Insight Bowl Preview

Insight Bowl Indiana Hoosiers (7-5) vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-6) Monday, December 31st 5:30 PM, NFL Network The Indiana Hoosiers and Oklahoma State Cowboys each bring high-powered offenses to Tempe, but the biggest story with both teams this season was found on the sidelines. Bill Lynch took over as Indiana’s head coach after Terry Hoeppner lost his long battle with cancer in June. The players used the loss of their beloved former coach as motivation throughout the season, adopting Hoeppner’s dream of playing a 13th game as their creed. Indiana accomplished its mission and reached that 13th game under Lynch, who had formerly been Hoeppner’s offensive coordinator. The Hoosiers finished 7-5 and ended the Big Ten’s longest bowl drought. This year's Insight Bowl marks Indiana’s first bowl game since 1993. The Hoosiers capped their regular season by beating in-state rival Purdue to claim the Old Oaken Bucket for the first time since 2001. Lynch was recently signed to a four-year extension as a reward for leading the team to success under trying circumstances. On the field, Indiana is led by quarterback Kellen Lewis and wide receiver James Hardy. Lewis led the Hoosiers in rushing and also threw for 25 touchdowns this year, 16 of which were caught by Hardy. The 6-foot-7 receiver caught a touchdown pass in 11 of 12 games this season and posted five multiple-touchdown games. Hardy, arguably the best receiver in the Big Ten, has 36 touchdowns over the last three seasons. Indiana's high powered offense has had to outscore their opponents this year as the Hoosier defense struggled against quality teams. The Hoosiers didn’t hold a single Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) opponent under 20 points this season. In conference play, Big Ten schools scored more than 30 points per game against Indiana. One bright spot is defensive end Greg Middleton, who led the nation with 16 sacks, an Indiana school record. Middleton was the lone Hoosier defender to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors. The special team edge goes to Indiana in Tempe. Starting tailback Marcus Thigpen is one of the most dangerous return men in the nation, and IU kicker Austin Starr connected on 19 of his 21 field goal attempts this year. Oklahoma State might not have the special teams ability of Indiana but it does have something special roaming the sidelines. Head coach Mike Gundy inspired his team this year with an outburst the likes of which we haven't seen in college football. Gundy’s “Come after me! I’m a man! I’m 40!” rant in September was one of the most played video clips of the entire football season, and is arguably the funniest soundbite to ever come from a coach's press conference. His tirade followed the Cowboys’ shootout with Texas Tech in which Okie State actually WON! That was the first win in a 4-1 stretch that propelled Oklahoma State to its second straight bowl berth under Gundy. The third-year coach was also rewarded with an extension at the end of the season. The Cowboys finished the season with a 6-6 record after struggling in non-conference play. They lost their visits to Georgia (nearly a national championship game participant) and Troy (possibly the best team not playing a bowl game) in September. OSU went 4-4 in conference play coming within a couple of bounces of beating both Texas A&M and Texas. Oklahoma State is coming off one of their worst performances of the year, where they were soundly trounced by the Sooners in the Bedlam rivalry. The Cowboys missed star receiver Adarius Bowman in that game and their aerial attack was accordingly held in check. Bowman will suit up in Tempe, restoring the Cowboys’ stacked offense to full power. Quarterback Zac Robinson is a sprinter who threw only two interceptions in the second half of the season. The Cowboys' speedy running back Dantrell Savage ended his season with nine straight 100-yard games and tight end Brandon Pettirgrew was named first-team All-Big 12. Like Indiana, Oklahoma State’s defense gives up points. The Cowboys play up-tempo, confident in their offense’s ability to reach the end zone more frequently than their opponents. Oklahoma State is playing in its fifth bowl game in six seasons. The Cowboys beat Alabama in last year’s Independence Bowl 34-31 under Gundy with many of the same players currently on the roster. Indiana hasn't been to a bowl game in over a decade, but reaching any bowl game has been this team's dream from game one. The Hoosiers will undoubtedly be playing with as much passion as any team this entire bowl season. One thing is for certain, both teams will feature high octane offenses in what should be one of the more exciting and high scoring bowl games this year.

