Big Ten Basketball

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I love the Big Ten this year, and it really has nothing to do with the fact that Iowa's in 1st. I'm finding myself watching more non-Iowa games this year than I ever have. I love having the conference strong and deep again.

[gflore34]

Listening to local sport talk radio (Jack Ebling) on the way in to work this morning, a caller made a good point. Specifically- at the moment Iowa is playing very well and may even win an outright BT Title but, come NCAA time, the smart money is on MSU to advance deeper in the tournament. I know this doesn't offer much comfort to MSU fans however, I believe it to be true. In a similair vien, if I had to choose which of Illinois or OSU will make a deeper tournament run, I'd still pick Illinois, despite last Sunday's game.

[bmkhawk]

Why?

 

IMO, OSU has the best chance of any big 10 team to make a deep NCAA run.

[hawkeyecub]

Good lord the refs are letting Doug Thomas murder Paul Davis. and of course Iowa is already in the bonus. :roll: Typical Carver Hawkeye game.

 

LOL, I love watching you guys whine about officiating everytime Iowa wins at home.

 

For your information MSU was called for 21 fouls while Iowa was called for 14. MSU fouled Iowa 4 times in the last three minutes to put them at the line, so really it was 17-14.

The officials were letting a lot go both ways.

 

And if you've watched MSU play under Izzo or were paying attention last night, they were doing far more grabbing and holding than Iowa was. They play the most physical defense in the Big Ten as far as making contact. Jay Bilas even talked about it last year. They know the officials won't blow the whistle every play, so they play extremely physical and get a lot more benefit in the second half.

[hawkeyecub]

Listening to local sport talk radio (Jack Ebling) on the way in to work this morning, a caller made a good point. Specifically- at the moment Iowa is playing very well and may even win an outright BT Title but, come NCAA time, the smart money is on MSU to advance deeper in the tournament. I know this doesn't offer much comfort to MSU fans however, I believe it to be true. In a similair vien, if I had to choose which of Illinois or OSU will make a deeper tournament run, I'd still pick Illinois, despite last Sunday's game.

 

I don't know why the smart money would be on them. They've not been consistent at all and they haven't been great on the road. They also will likely have a lower seed than Iowa. Outside of that it's hard to predict until you see the matchups.

 

I agree that OSU is probably best set up at this point to make a run to the Final Four. But Iowa is also the kind of team that can make a deep run depending on matchups (as is always the case in the NCAA's). 4 of our top 6 players are seniors, while the other two are juniors. Most importantly we play very good defense consistently and are ranked 2nd in the country in defensive efficiency. When you play defense like that, you'll always have a chance. If we can shoot well we can play with anyone.

I know that because we have a lot of white guys people like to think we aren't very athletic or can't do much in March, but when you look at our resume' you'll see differently. No real "bad" losses and the only teams who have more wins than us vs. the top 50 are Duke and UCONN.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Good lord the refs are letting Doug Thomas murder Paul Davis. and of course Iowa is already in the bonus. :roll: Typical Carver Hawkeye game.

 

LOL, I love watching you guys whine about officiating everytime Iowa wins at home.

 

For your information MSU was called for 21 fouls while Iowa was called for 14. MSU fouled Iowa 4 times in the last three minutes to put them at the line, so really it was 17-14.

The officials were letting a lot go both ways.

 

And if you've watched MSU play under Izzo or were paying attention last night, they were doing far more grabbing and holding than Iowa was. They play the most physical defense in the Big Ten as far as making contact. Jay Bilas even talked about it last year. They know the officials won't blow the whistle every play, so they play extremely physical and get a lot more benefit in the second half.

 

Actually, the officiating improved after that point. Michigan State got off to a great start, playing in your face defense and attacking the basket. Then they pretty much got that taken away from them with a horrifying sequence of ticky tack calls(and swallowed whistles at the other end) that led to Iowa being in the bonus with over 13 minutes remaining. After that MSU's crappy play pretty much took care of the rest.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I don't know why the smart money would be on them. They've not been consistent at all and they haven't been great on the road. They also will likely have a lower seed than Iowa. Outside of that it's hard to predict until you see the matchups.

