This is the end...

I started this blog just over a year ago and have enjoyed every minute of covering the greatest conference in the World, the Big Ten. I am both saddened and excited to tell you, my loyal readers, that the Big Ten Chronicle will be no more. I have been offered a spot as a writer for the website Hawkeye Sports News. This is an offer that I have accepted. Now I will have the chance to focus on my home state Iowa Hawkeyes and help provide Iowa fans a place to get all the latest news and analysis for their team. Thank you to everyone who visited The Chronicle over the year and please check out my new home at Hawkeye Sports News. Also, for fans of the "other" 10 teams, please don't be afraid to keep in touch. I can always be reached via email here. Thanks again and On Iowa....

Indiana-Purdue postgame analysis

The Purdue Boilermakers took their 11-game win streak across the state last night when they faced off against Indiana. The Hoosiers certainly ended any speculation about whether or not the NCAA violations that are hanging over their coach’s head would be any major distraction to the players with a 77-68 victory over the Big Ten leading Boilers. The win moved Indiana into a virtual tie with Purdue atop the conference standings. The Hoosiers did succeed at playing the game at their pace, a game in which Indiana had 73 possessions compared to 74 for Purdue (the most in a single game for the Boilers since their win over Ohio State on Jan 12th that started their 11-game win streak). Indiana’s offense was much more efficient than Purdue’s despite an alarmingly high number of turnovers. The Hoosiers scored 1.05 points per possession and held Purdue to only 0.92 points per possession on the evening. This is especially remarkable when you take into account the fact that Indiana had a total of 23 turnovers for the game. Which means the Hoosiers turned it over on 31.5% of their possessions yet still managed to average over a point per possession, thanks in large part to their massive advantage at the free throw stripe. Indiana shot 30 of 34 on their free throws while Purdue was a feeble 11 for 21 (52%). Hoosier freshman Eric Gordon benefited most from the charity stripe as he alone made more free throws than Purdue’s entire team. Gordon finished 13-15 from the line and with 22 points overall on only 4 of 12 shooting from the floor. Indiana was led once again by the inside force that is D.J. White. White finished with yet another double-double, scoring 19 points on 6 of 11 shooting and pulling down a game-high 15 rebounds. D.J., playing with his left knee wrapped, has almost certainly locked up Big Ten Player of the Year honors, and as Steve Lavin pointed out last night, should start to be seriously considered for the nation’s Player of the Year award. In the loss, Purdue was led in scoring again by freshman Robbie Hummel, who finished the game with 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting (3-6 from three-point land). As a team the Boilermakers shot just 24% (7-29) from three compared to Indiana’s 64% (7-11) from beyond the arc. IU’s Armon Bassett had his best shooting night of the season, missing just one shot on the night and hitting on all four of his three-pointers taken. Bassett finished the game with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists but did turn the ball over 5 times. Purdue now has over a week off to prepare for their next game against Minnesota next Wednesday. Despite the loss, the Boiler’s remaining schedule puts them in pretty good shape with back-to-back home games against Minnesota and Northwestern, before finishing the season on the road at Ohio State and Michigan. Indiana’s next game is at Northwestern on Saturday, a day after the University’s 7-day investigation period comes to an end and a recommendation on Kelvin Sampson’s future is expected to be made on Friday. All eyes and ears will be tuned into Bloomington to hear the decision which will decide Sampson’s fate before the Hoosier’s next game.