Alamo Bowl Preview

Valero Alamo Bowl Penn State Nittany Lions (8-4) vs. Texas A&M Aggies (7-5) Saturday, December 29th, 8:00 PM ESPN Two traditional college powerhouses with varying levels of sideline stability meet in this year’s Valero Alamo Bowl on Saturday night at 8 PM. Joe Paterno leads the Penn State Nittany Lions to San Antonio for his 33rd bowl game as Penn State’s head coach. Texas A&M will be led by defensive coordinator Gary Darnell due to head coach Dennis Franchione’s resignation at season's end. Houston Texans assistant Mike Sherman will take over at A&M next season. Franchione failed to meet expectations during his five-year tenure in College Station and was winless in the Aggie's two bowl game appearances. They lost 38-7 to Tennessee at the Cotton Bowl three seasons ago and suffered a 45-10 loss to Cal in last year’s Holiday Bowl. It’s difficult to say which Aggies team will show up on Saturday night. Texas A&M blasted off to a 5-1 start thanks mostly to a weak non-conference schedule. A&M did top 260 yards rushing in four of their first six games. After that fast start, the Aggies slumped in conference play and lost 3 straight to Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri before upsetting in-state rival Texas to finish the season. Texas A&M hooked the Horns with a more aggressive attack, focused on using the pass to set up the run. Quarterback Stephen McGee notched a career-high 362 passing yards in the win as A&M tallied 533 total yards of offense and 38 points against the Longhorns. McGee led the Aggies in rushing this year ahead of speedy running back Mike Goodson and 275-pound goal line specialist Jorvorskie Lane. Tight end Martellus Bennett, a top NFL prospect, was McGee’s top target through the air. Defensively the Aggies have been very good at stopping the run this season. They are more susceptible to the pass, something A&M’s late-season opponents exploited. The Aggies went 2-4 in the second half of the season against Big XII foes, letting opposing quarterbacks complete 67 percent of their passes and throw for 13 touchdowns against just one interception in their last 6 games. It will be interesting to see whether Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli can take advantage of Texas A&M’s weak secondary. Morelli threw 18 touchdowns this season, but 10 of those came against cupcakes Florida International, Buffalo and Temple. The Penn State offense relied heavily on the run against Big Ten conference opponents. The Lions ran the ball 40-plus times in six of its final seven games. The only exception in that span was Penn State's loss to Ohio State, in which Morelli was forced to throw more in an effort to comeback from their early deficit. The Lion's running attack is led by Rodney Kinlaw, who stepped up after the dismissal of running back Austin Scott and proved himself worthy of being Penn State’s main man in his senior year. Kinlaw posted five 100-yard games on the ground in his 1,186-yard season. As usual, the key to most of Penn State's victories was their stout defense. The Nittany Lions finished second in the nation with 45 quarterback sacks, led by defensive end Maurice Evans who recorded 12 1/2 sacks on the year. Middle linebacker Dan Connor is the star of Lion's defense. The Butkus Award finalist led the Big Ten with 136 tackles this year. Connor continued Penn State's tradition of great linebackers and marked the third straight season that a Nittany Lion was a finalist for the Butkus Award, given to the nation's best linebacker. Junior Sean Lee might be a contender for next year’s hardware after being involved in 124 tackles this season. The Alamo Bowl will mark JoePa's 500th game as Penn State’s head coach, one of many incredible accomplishments in his coaching career. Paterno has won more than twice as many bowl games as he’s lost during his run at PSU, including last year's Outback Bowl and the 2006 Orange Bowl. Penn State and Texas A&M also met in the 1999 Alamo Bowl. The Nittany Lions were victorious in that meeting beating the Aggies 24-0. Expect this year's contest to be a much closer game, the key will be whether Penn State can run the ball successfully against A&M's defensive front. If the Aggies defense can control the line of scrimmage and force Anthony Morelli to beat them with his arm things could get interesting. Morelli has the arm strength and ability to stretch the field, but as most Lion fans know he has been very inconsistent at times this season.

Champs Sports Bowl Preview

Champs Sports Bowl Michigan State Spartans (7-5) vs Boston College Eagles (10-3) Friday, December 28th 5:00PM, ESPN Yesterday we took an indepth look at the Boston College Eagles. That preview can be found here. Today let's take a glimpse at Michigan State and preview tonight's game. The Spartans come to Orlando boasting one of the nation’s top running games. Javon Ringer and Jehuu Caulcrick, Michigan State's lightning-and-thunder duo, combined for 2,159 yards and 27 rushing touchdowns this season. Ringer finished the regular season with an impressive average of 6.0 yards per carry. Caulcrick is the bruiser of the two that does his best work near the goal line, scoring 21 touchdowns in 12 games. MSU's new head coach Mark Dantonio rode Ringer and Caulcrick to an early-season 4-0 start. The Spartans then overcame their reputation for late-season collapses by shifting some of their offensive focus away from the run. Wide receiver Devin Thomas is as dangerous a player as you’ll find in the Big Ten. The Spartans delivered a pair of upset wins to close the season 7-5 as quarterback Brian Hoyer connected with Thomas early and often. Thomas, who doubles as a kickoff return threat, caught 17 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns in Michigan State's final two wins over Purdue and Penn State. MSU will need all the offensive balance it can muster to keep up with Boston College. The Spartans’ defense was less than spectacular in conference play, allowing 33 points per game in Big Ten action. One shining star on the MSU defense was Jonal Saint-Dic, a finalist for the Ted Hendricks award as the nation’s top defensive end. Saint-Dic was a disruptive force in opposing backfields, recording 10 quarterback sacks and setting a Big Ten single-season record by forcing eight fumbles. However, Saint-Dic was ruled academically ineligible for the bowl game. He and four other Spartans will sit out the Champs Sports Bowl from academic and other violations. The absence of Saint-Dic and fellow defensive standout SirDarean Adams may be the key to the game. If their replacements on defense can find ways to hassle BC quarterback Matt Ryan, the Spartans could pull off the upset. If Ryan has time to set up and throw downfield, however, the Eagles will tack another win onto the nation's longest current bowl game winning streak.

