spark had 22 and 10 and AC had 18. The Spartans then finished up Non-Conference play with a walkover win against Cal Poly, 75-48. Don had 18 and 4 while Spark and JC each chipped in 14. All in all, the Spartans ended Non-Conference at 8-2 with a 36 rpi.

Team Stats

Name Yr. Pos GP GS MIN FG% FG3% FT% OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF PTS
S. Fortin Jr. SF 10 10 25.2 .560 .000 .709 1.3 6.4 1.2 2.6 0.7 0.2 1.4 19.6
D. Bollman Jr. PG 10 10 24.6 .505   .589 0.9 2.4 3.5 1.7 1.9 0.0 1.0 13.5
A. Collard So. PG 10 10 24.3 .459 .438 .676 0.4 2.8 3.4 1.3 0.9 0.0 0.8 14.6
M. Lavender So. PF 10 10 21.2 .364   .727 1.7 4.9 0.8 0.6 0.4 1.1 2.6 2.4
C. Bronikowski Fr. C 10 10 21.2 .471   .571 2.0 6.0 1.9 0.4 0.2 1.7 2.1 2.0
C. Espitia So. C 10 0 20.2 .429   .500 1.5 5.3 0.7 0.4 0.2 1.1 1.5 2.7
K. Casey Fr. C 10 0 17.5 .667   .400 1.4 4.5 0.4 0.6 0.7 1.0 2.2 3.2
C. Adams So. SG 10 0 16.1 .480 .429 .625 0.2 0.9 2.3 1.1 0.7 0.0 1.2 3.7
R. Lawson Fr. PG 10 0 15.1 .507 .485 .800 0.9 1.9 1.2 1.1 0.8 0.0 1.2 10.4
J. Coleman Fr. SF 10 0 14.8 .619 .400 .619 1.5 4.3 1.3 0.8 0.4 0.3 0.6 9.5
Averages           .515 .444 .654 11.8 39.4 16.7 10.6 6.9 5.4 14.6 81.6
Opp. Averages           .404 .315 .662 8.7 30.8 11.4 15.1 4.2 3.1 22.5 59.5



 

7/18/2010 7:59 PM
scottevans21
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Wildcat Write-up:  Non-Conference Play

Looking back on the first 10 games of the season, Northwestern is in a slightly better spot than they should be.  The expectations for this season were high but there was a bit of uncertainty as to what should truely be expected.  The Wildcats returned all but one player however there were question marks as to who would pick up the scoring lost.  There was also the question of who would man the "3" in Evanston.  Does Coach Evans have the answers as we head into Conference play?

The season started with a couple of road games to warm up.  After handling a Nebraska team that would go on to 8 wins and a glorified practice against Stetson the Cats traveled to Clemson for a chance to redeem one of their loses from a year ago.  Both teams were ranked heading into the game and Northwestern would walk away with a 22 point victory.  Since then the Tigers have gone on to an 8-2 record, remain ranked, and sit with an RPI of 10. 

Following this tough road test the Cats returned home to face the Kansas Jayhawks.  Kansas, ranked at the time, is a well coached but young team.  Northwestern was able to pull away towards the end for a 16 point victory.  Following this, Northwestern put up a season best 112 points at Akron to pull to 5-0.

Next up was another home game against a ranked opponent.  Northwestern had moved up the polls to #5 in the country and welcomed in the #11 Wildcats of Arizona State.  After attempting 21 fewer free throws on their own court Northwestern ended up suffering a 19 point butt-whopping.  This was the last true test of their non-conference season and it would be their only taste of defeat thus far this season.  The Wildcats ended the non-conference slate with wins at Rutgers, UMKC, and St. Louis before coming home to handle Wyoming.

Northwestern has proven to be a fairly balanced scoring team again this season.  The leading scorer, Alfred Smith, averages only 12.5 a game while the team has put up over 86 a game thus far.  One of the strengths of Northwestern is the shooting percentage as a team which sits at 52% right now.  Conversely, their opponents are shooting just under 40% on the season.  If that continues to hold the Wildcats will find themselves on the winning end of most of their games.  Along with the advantage in shooting percentage Northwestern holds a rebounding advantage of +9 over their opponents.  While they have respectable turnover numbers at only 12.7 a game, while forcing almost 17, Coach Evans would have liked a bigger margin in that category.  Coach would also have liked to see more assists as the Cats only share the rock just over 15 times a game.