BTC Power Rankings - Week VII

1. Purdue Boilermakers 21-5 (12-1) (Previous #1) This week: 2/19-at Indiana Eleven straight wins have the Boilers on top of the Big Ten and atop the Power Rankings for a second straight week. The rest of the nation has finally started to take notice of what Purdue has been able to do in Big Ten play thanks in large part to their nationally televised win over Michigan State on Tuesday. The Boilermakers continue to improve defensively, led by stopper Chris Kramer, and in conference games are holding opponents to just 0.93 points per possession. Next up is another huge ESPN-televised game on Tuesday at in-state rival Indiana. 2. Indiana Hoosiers 21-4 (10-2) (Previous #2) This week: 2/19-vs Purdue, 2/23-at Northwestern The Hoosiers were handed the NCAA's report of five major violations committed by coach Kelvin Sampson and his assistants on Wednesday, then hit the court and dropped a heart-breaker to Wisconsin thanks to Brian Butch's bank-shoot three-pointer. Then on Saturday, Indiana bounced back to defeat Michigan State by 19 without D.J. White in the second half, who left the game with a knee injury. White says he'll be fine, but the Indiana basketball program certainly is not. Sampson's job status is day-to-day as IU takes seven days to sort through the mess and ultimately decide their coach's fate for the remainder of the season. In my opinion, Sampson has to be fired. Indiana knew they were hiring Coach Sampson and his past allegations, but after warnings from the NCAA and his school, Sampson committed the same violations. The only problem then is who is named interim coach for the remainder of the season? First-year assistant Dan Dikich is the only coach on the staff not named in the NCAA's report and appears to be the safe option. It looks as though Sampson will be coaching the Hoosiers again on Tuesday when conference leading Purdue comes to town, but he could and should be long gone by next weekend. 3. Wisconsin Badgers 21-4 (11-2) (Previous #3) This week: 2/20-at Illinois, 2/24-at Ohio State Wisconsin banked into a win at Indiana on Tuesday and then took care of business against Minnesota over the weekend. The Badgers are 11-0 in conference against teams not-named Purdue and have a very tough week ahead of them on the road. Illinois and Ohio State, while down this year, are still very formidable foes and especially in their places. If Wisconsin can come away with two wins this week, they will be in very good shape for the regular season conference title. 4. Michigan State Spartans 20-5 (8-4) (Previous #4) This week: 2/20-vs Penn State, 2/23-vs Iowa Once again the Spartans can stake claim to the Big Ten team doing the least with the most amount of talent. Back-to-back losses at Purdue and Indiana are nothing to be ashamed of, but MSU needed to at least split in their road trip to the state of Indiana last week if they wanted to keep any hope alive for the regular season crown. Surprisingly, the Spartan offense is only averaging 0.99 points per possession in conference games and continue to be haunted by turnovers. Obviously, Michigan State will still be a tournament team, but we are currently looking at three straight disappointing seasons for Coach Izzo's squad. 5. Ohio State Buckeyes 17-9 (8-5) (Previous #5) This week: 2/24-vs Wisconsin After a loss on Sunday at Michigan, the Buckeyes are starting to slide back on the bubble. Ohio State needs to find a way to win away from home if they want to secure an NCAA bid before the Big Ten Tournament. OSU is now 8-5 in conference play and have a very tough remaining schedule. Their next two games are against Wisconsin and at Indiana. 6. Minnesota Golden Gophers 15-9 (5-7) (Previous #6) This week: 2/21-vs Michigan, 2/24-vs Penn State The Gophers have certainly played themselves out of any NCAA Tournament talk after a 0-2 week. The 24-point home loss to Illinois on Tuesday may have single-handily put a stop to Tubby Smith's career NCAA Tournament streak. The good news is this week Minnesota can get back to .500 with home wins over Michigan and Penn State. Of course that is easier said then done especially for a team that has yet to beat anyone in the RPI Top-100 this season. 7. Illinois Fighting Illini 11-15 (3-10) (Previous #8) This week: 2/20-vs Wisconsin, 2/24-at Michigan Illinois has to be the best 11-15 team in the nation. In Big Ten play, the Illini are averaging exactly 1.00 point per possession and surrendering 0.99 points per possession on the defensive end. The Badgers had better not overlook Illinois this Wednesday as Assembly Hall is still a very difficult place to play, just ask Indiana. 8. Michigan Wolverines 8-17 (4-9) (Previous #9) This week: 2/21-at Minnesota, 2/24-vs Illinois Has Michigan finally figured out Coach Beilein's offense? The Wolverines have won three-straight games including a 80-70 win over Ohio State on Sunday. Michigan has a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way to improve their seed in the Big Ten Tournament and nobody is going to want to face a hot-shooting Wolverine team that weekend. 9. Penn State Nittany Lions 12-12 (4-8) (Previous #10) This week: 2/20-at Michigan State, 2/24-at Minnesota Penn State has won back-to-back home games against Michigan State and Illinois, but unfortunately now head on the road for two games this week. Revenge will be on the Spartan's mind on Wednesday and things could get ugly for the Lions in East Lansing. 10.Iowa Hawkeyes 11-15 (4-9) (Previous #7) This week: 2/19-vs Northwestern, 2/23-at Michigan State Just when it looked like maybe Iowa was growing into a team that could contend for the 5 or 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament they look ugly in losses at Minnesota and against Michigan at home. Northwestern comes to town on Tuesday before a trip to East Lansing to face the Spartans. 11.Northwestern Wildcats 7-16 (0-12) (Previous #11) This week: 2/19-at Iowa, 2/23-vs Indiana The Wildcats can look at three games on their remaining schedule as their last realistic opportunities to pick up a conference win. Tuesday at Iowa, February 26th at Michigan, and March 5th at home against Iowa in their best chance at a Big Ten win.