Champs Sports Preview: Boston College

Boston College Eagles 10-3 (ACC 6-2, 2nd) Boston College and Michigan State meet Friday night in Orlando’s Champs Sports Bowl. Both schools showed improvement this season under first-year head coaches. Let's take an indepth look at the Spartan's opponent Friday night. Boston College’s rise to claim the ACC Atlantic title under new head coach Jeff Jagodzinski may have been one of the bigger surprises in college football this year. Jagodzinski took over for former coach Tom O’Brien who left BC for division rival North Carolina State. O’Brien led the Eagles for 10 seasons and to a streak of seven straight bowl game victories, the nation’s longest current streak. Jagodzinski’s first college head coaching job was aided by the presence of upperclassmen throughout the Eagles’ lineup. None was more important than senior quarterback and projected first-rounder Matt Ryan. Ryan led the Eagles to an 8-0 start out of the gate. He became the Heisman frontrunner overnight after leading an amazing comeback at Virginia Tech at the end of October. The win also placed Boston College at No. 2 in the national rankings. Eagles-fever died down in November and December, when Ryan threw more interceptions than touchdown passes and BC slumped to a 2-3 finish. Boston College still went on to win the Atlantic division of the ACC and had a shot at an Orange Bowl berth but lost their rematch with Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game. The team’s offensive numbers are pass-heavy with an NFL-ready quarterback running the offense behind an experienced line that excels in pass protection. Boston College’s senior backfield duo can also make plays when needed. Andre Callender caught 72 passes out of the backfield on the year and also ran for nearly 1,000 yards. One of the glaring problems for the Eagles is special teams play. Former walk-on kicker Steve Aponavicius hit only 65 percent of his field goal attempts and missed four extra points this season. Defensively, the Eagles could use the healthy return of shutdown cornerback DeJean Tribble. The BC run defense will be tested against Michigan State; a defense that excelled all year at stuffing the run. Boston College was the top school in the nation against the ground game, allowing opponents only 68 rushing yards per game.

Motor City Bowl Preview

The first bowl game featuring a Big Ten team will kick-off at 7:30 tonight at Ford Field in Detroit. The Purdue Boilermakers (7-5) and Central Michigan Chippewas (8-5) will face off in the Motor City Bowl on ESPN. The schools met earlier this season with Purdue notching a 45-22 win at home in Week 3. Since then, Purdue struggled in Big Ten conference play going just 3-5, while the Chippewas finished 6-1 and earned a 2nd straight MAC Championship. We previewed Central Michigan last week and that preview can be found here. Now let's take a look at the Boilermakers. Purdue lost five of their last seven games, all against Big Ten opponents. None of the losses hurt more than their season-ending defeat to in-state rival Indiana. Purdue had rallied from a 21-point deficit late in the second half, but lost the Old Oaken Bucket to the Hoosiers on a last-minute field goal. The Boilermakers will still come to Detroit with some of best offensive talent the Big Ten has to offer. Quarterback Curtis Painter tossed 26 touchdown passes against only nine interceptions this year. Tight end Dustin Keller and running back Cory Sheets excel in the red zone, and Dorien Bryant might be the best receiver in the entire conference. Purdue’s defense struggled for much of the season and especially against their other Michigan-based opponents. Both Michigan and Michigan State beat the Boilers scoring 48 points in the process. One bright spot on defense is Purdue's ability to cause turnovers, forcing 27 of them in its 12 games this year. The Boilermakers are hungry to end their three-game bowl losing streak tonight in Detroit, while the Chippewas look to repeat as Motor City Bowl Champions. Central Michigan defeated Middle Tennessee State 31-14 to end last season.

Saturday Basketball Preview

Eight Big Ten teams will be in action on Saturday including some big time matchups. The biggest game of the weekend proves to be Texas-Michigan State, where two top 10 teams will face off in East Lansing. It should be the best weekend of the season to date. Let's take a look at a few of the big games on the schedule for Saturday. #8 UCLA at Michigan - 2:00PM CBS This game sounds better than it will actually be. Maybe in a few years when Coach Beilein's system has been fully implemented at Michigan this will be a more exciting game. UCLA comes to town with a 10-1 record, the Bruin's only loss coming at the hands of #5 Texas by just 2 points. Michigan has been very inconsistent to date and it will take a miracle for the Wolverines to pull off an upset. Florida at Ohio State - 4:00PM CBS Oh how the mighty have fallen. Well, sort of. Neither team is as strong as last year in this rematch of last year's National Championship. Florida is 11-1, but lost their only game against a major conference team, a 65-51 home loss to Florida State. More recently, the Gators also struggled in a 52-49 win over Georgia Southern. Ohio State is 7-3 in their first ten, but those three losses have all come to very quality foes Texas A&M, North Carolina, and Butler. #5 Texas at #10 Michigan State - 6:30PM ESPN2 Ex-Wonk John Gasaway previews this game over at Basketball Prospectus much better than we could. If you haven't visited Gasaway and tempo-free genius Ken Pomeroy's new Basketball Prospectus site, you should. Illinois vs Missouri (at St Louis) - 8:30PM ESPN2 The annual border war for Busch Braggin' Rights continues Saturday night in St. Louis. Illinois comes into this season's tilt fresh off an overtime home loss to Miami (OH) Thursday night. Missouri has won three straight home contests to improve their record to 8-3 on the year with losses to Michigan State, Arkansas and California. The Illini will need more production out of their backcourt to have any chance against a fast paced Mizzou squad. Illinois point guard Chester Frazier has made just one of his last 18 shot attempts over the past couple games.