 

They've been as good on the road as any team in the Big 10. Only one other team has beaten one of the other contenders on the road. Their schedule is really unfortunate as well.

 

I agree that OSU is probably best set up at this point to make a run to the Final Four. But Iowa is also the kind of team that can make a deep run depending on matchups (as is always the case in the NCAA's). 4 of our top 6 players are seniors, while the other two are juniors. Most importantly we play very good defense consistently and are ranked 2nd in the country in defensive efficiency. When you play defense like that, you'll always have a chance. If we can shoot well we can play with anyone.

I know that because we have a lot of white guys people like to think we aren't very athletic or can't do much in March, but when you look at our resume' you'll see differently. No real "bad" losses and the only teams who have more wins than us vs. the top 50 are Duke and UCONN.

 

OSU's efficiency makes them a good bet to go deep in the tourney, I agree.

[gflore34]

Why?

 

IMO, OSU has the best chance of any big 10 team to make a deep NCAA run.

 

 

The worst scenarios always seem to play out or occur in the NCAA, I can see Dials getting in early foul trouble leaving them completely perimeter orientated, couple that with a bad shooting night and they're done. They're not going to continue shooting 3's at the rate they did vs. UM and U of I. If they do, they'll run the BT Regular Season and Tournament along with the strong possibility of a trip to the Final Four.

[MarkPrior]

People always say Michigan St. will go far in the tournament and I hate them even more than Illinois. My money's still on Ohio St. and that won't change unless something drastic happens at the end of the conference season.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

People always say Michigan St. will go far in the tournament and I hate them even more than Illinois.

 

http://www.spartantailgate.com/forums/images/smilies/rumor.gif That's cause they do go far in the tournament.

[rawaction]

Heh. I said that Ohio St. was a very good team back in the beginning of this thread. And everyone said that they wouldn't have the talent to make a run until next year. Now everyone's on the bandwagon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*note, I also said MSU would win and IU would take 2nd in the conference.

[MarkPrior]

Heh. I said that Ohio St. was a very good team back in the beginning of this thread. And everyone said that they wouldn't have the talent to make a run until next year. Now everyone's on the bandwagon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*note, I also said MSU would win and IU would take 2nd in the conference.

 

I'll take it you said that before DJ went down

[rjchapma]

I think that Iowa is overrated and won't perform when it comes down to it all. They are having a great season, but MState and Illinois are the two best teams in that conference with Ohio State right behind them.

[bmkhawk]

Overrated?

 

Surely ye jest.

 

If anything, considering they are 8-3 against top 25 teams and at least a game in front of everyone else in one of the top 2 conferences in the country (not to mention top 10 in the RPI)...yet ranked around 20 in both polls...if anything, they are underrated.

Edited February 15, 2006 by bmkhawk

[TripJ]

I think that Iowa is overrated and won't perform when it comes down to it all. They are having a great season, but MState and Illinois are the two best teams in that conference with Ohio State right behind them.

 

That "overrated" Iowa team is 3-1 against the teams you say are the three best in the conference. :? For what it's worth, they've also won five straight against ranked teams, and have more wins against the top 50 than all but a handful of teams (see hawkeyecub's post above).

 

They might not make a great tourney run, but they're hardly overrated. They've proven they are a very good team.

[badgercub]

I think that Iowa is overrated and won't perform when it comes down to it all. They are having a great season, but MState and Illinois are the two best teams in that conference with Ohio State right behind them.

 

I think Ohio St. might even be a little bit ahead of Illinois. I just don't think Illinois is showing as much consistency as Ohio St.

[MarkPrior]

Overrated?

 

Surely ye jest.

 

If anything, considering they are 8-3 against top 25 teams and at least a game in front of everyone else in one of the top 2 conferences in the country (not to mention top 10 in the RPI)...yet ranked around 20 in both polls...if anything, they are underrated.