Michigan 60 Iowa 52

(Box Score) It was a tale of two halves on Thursday night as Michigan took advantage of a cold shooting second half by the Hawkeyes on their way to a 60-52 road victory. It marked only the 3rd win away from home for the Wolverines all season and Iowa’s third straight loss. The Hawkeyes jumped on Michigan early in what had the looks to be an easy win for Iowa. It looked as though the Wolverines left their offense at home as Iowa jumped out to a 22-7 lead and led by as much as 16 at one point in the first half. The Hawkeyes ended up taking an 11-point lead in the locker room at halftime, leading 27-16. After the halftime break things started going downhill for the Hawkeyes and downhill in a hurry. Michigan started the 2nd half on a 13-4 run as they picked up the pace on offense and started knocking down their open jumpers. Manny Harris led the charge for the Wolverines scoring all 15 of his points in the second half. Of course, most of those came from the free throw line in garbage time, as Harris ended the game 8-8 from the charity stripe. The Iowa offense lacked showing any type of flow in the second half and went without a field goal for over an eight minute stretch of time. For the game, the Hawkeyes averaged a dismal 0.86 points per possession for the night compared to Michigan’s much more efficient 1.03 points per possession. Iowa shot just 37% for the game and were 7 of 28 (25%) from the 3-point line. Sharp-shooter Justin Johnson could not find his touch all game long and finished just 3-13 from long range with 9 points. Tony Freeman may have played his worst game of the season, scoring just 8 points and only 3 in the second half. Iowa was led in scoring by Jake Kelly’s 12 points and Cyrus Tate who added 10 points in the loss. They were the only two Hawkeyes to score in double figures. Turnovers also continued to hurt the Hawkeyes. Iowa finished the game with 12 turnovers, which is a high number for a 60 possession game. That equals a turnover rate of 20%, meaning Iowa turned the ball over on 20% of their possessions. Iowa now has the weekend off to prepare for their next game against Northwestern at home on Tuesday. The Hawkeye’s remaining schedule appears to be quite favorable with a home and away against Northwestern along with a home game versus Illinois and road contests against Michigan State and Penn State. Four of Iowa’s remaining five games look to be winnable, but on the other hand not many would have guessed the Hawks would drop Thursday nights game to Michigan. Certainly at halftime it looked like Iowa may be ready to finish the regular season on a roll, but in the end it’s back to the drawing board for Coach Lickliter and his staff. Michigan has now won two straight and faces Ohio State at home on Sunday. The Wolverines finish the season with four out of six at home with road games at Minnesota and Penn State. If Michigan can finish strong they could easily find themselves with the 7-seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