Illini fall to Miami(OH)

Miami (OH) 61 Illinois 58 OT (Box Score) Illinois shot just 35% from the floor including a dismal 2 of 15 from the 3-point line in last nights overtime loss to Redhawks of Miami (Ohio). Shaun Pruitt scored a career-high 24 points on 9-16 shooting and also pulled in 15 rebounds for the Illini. Forward Brian Randall was the only other Illini in double digits with 14. Chester Frazier continues to disappoint for Illinois scoring just 2 points in 42 minutes. Frazier missed all five of his shots last night and was 0 for 3 from behind the arc. Take away Pruitt and Randall, and the rest of the Illini shot just 16% against the Redhawks defense. Coach Bruce Weber told the team it would be a "gut-check game" and his team could not find a way to win at home. The Redhawks were paced by the play of Tim Pollitz who had his way inside scoring 17 points on 8 of 14 shooting and pulling in 13 boards. Junior guard Michael Bramos provided 19 points off the bench on 7-13 shooting and went 3 of 7 from the 3-point line. With the win, Miami improved to 6-4 on the season while the loss drops Illinois to 6-4. Up next for the Illini is the Busch Braggin' Rights game against Missouri on Saturday in St. Louis. One of the many quality games on tap for Big Ten teams tomorrow. It should be a fun weekend of basketball with the conference season just around the corner.

Two Buckeyes suspended for Title Game

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Top-ranked Ohio State will be without two cornerbacks -- one a starter and the other a top reserve -- who have been suspended for the Allstate BCS Championship Game against LSU, according to media reports. Donald Washington, a sophomore who has started every game this season for the Buckeyes (11-1), and backup Eugene Clifford were suspended for violating team rules, WCMH-TV and The Columbus Dispatch reported Wednesday. Athletic director Gene Smith declined Thursday to confirm the suspensions and said there was "work to be done" before he could confirm them. Washington, in particular, played a key role in an Ohio State defense ranked among the best in the nation. He had 34 tackles, tied for seventh-best on the team with second-team All-American lineman Vernon Gholston, and also had two tackles for minus yardage, one sack, one interception and one fumble recovery. Washington, 21, started at nickel back a year ago and moved into the starting spot at field corner this spring. In a 48-3 win over Kent State on Oct. 13, the Indianapolis native returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown and recorded his first career sack. With him out of the lineup, redshirt freshman Chimdi Chekwa will most likely move into the starting position. Clifford was a prized recruit last spring after receiving all-state and several national honors during his days at Colerain High School. He was listed as Malcolm Jenkins' backup at border corner on the Buckeyes' latest two-deep chart. Clifford had played in four games, totaling eight tackles. The Buckeyes' final workout before the holidays was on Wednesday. They will be off until returning on Dec. 26, then will practice for a week before flying to New Orleans on Jan. 2. Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Motor City Preview: Central Michigan

With the first bowl featuring a Big Ten team less than one week away, The Chronicle has decided to roll out our first in many previews to come for this year's bowl season. The Motor City Bowl is played on Wednesday, December 26th at 7:30PM and will feature the Big Ten's Purdue Boilermakers and the MAC Champion Central Michigan Chippewas. Here is a closer look at Purdue's opponent: Central Michigan Chippewas 8-5 (MAC 6-1, 1st) Central Michigan earned another Motor City Bowl berth by repeating as Mid-American Conference champions. The Chippewas were Champions of the MAC last year under Brian Kelly, now the coach at Cincinnati, then did it again under new head coach Butch Jones this season. CMU led the MAC in scoring in 2007, with sophomore quarterback Dan LeFevour leading the way. LeFevour joined current NFL QB Vince Young as the only Division 1 college quarterbacks to throw for more than 3,000 yards and run for another 1,000 in the same season. LeFevour was named 2007 MAC Offensive Player of the Year and is surrounded by talent at the skill positions, especially wide receivers Bryan Anderson and Antonio Brown. For as fast as the CMU offense can score points, its defense is just as good at giving them up. Central Michigan allowed opponents 36 points a game this season, a number inflated by the Chippewas’ appearances against BCS-conference opponents. They conceded 52 points to Kansas, 70 to Clemson, and 45 to the Boilermakers in their previous meeting on September 15th of this year. The low point for this year's defense may have been allowing 44 points in a loss to Division 1-AA (FCS) school North Dakota State.