 

I don't think I'd called them overrated, just another example of a team playing beyond its means and above its expectations. But their consistency and grittiness could take them to the BIG 10 tourney championship

[Sweep The Leg Johnny]

People always say Michigan St. will go far in the tournament and I hate them even more than Illinois.

 

http://www.spartantailgate.com/forums/images/smilies/rumor.gif That's cause they do go far in the tournament.

 

This is true - MSU is an odd team. They consistently dissapoint in recent years Big Ten play. Then come tourney time, they turn it to another gear. I expect them to do well again in the tourney, but as for the rest of Big Ten play, who knows what you'll get.

[hawkeyecub]

Overrated?

 

Surely ye jest.

 

If anything, considering they are 8-3 against top 25 teams and at least a game in front of everyone else in one of the top 2 conferences in the country (not to mention top 10 in the RPI)...yet ranked around 20 in both polls...if anything, they are underrated.

 

I don't think I'd called them overrated, just another example of a team playing beyond its means and above its expectations. But their consistency and grittiness could take them to the BIG 10 tourney championship

 

I see posts like this and the "overrated" one and the only thing I can see that would make people think like that is the fact that Iowa has 4 white starters.

This team has talent. Haluska, Brunner and Horner were pretty solid recruits coming out of high school. Haluska is very athletic and skilled, was Big 12 rookie of the year and has been consistently very good at Iowa. Brunner and Horner have produced in the Big Ten for 4 years. Brunner is the school's all-time leading rebounder, and is a very skilled post with solid athleticism. Horner is the all-time leading 3 point shooter and assist man at Iowa.

Henderson is a lockdown defender (as is his backup Tony Freeman who is only a freshman) and Hansen could arguably be the Big Ten's defensive player of the year. Thomas gives us great energy off the bench, is super athletic and one of the most efficient rebounders in the league.

 

This is a team with a very talented and experienced core group, who also has some experienced role players who understand their role and do a great job of filling it. They play the best team defense in the league (2nd in the country in defensive efficiency) are the best defensive rebounding team in the league and play with toughness and togetherness.

 

It's far from overrated (as bmk said it's underrated in the polls) and isn't just a group of scrappy hard workers.

[MarkPrior]

Okay, I came off a little too much. But I don't think it's debateable that its quite a surprise they are leading the Big 10. Yes, they are talented, but they don't have the talent of other teams in the conference imo (Mich. St, Illinois, and even IU). They're also well-coached.

[SouthSideRyan]

Overrated?

 

Surely ye jest.

 

If anything, considering they are 8-3 against top 25 teams and at least a game in front of everyone else in one of the top 2 conferences in the country (not to mention top 10 in the RPI)...yet ranked around 20 in both polls...if anything, they are underrated.

 

I don't think I'd called them overrated, just another example of a team playing beyond its means and above its expectations. But their consistency and grittiness could take them to the BIG 10 tourney championship

 

That Big 10 tournament is gonna be loads of fun. If the top 8 hould out, I could honestly see any of those 8 winning the whole thing.

[rjchapma]

There not overrated in respect to there record. I'm saying that when its gets down to tourney time I'd take either UofI, MichSt, or Ohio State to make it farther in the tourney. That's All

[rjchapma]

I also can see the Boilermakers upsetting someone since I have seen them play. Even with most of our losses they played well there just a bad team when it comes down to the end of the game. If they get up big enough though it equals a win AKA Wisconsin and Michigan. Well see though.

[fiver]

Overrated?

 

Surely ye jest.

 

If anything, considering they are 8-3 against top 25 teams and at least a game in front of everyone else in one of the top 2 conferences in the country (not to mention top 10 in the RPI)...yet ranked around 20 in both polls...if anything, they are underrated.

 

I don't think I'd called them overrated, just another example of a team playing beyond its means and above its expectations. But their consistency and grittiness could take them to the BIG 10 tourney championship

 

That Big 10 tournament is gonna be loads of fun. If the top 8 hould out, I could honestly see any of those 8 winning the whole thing.

 

=; Exclude Indiana from this please. I will have no hope lingering around here. :) I suppose they could win one..err several for Mike D.

[Jon]

No Vedran tonight. This is going to blow.