Where are they now? Matt Bullard

Matt Bullard played forward for Iowa from 1988 to 1990. A native of West Des Moines, Bullard transferred back to play for his home state Hawkeyes in 1988 after two seasons at the University of Colorado. Bullard joined an already talented squad his junior year and played alongside seniors Roy Marble, B.J. Armstrong and Ed Horton. In 1988-89 Iowa finished 4th in the Big Ten regular season and lost 102-96 in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament to NC State in two overtimes. Bullard averaged 9.1 points per game off the bench in his junior year and 11.4 points per game his senior year of 1989-90. The Hawkeyes finished that season with a record of 12-16, one of only two losing seasons during the tenure of Dr. Tom Davis. After Matt’s career at Iowa he signed as a non-draftee free agent with the Houston Rockets. Bullard played for eleven seasons in the NBA, nine with the Rockets (1990-94, 1996-2001) and one each with the Atlanta Hawks (1995-96) and Charlotte Hornets (2001-02). Bullard averaged 5.3 points per game as a professional during his career and won a NBA Championship as a member of the Houston Rockets in 1994. He also set a Rocket franchise record in three-point percentage by shooting 44.6% from behind the arc in the 1999-2000 season. In 2004, Matt competed against other former athletes for an analyst position in the ESPN reality TV show Dream Job. Bullard eventually lost in the finals to Dee Brown. After Dream Job, Bullard continued to pursue a career in broadcasting and landed spots on ESPN Radio and also worked for Houston NBC Affiliate, KPRC. Bullard currently serves as color commentator for Houston Rocket games on Fox Sports Net. He and Clyde Drexler share the analyst duties on Rocket telecasts alongside play-by-play man Bill Worrell. Recently, Matt Bullard was featured as NBA.com’s Broadcaster of the Week. Also, for all you Iowa fans, you know you're out there, it'd be worth your while to check out the site Hawkeye Sports News. They do a great job of providing a daily list of links in their Hawkeye Newsstand and were gracious enough to put today's look at former Hawkeye Matt Bullard on their main page. Check it out!

BTC Power Rankings - Week VI

1. Purdue Boilermakers 19-5 (10-1) (Previous #3) This week: 2/12-vs Michigan St, 2/16-at Northwestern 2. Indiana Hoosiers 20-3 (9-1) (Previous #2) This week: 2/13-vs Wisconsin, 2/16-vs Michigan St 3. Wisconsin Badgers 19-4 (9-2) (Previous #1) This week: 2/13-at Indiana, 2/16-vs Minnesota 4. Michigan State Spartans 20-3 (8-2) (Previous #4) This week: 2/12-at Purdue, 2/16-at Indiana 5. Ohio State Buckeyes 16-8 (7-4) (Previous #5) This week: 2/13-at Northwestern, 2/17-at Michigan 6. Minnesota Golden Gophers 15-7 (5-5) (Previous #7) This week: 2/12-vs Illinois, 2/16-at Wisconsin 7. Iowa Hawkeyes 11-14 (4-8) (Previous #6) This week: 2/14-vs Michigan 8. Illinois Fighting Illini 10-14 (2-9) (Previous #9) This week: 2/12-at Minnesota, 2/16-at Penn State 9. Michigan Wolverines 6-17 (2-9) (Previous #10) This week: 2/14-at Iowa, 2/17-vs Ohio State 10.Penn State Nittany Lions 11-12 (3-8) (Previous #8) This week: 2/16-vs Illinois 11.Northwestern Wildcats 7-14 (0-10) (Previous #11) This week: 2/13-vs Ohio State, 2/16-vs Purdue Purdue and Wisconsin swap spots after the Boilers win at Madison. Indiana hangs onto the #2 spot for now after holding off the Buckeyes in Columbus on Sunday. This week also proves to be make or break time for Tom Izzo's Spartans. Michigan State has by far the toughest remaining schedule of any team in the Big Ten and it starts with road games against Purdue and Indiana this week. Remember to check out Gopher Nation for this week's FINAL Big Ten Bloggers Power Rankings after all the votes have been tabulated.