Where are they now? Shawn Respert

Shawn Respert played shooting guard for the Michigan State Spartans from 1990 to 1995. During his senior season, coach Jud Heathcote's final year at MSU, Respert averaged 25.6 points per game and was named the 1995 Big Ten Player of the Year. Respert was also a unanimous first team All-American for the 1994-95 season. Michigan State entered the 1995 NCAA Tournament as a 3-seed but was upset in the first round by 14-seed Weber State 79-72. Respert was selected with the 8th overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. Portland then traded Respert to the Milwaukee Bucks for Gary Trent and a first-round pick. Respert played for four NBA teams (Milwaukee, Toronto, Dallas and Phoenix) from 1995 to 1999. After being waived in 1999, Respert played professionally for overseas in Italy, Greece, and Poland before retiring in 2003. In 2005, Shawn Respert admitted that he was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1996 at the age of 23. He kept his battle with cancer a secret because he didn't want people feeling sorry for him or using it as an excuse as to why his NBA career never took off. Respert has worked as Director of Basketball Operations for Rice University, and is now currently the Director of Player Development for the NBDL, the NBA's Development League.

Big Ten Basketball Newsstand

Penn State 61 Princeton 38 (Box) Slower tempo has no effect on PSU's face paced offense - Daily Collegian Penn State pounces on Princeton - Centre Daily News Michigan 103 Oakland 87 (Box) Michigan's Udoh, Gibson swat Grizzlies - Detroit Free-Press Michigan finds itself vs. Oakland - Detroit News UM win over Oakland a work of art - Ann Arbor News Wisconsin 61 UW-Milwaukee 39 (Box) UW forges scrap mettle - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Badgers get big win over I-94 rivals - Hudson Star-Observer Hughes gets point, takes step forward - Wisconsin State Journal Minnesota 78 South Dakota State 72 (Box) Gophers hang on vs Jackrabbits - Minn-St Paul Star Tribune U struggles to lackluster victory - Twin Cities Pioneer Press FRIDAY: Drake at Iowa Freeman will give it a go vs. Drake - Quad City Times An empty feeling at Carver-Hawkeye - Des Moines Register Keno, Tom Davis work together - Iowa City Press-Citizen

Somebody doesn't like Bobby Petrino

Ouch! ESPN's Pat Forde has an intersting write up today on Bobby Petrino's sudden arrival at Arkansas as the Razorback's new head coach. Forde remembers Petrino at Louisville from his days as a reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal and has some harsh words on Petrino's annual changes of scenery. It's hard to argue with the fact that Petrino seems to be looking to upgrade his status and paycheck every offseason while continuing to profess his "happiness" with his current job/school. I don't disagree that Petrino's stay in Fayetteville will probably be brief, but on the other hand who can really blame the guy for wanted to get the H out of Atlanta?

Where are they now? Joe Crispin

Joe Crispin played guard for the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1997 to 2001 alongside his younger brother Jon Crispin. Crispin was named First Team All Big Ten as a senior in 2001 averaging 19.5 points per game and shooting 35.6% from the 3-point line. The Nittany Lions finished that season with a record of 21-12 and earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament as a 7-seed. Penn State reached the Sweet 16 after a win over Providence in the 1st round and a 2nd round 82-74 upset of 1-seed North Carolina. Crispin led all scorers with 21 points in the upset win. The Lions would lose to 11-seed Temple in the Sweet 16 ending their season and Crispin's career. Crispin was not drafted, but he signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2001. He was cut after playing in only 6 games for LA and later picked up by the Phoenix Suns. Joe played in 15 games for the Suns averaging 8.6 minutes per game in the 2001-02 NBA season. Crispin was waived in 2002 and has since played all over the world in the CBA, ABA, and many European basketball leagues. In 2004 while playing with the Kansas City Knights, Crispin was named the MVP of the ABA. Joe Crispin is currently playing professional basketball in Spain. He signed with CAI Zaragoza of Spain's LEB Gold League in January of 2007. In the 2007 playoffs, Zaragoza reached the Spanish LEB Gold Semifinals.

The Return of the Bye Week

All Big Ten conference teams will now be allowed to play a game after Thanksgiving. Schools will be allowed to shift 2008 games to the last weekend in November, and the conference will start scheduling later games starting in 2009. This means that teams will once again be able to schedule a Bye Week to give athletes extra rest during the season. The Bye Week was initially lost when the NCAA expanded the regular season to 12 games. This is a move that the Big Ten needed to make and it will help conference teams in two ways. First, the obvious advantage will be the extra week for players to rehab injuries and get rested. The other major benefit this change will have is the fact all other conferences continue to play regular season games and championship games after the Thanksgiving break. Big Ten schools will now be able to move their week of rivalries back to compete with the end of the regular season in other conferences. Playing later will also greatly affect a team's chance at moving up the polls in order to get into the BCS. Generally a big win late in the season helps a team get a much needed boost in the rankings when it is needed most, unlike this year where all the late upsets helped Ohio State climb back into the National Title picture. Finally, the added week also means Big Ten team's will no longer be able to use the long layoff between their final season game and bowl game as an excuse for any lackluster performance. The playing field is now equal in terms of a team's downtime before the bowl season.