Conference play is always tougher, especially in the Big 10.  It doesn't help when you have to open in East Lansing against a hot Spartans team.  If the Wildcats can continue to control the boards, and shoot the ball well while playing good defense it could be a special season.  With an RPI sitting at 21 a .500 conference record should be enough to dance.  The SOS of 103 is a concern though as the coaching staff isn't sure if the team is as good as the 9-1 record might indicate.  Either way, we will know soon enough.
7/19/2010 12:51 AM
cyric612
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heh Some arizona state fan is going to get mad at you for calling them the wildcats
7/19/2010 4:32 PM
scottevans21
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Woops, I knew something about that sentence wasn't right.  I of course meant the Sun Devils.
7/19/2010 11:01 PM
tmacfan12
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My Conference Tournament Predictions

Round 1

4 Illinois
vs
5 Notre Dame

3 Wisconsin
vs
6 Purdue

4 Michigan
vs
5 Penn State

3 Indiana
vs
6 Minnesota

Round 2

1 Michigan State
vs
4 Illinois

2 Ohio State
vs
3 Wisconsin

1 Northwestern
vs
5 Penn State

2 Iowa
vs
3 Indiana

Semi-Finals

1 Michigan State
vs
3 Wisconsin

1 Northwestern
vs
3 Indiana

Finals

1 Michigan State
vs
1 Northwestern

7/27/2010 10:11 PM
scottevans21
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Wildcat Write-up:  Confrence Tournament Predictions

Well, a little thing called the Missouri Bar Examination has gotten in the way of my fantasy fantasy life.  For this I appologize.  It's over now though so I can get my priorities back in line.  It has made it easier for me to predict the outcome of the conference tournament though as I fill this out halfway through it:

Round 1 - Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, and Indiana will probably advance to the second day.

Sure there are some upset picks here but I feel good about taking Purdue on the money line to pad my wallet.

Round 2 - Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern and Iowa are my picks to head to the semis.

Some more upsets in this round as Illinois will slow down the Spartans (causing their coach to go crazy trying to understand the slowdown) and Purdue will punch their dance card.

I feel real good about these 8 picks but it gets a little tougher from here.

Semi-Finals - Illinois and Purdue open the session in a battle for National Tournament seeding.  Illinois won both of the battles so far this year by an average of 17.5 points.  This game might be closer as the Boilermakers are playing well but the result will be the same.  The Boilers big 3 just won't be enough as the Illini's depth carries them to the title game.

In the nightcap Iowa will be looking to avenge an earlier conference loss at Northwestern.  In that game the Wildcats used some home-cooking to scrape out a victory in a game where they shot only 39%.  When it was all said and done Northwestern had scored 41 points from the free throw line on 54 attempts.  Had Iowa not been ice cold behind the arc (9 of 31 for 29%) they probably would have had a much happier trip home to Iowa City.  This game will come down to one thing:  who wants it more?  Northwestern won't have that many trips to the stripe but they will probably also shoot better.  Iowa is a good team; not only can they pull the upset but they will.  If Iowa wins this game they are dancing, if they lose they're headed to the PIT.  Northwestern is fighting for a #1 seed for the second consecutive season but will be a 2 at worst.  Iowa needs it more which is why they take it.

Finals - Illinois grabs the automatic bid in another revenge game.  Earlier this year Iowa rode Pettry and Breedlove's combined 52 points to victory.  Illinois is too good defensively to let that happen again.  After dropping 5 of their last 7 to close the season Illinois will put it together at the right time to capture their 4th conference tournament trophy.  Once again they will ride their overall depth to win their 4th game in 4 days.

When it's all said and done the Big 10 should hear 8 of the schools names called on Selection Sunday.  Northwestern, OSU, Illinois, Indiana, MSU, and PSU are squarely in and only worried about their seeding.  Purdue and Iowa should be in as well but will be sweating it out a little. 

7/28/2010 11:39 PM (edited)
serb0649
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Got to love the conference tourney predictions. You all run one entertaining conference. Keep it up.
7/29/2010 2:25 AM
tmacfan12
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congrats on the CT scott. My predictions were just a little off.
7/29/2010 5:07 PM
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