Gordon gets last laugh in Champaign

Indiana 83 Illinois 79 2OT (Box Score) Illinois fans paid for two halves but got an extra 10 minutes of free basketball last night when the Hoosiers and Public Enemy #1 Eric Gordon came to town. The star freshman and once Illini commit received taunts and boos all night long courtesy of the fanatics known as the Orange Crush. Gordon struggled early scoring only 1 point in the first half but eventually found his scoring touch and ended the game as the team's leading scorer with 19 points. He banked in a long three with 23 seconds left in the 2nd half to tie the game, silence the crowd, and force overtime. In terms of efficiency, both teams averaged 1.03 points per possession offensively. The only glaring difference in the stat line was free throws. Indiana needs to look no further than the free throw line for the main reason they were able to stay in this game on the road and eventually pull out a win. The Hoosiers shot 29 free throws, making 22 (76%), compared to Illinois which shot 8 for 17 (47%) from the line. This should come as no surprise to Illini fans as their team has had troubles at the free throw line for most of the season. On the year, Illinois ranks 271st in the nation in free throw rate (a measure of a team's ability to score from the line or FTM/FGA). Indiana ranks 1st in the Big Ten in free throw rate at 31.7, which is top 20 in the country. Eric Gordon benefited most from fould line leading the Hoosiers with 19 points, 10 of which came as free throws (10-12 FT). From the floor, Gordon shot just 3 of 13 in the game and also committed 7 turnovers. D.J. White had yet another solid game on his way to 1st-team All Big Ten status with 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting while pulling down 9 rebounds. Jordan Crawford provided a spark off the bench, finishing the game with 18 points, shooting 7 of 13 from the floor and making 4 of 6 three-pointers. Illinois was led in scoring by guard Demetri McCamey who scored 31 points, but also lost the ball off his knee towards the end of the double overtime period to nail the coffin in the Illini. McCamey shot 11 for 20 including 7 of 13 from three-point range. Shaun Pruitt scored 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, but shot his team in the foot going just 1 of 7 from the free throw line. After Gordon's game-tying three in regulation, Pruitt was sent to the line for a 1-on-1 with 4 seconds left and missed the front end. Pruitt then clanked two free throws with the game tied and 2 seconds left in the first overtime. With the win, Indiana improved to 8-1 in Big Ten play while Illinois dropped to 2-9 in conference and 10-14 overall. Next up for the Hoosiers is a trip to Columbus to face Ohio State on Sunday. The Illini have this weekend off before their next game at Minnesota on Tuesday.

Where are they now? Mike Wilkinson

Mike Wilkinson played basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers from 2001 to 2005. Before his career at Wisconsin, as a senior at Wisconsin Heights High School Wilkinson was named Mr. Basketball for the state of Wisconsin. During 2005, his senior season with the Badgers, Wilkinson averaged 14.3 points per game and was selected First Team All-Big Ten. He led Wisconsin to a 3rd place regular season finish in the Big Ten with an 11-5 conference record. The Badgers earned a 6-seed in the 2005 NCAA Tournament and were eventually eliminated by 2005 National Champion North Carolina in the Elite 8. Wilkinson was not drafted in the 2005 NBA Draft but instead decided to pursue a professional career overseas. He moved to Greece and played for two years for Aris Thessaloniki. Wilkinson was selected both years to play in the Greek All-Star Games. Since then, Wilkinson has picked up a Macedonian passport and was granted citizenship which would allow him to play for the Macedonian National Basketball Team. His citizenship also makes him a hot commodity in overseas leagues since he does not count against his team's quota of American players. Mike Wilkinson currently plays for Khimky Moscow Region in the Russian SuperLeague. Khimky is currently 14-2 and in 2nd place out of the 13 teams in the SuperLeague. Wilkinson is averaging 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game so far in the 2007-08 season.