Power Rankings

1. Michigan State 8-1 The Spartans top the first edition of BTC's basketball Power Rankings after showing they can win away from home this week. Michigan State recently defeated a tough Bradley team on the road and toppled BYU on Saturday in Salt Lake City. The Spartans only loss came in a very close contest against then #1 ranked UCLA in a game played at Kansas City. Through 9 games, MSU has had one of the ten most efficient offenses in the nation with Drew Neitzel and Raymar Morgan leading the way. It also comes as no surprise that the Spartans are once again one of the nation's best rebounding teams, and right now the best in Offensive Rebounding %. Morgan and Goran Suton have been absolute monsters on the offensive glass to this point. 2. Indiana 8-1 Indiana defeated Kentucky at home on Saturday without guards Eric Gordon (day-to-day) and Armon Bassett (team rule). The 70-51 victory over the rival Wildcats was IU's 23rd straight home victory, and coach Kelvin Sampson improved his record to 21-0 at Assembly Hall since becoming the Hoosier's head coach. Indiana may be the Big Ten's most balanced team with an offense led by Gordon and the inside play of D.J. White and Lance Stemler to go along with Coach Sampson's pressure defense. The Hoosier's only blemish came earlier this year to a 7-1 Xavier team that has one of the nation's most efficient offensives to date. 3. Wisconsin 6-2 Bo Ryan's Badgers once again have one of the best defenses in all of college basketball, which should come as a surprise to no one. Wisconsin is actually the nation's best defense right now by "tempo-free" efficiency standards. What makes that stat even more impressive is the fact that one of the Badger's two losses came in the 82-58 slaughter at the hands of Duke. Wisconsin's other loss was this Saturday at home against a very good Marquette team. The Badgers will again this year be one of the toughest teams in the nation to score against and should compete for the conference crown. 4. Illinois 5-3 Saturday's overtime loss to Arizona at the United Center in Chicago dropped Illinois' record to 5-3 on the year. The Illini have played the toughest non-conference schedule to date of any Big Ten team and have faired decently well considering the quality of their competition. Illinois' three losses have come to Arizona, Duke and at Maryland. Bruce Weber's team will be a force when the Big Ten schedule opens up. 5. Purdue 5-2 Purdue has an extremely young team that has been pretty impressive on the defensive end to this point in the season. The Boilermakers have lost their only two road games to date, Saturday at Missouri and at Clemson in last week's Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The talent is obviously there for this to be a good squad, and with more experience look for the Boiler's to continue showing improvement throughout the year. This will be a very tough team to beat come conference games. 6. Minnesota 6-1 Tubby Smith's tenure with the Golden Gopher's has started better than any of the other first year coaches in the conference (more on those later), but most of those wins have come against weak competition. Minnesota has an experienced bunch this year with senior's Lawrence McKenzie, Spencer Tollackson, and Dan Coleman logging the most minutes. The Gopher's do have a road win over Iowa State, but did lose by double digits at Florida State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. It will be interesting to see how the team performs when the quality of their opponents increases (NOTE: The cupcakes continue for Minnesota until their Big Ten opener at Michigan State). 7. Ohio State 4-3 Ohio State will host Coppin State tonight as they should no doubt end their current 2-game losing streak. The Buckeye's three losses have come to quality teams, but the margin of defeat has to be more than a little concerning. OSU lost 70-47 to Texas A&M in New York earlier in the year, and more recently dropped a game at Butler 65-46, in which they were completely dominated in the 2nd half. A lot has been made early of freshman big man Kosta Koufus who is averaging 16.1 points per game. However, it should be pointed out that Koufus is currently taking 35.5% of Ohio State's total shots on the offensive end. Koufus is certainly a promising talent, but he can certainly become a much more efficient scorer and was more than disappointing against North Carolina, scoring just 4 points on 1 of 10 shooting. 8. Penn State 4-4 Penn State's first eight games has been a story of two teams. The Nittany Lions are 4-0 at home and 0-4 away from Happy Valley. Penn State's 66-61 win over Virginia Tech in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge was impressive, but losses to Rider and Central Florida away from home are equally as disappointing. 9. Iowa 6-5 Who else is wondering whether Todd Lickliter regrets his move from ranked Butler to this year's Hawkeyes? Lickliter inherited an Iowa team which had lost their two leading scorers in Tyler Smith and Adam Haluska. Then leading returner Tony Freeman went down with an ankle injury and has missed all but 1 of Iowa's games this season. The Hawkeye's did show some promise in their win at Northern Iowa last week thanks in large part to the return of Freeman. With a healthy ballclub Iowa will be better than they have shown so far but still don't expect much more than 5 conference wins from this bunch. 10. Northwestern 4-4 Northwestern started the year 1-4 before their recent three-game win streak. Of course those wins have been against Savannah State, Arkansas State, and Western Michigan. Not exactly NCAA powerhouse programs. The Wildcats have a legitimate scoring threat in guard Craig Moore, but they just don't have the depth to finish anywhere of the bottom of the league again this year. 11. Michigan 3-6 Name one thing more embarrassing than Michigan's search for a new football coach? This year's Michigan basketball squad. The Wolverines have had quite a past 10 days, losing to former coach Tommy Amaker's Harvard ballclub, and followed that up with a 95-67 bloodbath loss at Duke on Saturday. Coach John Beilien's system will eventually work at Michigan, but it sure is going to be an uphill climb.