Buckeyes and Boilers take care of homecourts

Ohio State 65 Michigan 55 (Box .pdf) What ESPN is calling "Rivalry Week" kicked off last night for the Big Ten with the basketball version of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. Some may think the football rivalry has been a bit one-sided recently, but the Buckeyes have absolutely owned Michigan in basketball. Counting last nights win, Ohio State has now won seven straight over the Wolverines; Michigan's last win over OSU was in 2004. The Wolverines actually led this game at halftime 32-31 and stayed close throughout, trailing by 4 with two minutes to play. Michigan's offense was relatively efficient, for Michigan standards, against the Buckeyes averaging 1.01 points per possession. Most of the damage was done from the outside as the Wolverines shot 9 for 26 from three-point range, scoring nearly half of their points from behind the arc. In the end, Michigan came up just short on the offensive end and especially from the free throw line. The Wolverines shot just 7 free throws on the night, making 6 of them. Ohio State seemed to get their offense back on track after the weekends loss at Iowa. The Buckeyes offense scored 1.08 points per possession in last nights victory. OSU shot 7 of 16 (44%) from three-point range to complement a strong game from Othella Hunter in the inside. Hunter scored an efficient 15 points on 7 of 11 shooting and also pulled down 12 rebounds to complete his double-double. The Buckeye defense also stiffened up when needed holding Michigan to zero field goals in the final four minutes of the game. Up next for Ohio State is a huge showdown with Indiana in Columbus on Sunday. The Wolverines play next when they host Penn State on Saturday. Purdue 67 Penn State 53 (Box) Purdue had three starters score in double figures and continued their defensive domninance in a 14 point win over Penn State in West Lafayette last night. Robbie Hummel led the Boilers with 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting, and E'Twaun Moore threw in 16 on 4 of 6 shooting (6-6 free throws) to lead a Purdue offense that scored an impressive 1.16 points per possesion as a team. Purdue also excelled on the defensive end of the court holding Penn State to only 0.87 points per possession. The Nittany Lions were hurt by turnovers and poor free throw shooting in this loss as Penn State only converted on 5 of their 14 free throws as a team. This game could have easily been a much larger Purdue victory if not for the Lions high percentage from three-point range. Penn State shot 53% (8-15) from long range in the loss with Mike Walker pouring in 4 of 6 three's off the bench. The Boilermaker defense has been one of the best in conference all season in forcing turnovers and last night was no exception. Purdue forced Penn State into 18 turnovers in a 60 possession game; that's turning the Lions over on 29.7% of their possesions. Purdue improved to 9-1 in Big Ten play and currently sits atop the standings with Wisconsin playing tonight. The Boilermakers next game is Saturday against the Badgers in Madison. Penn State travles to Ann Arbor to face Michigan on Saturday. Tonight's action: Struggling Minnesota travels to Evanston to face winless Northwestern. The Gophers have dropped 4 of their last 5, while the Wildcast haven't won a Big Ten game in almost a calender year (last win vs Penn St - Feb 10th, 2007). Iowa tries to make it back-to-back upset wins at home as they face conference front-runner Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes beat Ohio State on Saturday and have won two straight at home. The Badger's lone conference loss came at Purdue on January 26th.

A Closer Look: Tempo-Free

Conference games only through 2/3/08 Key: PPP: points per possession Opp. PPP: opponent points per possession EM: efficiency margin (PPP - Opp. PPP) Pace PPP Opp. PPP EM 1. Wisconsin 61.1 1.07 0.88 +0.19 2. Ohio State 64.8 1.03 0.90 +0.13 3. Indiana 65.3 1.06 0.94 +0.12 4. Purdue 65.4 1.04 0.94 +0.10 5. Michigan State 65.8 1.02 0.95 +0.08 6. Illinois 63.4 0.99 1.01 -0.02 7. Minnesota 69.1 0.97 0.99 -0.03 8. Iowa 60.9 0.92 0.98 -0.07 9. Penn State 63.2 1.01 1.13 -0.12 10.Michigan 64.5 0.96 1.11 -0.14 11.Northwestern 62.8 0.92 1.17 -0.25 These stats are taken from Big Ten Conference games only. Looking at conference only games should give a better measure of a team's abilities since (although not perfect), those games are against like opponents and consist of an equal amount of home and road games. Ohio State actually jumped into 2nd in efficiency margin despite their weekend loss at Iowa. The Buckeyes defense has been solid all conference season long, specifically along the perimeter. Iowa's Justin Johnson found some holes in the OSU zone and hit on 8 of his 13 three-point shots in Saturday's Hawkeye win. Take away Johnson's hot hand, and the rest of the Hawkeyes were held to just 3 of 12 from three-point range and 8 of 19 on their two-point shots. Keeping in mind that the Buckeyes get Wisconsin, Michigan State and Purdue all at home in the second half of the conference season, Ohio State is definately going to be a major player in the Big Ten Title Race.

BTC Power Rankings - Week V

Better late than never! BTC Power Rankings are usually posted on Monday, and my apologies for getting these up a day late. I'll make it brief and post a quick version of this week's poll. Tom over at Gopher Nation tabulates the votes and will release the Final Big Ten Bloggers Power Poll either today or tomorrow. 1. Wisconsin Badgers (18-3, 8-1) (Previous #3) This week: 2/6-at Iowa, 2/9-vs Purdue 2. Indiana Hoosiers (18-3, 7-1) (Previous #2) This week: 2/7-at Illinois, 2/10-at Ohio State 3. Purdue Boilermakers (17-5, 8-1) (Previous #4) This week: 2/5-vs Penn State, 2/9-at Wisconsin 4. Michigan State Spartans (19-3, 7-2) (Previous #1) This week: 2/9-vs Northwestern 5. Ohio State Buckeyes (15-7, 6-3) (Previous #5) This week: 2/5-vs Michigan, 2/10-vs Indiana 6. Iowa Hawkeyes (11-12, 4-6) (Previous #6) This week: 2/6-vs Wisconsin, 2/9-at Minnesota 7. Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-7, 3-5) (Previous #7) This week: 2/6-at Northwestern, 2/9-vs Iowa 8. Penn State Nittany Lions (11-10, 3-6) (Previous #9) This week: 2/5-at Purdue, 2/9-at Michigan 9. Illinois Fighting Illini (10-13, 2-8) (Previous #8) This week: 2/7-vs Indiana 10.Michigan Wolverines (5-16, 1-8) (Previous #10) This week: 2/5-at Ohio State, 2/9-vs Penn State 11.Northwestern Wildcats (7-12, 0-8) (Previous #11) This week: 2/6-vs Minnesota, 2/9-at Michigan State Big Ten Blogger Power Poll Voters: Big Ten Chronicle Hoopraker Hoosier Report - IU Hoosier Fun Ball - IU Black Heart Gold Pants - Iowa Maize N Brew - Michigan Sparty MSU - Michigan St Enlightened Spartan - Michigan St Gopher Nation - Minnesota Down With Goldy - Minnesota Paging Jim Shikenjanski - Minnesota Lake the Posts - Northwestern Around the Oval - Ohio State Eleven Warriors - Ohio State Buckeye Battle Cry - Ohio State Black Shoes Diaries - Penn State Nittany White Out - Penn State Off the Tracks - Purdue

Saturday Previews

Purdue (16-5) at Illinois (10-12) 3:30 BTN Pomeroy Rankings: Purdue #36, Illinois #35 Greenfield Rankings: Purdue #41, Illinois #106 Purdue has excelled this year with great defense, ranking in the top 25 of defensive efficiency at 89.0 (allowing 89 points per 100 possessions). The Boilers can attribute most of that to their ability to create turnovers. Purdue's opponents have been turning the ball over on 26% of their possessions, that ranks 15th best in the country, highlighted by Chris Kramer's ability to record steals. The sophomore is credited with a steal on 4% of the possessions that he is on the court, very good for the number of minutes he plays. That stat should be magnified today against an Illinois team that has had more than their share of troubles on offense this season. The Illini have been better at home winning their last two in Chaimpaign (of course against cellar-dwellers Michigan and Northwestern). These two teams met last on January 19th at Purdue with the Boilermakers winning 74-67. Surprisingly, that was the fastest game Illinois has played in conference this season in terms of possessions. Expect the pace to be much slower today with two good defenses and points hard to come by. Also, don't be surprised to see Illinois bounce back from a terrible loss at Michigan State on Wednesday, and Purdue's young team has to fall back to the pack at sometime, right? BTC Prediction: Illinois 60 Purdue 55 Ohio State (15-6) at Iowa (10-12) 6:05 BTN Pomeroy: Ohio State #20, Iowa #106 Greenfield: Ohio State #24, Iowa #123 The last time these two teams met in Columbus on January 9th, Buckeye coach Thad Matta pounded his friend and former assistant Todd Lickliter en route to a 79-48 Ohio State win, Iowa's worst loss in Big Ten play. Since then, the Hawkeyes have surprised many by going 3-3 in their last 6 games. The Buckeyes are also 3-3 since that win. Some may also be surprised to learn that in terms of efficiency, the Buckeyes are the best defensive team in conference not named Wisconsin. They are holding opponents to just 86.1 points per 100 possessions which ranks 8th nationally. Opposing teams are making less than 43% of their two point shots against Ohio State. Iowa's offense has been difficult to watch at times this season hindered mostly by their uncanny ability to give up possessions. The Hawkeyes turn the ball over on 26% of their offensive possessions. That was on display in their 51-50 loss at Purdue on Wednesday night when Iowa committed 22 turnovers in a game that had only 58 possessions. That coming from a coach whose Butler team last year led the nation in fewest turnovers per possession. Iowa will try to slow down the pace and cut down on those mistakes, but a win against a peaking Buckeye's team would be a big surprise. BTC Prediction: Ohio State 62 Iowa 54 Michigan State (19-2) at Penn State (10-10) 8:00 BTN Pomeroy: MSU #16, Penn State #101 Greenfield: MSU #10, Penn State #134 Michigan State goes into tonight's game at Happy Valley with a five game winning streak. The Spartans have been, for the most part, able to overcome their biggest weakness and seemingly annual Achilles' heel of turnovers to find themselves tied for the conference lead. If you have followed Big Ten basketball in recent years it should not be a surprise for you to learn that this year's Spartan team is fantastic at getting second chances by stockpiling offensive rebounds while also giving many more chances away by frequently turning the ball over to the other team. Michigan State again ranks very high (3rd in the nation) in offensive rebounding percentage at 42.4%. Of course they also rank low in turnover ratio (22.2%), second to last in the Big Ten ahead of only Iowa (Hawkeye turnover woes documented above). It seems this year, like any other of recent memory, if the Spartans can ever find away to trim turnovers they could be very scary come March. As for Penn State, their season needs to be broken down in two parts. BGCACL (Before Geary Claxton's torn ACL) and AGCACL (After Geary Claxton's torn ACL). Since the Nittany Lions lost Claxton for the season, they are 0-6 (losing the last 5 by double-digits). This after a surprising 10-4 start with Claxton in the starting lineup. BTC Prediction: Michigan State 74 Penn State 60 * BTC Predictions are 22-3 on the season