Wednesday BBall Results

Purdue 70 Ball State 57 (Box Score) The Boilermakers improved to 5-1 win their victory over winless Ball State. Purdue struggled at times with the Cardinals and actually trailed with 15:47 left in the second half. A 17-2 Boilermaker run followed to secure victory and help Purdue avoid the upset. Sophomore Keaton Grant led all scorers with 15 points on just six shots. Grant was 4 of 6 from the three-point line and added 3 free throws. Tarrance Crump added 13 off the bench on 5 of 8 shooting, and making all three of his 3-pointers attempted. Up next for Purdue is a road test at Missouri on Saturday. Newsstand: Boilers stumble, recover in victory - Indianapolis Star Grant leads Purdue to 70-57 win over in-state rival Ball State - International Herald Tribune Iowa 62 Northern Iowa 55 (Box Score) Iowa saw the return of junior guard Tony Freeman and got a big game out of freshman Jake Kelly en route to a 62-55 road win over UNI. The Hawkeyes had lost two straight to UNI and hadn't won on the Panther's homecourt since 1999. Iowa shot 50% for the game and was 10 of 17 from the 3-point line as a team. The Hawkeyes also dominated the boards, outrebounding UNI 37 to 16. Freeman did not start, but played 24 minutes off the bench and scored 15 points on 5 of 7 shooting, including 3 for 3 from beyond the arc. Kelly was the games leading scorer with 19 points on 6 of 13 shooting. Iowa improved to 6-4 with the win and faces another in-state foe on Saturday at Iowa State. Newsstand: Freshman, Freeman lead Hawks over Panthers - Des Moines Register Freeman returns, carries Hawks past UNI - Quad City Times

Where are they now? Ray Jackson

Ray Jackson was a guard for the Michigan Wolverines from 1991 to 1995. Jackson was part of the famed "Fab Five" freshman with Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard and Jimmy King. The Wolverines reached the NCAA Tournament Finals in both 1992 and 1993, Jackson's freshman and sophomore season. In his senior year of 1995, Jackson averaged 15.8 points per game for Michigan. Jackson was the only member of the "Fab Five" to never make it to the NBA. He was picked up by the Knicks as an undrafted free agent in 1995, but was cut prior to the start of the season. Jackson was drafted by the Grand Rapids Hoops of the CBA and earned the 1995-96 CBA Rookie of the Year. Jackson currently resides in Austin, Texas. He runs a moving company and is President of R.I.S.E. Up Inc. RISE Up is a non-profit organization that stressed the need for today's youth. The program provides social, educational, and recreational opportunities for children through the use of basketball.

The BCS Got it Right

Since the creation of the BCS, we have had our fair share of controversy and the annual cries for some kind of a playoff system. The BCS was formed as a way to have the #1 and #2 teams in the nation play each other for the National Championship at the end of each year. And I think in 2007 it did exactly that. Ohio State and LSU both deserve their chance to play for this year's National Title. On the last day of the season we saw the top two teams get beat, Missouri lost to Oklahoma and West Virginia was upset by Pittsburgh. With both #1 and #2 going down so late in the season, a BCS "mess" was created. Why? Did people honestly think before the Big XII Championship that Missouri was the best team in the country? Would we have been satisfied with a BCS Championship Game of Missouri vs. West Virginia just because they were #1 and #2 on the last weekend? Probably the biggest point to keep in mind when analyzing the BCS is the fact it is meant to compare teams at the END of the season. Once ALL games have been played, the BCS calculates which teams are the best two. Every year this fact gets lost as ESPN and other media outlets prematurely look ahead at what Championship Games we MAY have if teams ranked 1 and 2 win out. Of course this is meaningless because the BCS is not meant to create the Championship matchup until all games have been played. Some argue (Pete Carroll) that this is a flaw in the system since it doesn't reward teams that are playing their best at the end of the season, but rather rewards teams based on their entire season. This is exactly one thing I love about the current BCS system. It evaluates teams based on the entire body of work. You have to be great for all 12 games and not just get hot at the end of the season. This year the BCS determined Ohio State and LSU were the best two teams based on their entire body of work and I agree. I haven't heard too many complaints about the Buckeyes reaching the Championship, but some are saying other teams were more deserving than LSU. Let's take a look at the Tigers and some of those other teams that were competing for the #2 spot once West Virginia went down. LSU Tigers LSU finished the season with 2 losses, both of those in triple overtime and was the champion of the toughest conference in the nation, the SEC. The Tigers deserve their shot at the National Title. Georgia Bulldogs Georgia is a very good football team and one of those squads that peaked at the end of the year. However, although it is not written anywhere that a team has to be a conference champ to play in the BCS Championship, it needs to be noted that not only did Georgia not win the SEC, they didn't even play in the SEC Championship Game. USC Trojans Pete Carroll will tell you that his Trojans are the best team in the nation right now. They are playing as good as any team right now, but the system we have measures every game equally. Whether that game was back in September or right now. And USC lost at home to Stanford! I know they were hurt and banged up, but under no system should a team be able to lose at home to Stanford this year and still have any chance at playing for the National Title. Sorry Trojans. Oklahoma Sooners If not LSU, Oklahoma would be the one team I would have been okay with jumping up to #2. They have two losses, both on the road, and the last to Texas Tech when QB Sam Bradford left the game with an injury. But injuries are part of the game and part of each season. Virginia Tech Hookies Virginia Tech won the ACC Championship avenging their loss earlier to Boston College. But in this case we can actually look at what happened on the field. Va Tech played LSU this season, and even though it was played in early September, LSU won that game 48 to 7. Enough said. Kansas Jayhawks Kansas is the other one loss team from a BCS Conference, but the Jayhawks beat exactly ZERO teams that are currently receiving votes in the AP Poll. Missouri was the one ranked team they played all season, and Kansas lost 28-36 on a neutral field. Nice season KU, but you really didn't beat anybody of substance. So we are left with the best two teams ALL SEASON playing each other in New Orleans, Ohio State and LSU. The system is not perfect and no system will be, but this year the BCS did its job and got it right.