A Closer Look: Wisconsin 62 Indiana 49

(Full Box Score) Indiana took a trip north to Madison last night and suffered their first defeat in Big Ten play. The Badgers knocked off the Hoosiers 62-49 to create a four-way logjam at the top of the conference standings. Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State and Purdue are all now tied in the loss column atop the Big Ten standings. The Hoosiers shot 18-54 (33%) on the night while Wisconsin was 20-58 (34%) from the floor. Both teams were cold from three-point range, Indiana only 3-21 (14%) and Wisconsin shot just 3-20 (15%) from long distance. So what was the difference in this 13-point win for the Badgers? Lets take a closer look: 1. Efficiency Possesions: Indiana 60.7, Wisconsin 61.4 Offensive PPP(Points per Possesion): Indiana 0.81, Wisconsin 1.01 The Badgers held Indiana well below their conference average of 1.06 PPP. Offensively, Wisconsin averaged over 1.0 PPP against a Hoosier defense that was holding opponents to 0.90 PPP in conference play before Thursday. 2. Turnovers TO Rate: Indiana 19.8% (12 turnovers), Wisconsin 9.8% (6 turnovers) Turnovers become a key in this game thanks to Wisconsin's incredible ability to hold onto the ball. Last night marked the first time all season the Badgers had a TO % of less than 11% on the season and along with the fact Wisconsin pulled down 4 more offensive rebounds than Indiana gave them the chance to take more shots and even more importantly more free throws. Which speaking of... 3. Free Throws FT: Indiana 10-12 (83%), Wisconsin 19-26 (73%) Bo Ryan coached teams have also put an emphasis on getting to the free throw line. They expect to make more free throws than their opponents attempt. That was certainly the case against the Hoosiers and proved to be the single most important factor in Wisconsin's victory. Trevon Hughes himself got to the line 10 times, making 9 of those attempts. If you listened to the commentators or are reading some recaps on last night's game you have probably heard about Eric Gordon's wrist injury and how much that effected the game. Which it definately appeared as though he was having trouble getting comfortable last night, especially in the first half. Gordon finished the game with 16 points on just 6-14 shooting (2-7 from 3). Indiana's most efficient player was again D.J. White as he completed a monster game with a game-high 22 points on 7-13 shooting and pulled down 17 boards for yet another double-double. Wisconsin was led by Marcus Landry's 14 points on 6-10 shooting, and he also grabbed 11 rebounds. Trevon Hughes struggled from the floor, shooting an ugly 3-15, but still finished the game as the Badger's leading scorer with 16 points, thanks in large part to his 9 out of 10 free throws. Up next for Wisconsin is a trip to Minnesota on Sunday to face Tubby Smith's Gophers. Indiana returns home this weekend with a great chance of ending their two game skid against Northwestern on Sunday.