Big Ten Bowl Schedule

BCS National Championship LSU Tigers 38 Ohio State Buckeyes 24 Rose Bowl USC Trojans 49 Illinois Fighting Illini 17 Capital One Bowl Michigan Wolverines 41 Florida Gators 35 Outback Bowl Tennessee Volunteers 21 Wisconsin Badgers 17 Insight Bowl Oklahoma State Cowboys 49 Indiana Hoosiers 33 Alamo Bowl Penn State Nittany Lions 24 Texas A&M Aggies 17 Champs Sports Bowl Boston College Eagles 24 Michigan State Spartans 21 Motor City Bowl Purdue Boilermakers 51 Central Michigan Chippewas 48

Les Miles Aftermath

Now that Les Miles has made it clear that he plans to stay at LSU instead of bolting to Michigan, let's look back at what caused all the craziness on Saturday. Terry Foster of the Detroit News is standing by the early reports that a deal was made for Miles to come to Michigan. His sources confirmed that Miles was indeed coming to Ann Arbor, and Foster was setting up a meeting with Miles for next week. Then there is the Big Ten Network's Gerry DiNardo who is reporting that Miles to Michigan ended up falling through for two reasons. Number one, Michigan AD Bill Martin would not meet with Miles until after LSU played in the SEC Championship game. Secondly, LSU offered Les Miles three different contracts. The best one, which it appears he ended up accepting, would only be on the table if he agreed to it before the SEC Title game. The other two were different and depended on whether the Tigers won or lost against Tennessee on Saturday. Obviously Miles decided to take the best contract and the guaranteed money LSU was offering. It should also be noted that ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit sorta stood by his initial report Saturday during the telecast of the Oklahoma-Missouri game. Herbstreit basically said he would not have gone on the air with breaking news had he not had numerous sources at Michigan confirming to him that Miles would accept the position with UM. He also would not rule out the possibility of Miles still going to Michigan, as we have learned anything can happen in this day and age. So whats to make of all of this? Who knows what actually happened. Probably nobody ever will except for Les Miles. It appears that Miles had at least told some associated with Michigan that he would be leaving for Ann Arbor. Whether he changed his mind when LSU offered more money, when ESPN prematurely broke the news, or for other reasons, only he knows. However, it should be noted that Miles is certainly no "victim" because of all of this. Whatever the case may be, it has been reported the LSU coach's new contract is worth $3 million next season. In conclusion, if we take Miles for his word now he will be the head coach at LSU next season, and Michigan is left to Plan C, or worse.

Check that, Miles to stay at LSU

After a morning report by ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit had LSU coach Les Miles being named head coach at Michigan next week, now comes news from Baton Rogue that Miles and LSU have reached an agreement on a contract extension. LSU AD Skip Bertman has confirmed with various news sources that the deal has not yet been signed, but the two parties have reached an agreement. This comes as a shock after hearing Herbstreit's report on College GameDay this morning and obviously serves as a major hit to Kirk Herbstreit's credibility.

Breaking: Miles to Michigan

ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit is now reporting that LSU head coach Les Miles will be named head coach at Michigan early next week after the Tigers play in the SEC Championship game Saturday night. Herbstreit has learned from a source at Michigan that not only will Miles be announced as head coach, but Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Joe Tenuta will also be joining Miles on the staff at Michigan. Miles of course played at Michigan and served as assistant coach on the Wolverine's staff in 1980 and 1981. After leaving for Colorado, Miles returned to Michigan to coach from 1987 to 1994 for both coaches Bo Schembechler and Gary Moeller.