Not a bad day yesterday in the fictional world where I bet on sports. 3 out of 4 ain't bad. I liked Butler to possibly win outright, and they did. I also was big on West Virginia playing without their point guard (See Bill Simmons' Ewing Theory). Teams just seem to step up when one of their key players go down. I'm not sure they're better off in the long run, but for one game, I like the way they play. I thought for sure I was losing the Kansas State-Xavier game, but a lack of buzzer beaters and the game going to double overtime sure helped. Add in a couple of free throws and a couple of bricked shots at the end and Kansas State managed to pull off a 5 point victory.
The only game I missed was Cornell-Kentucky, and I was really torn on this one. I probably wouldn't have even bet it because I couldn't decide. Part of me thought Cornell would hold their own and part of me said Kentucky would run away with it. In the end, I went with the thought that Cornell could hold their own, and I was wrong. The speed, athleticism, and rebounding on Kentucky really gave Cornell problems on both ends of the court. On offense, Cornell struggled to find open jump shots. Against Wisconsin and Temple, they had open shots and they hit them. Against Kentucky, they had to work too hard to get open. When they finally did get open, their jump shots just were not falling. Kentucky managed to get long rebounds and run out quickly, leading to many fast break type chances for the Wildcats.
All of that being said, Kentucky on offense was not that good last night. They shot 44% from the field, but only 2/12 from three point range. They also only went 16/26 from the free throw line, something that could hurt in a closer game. DeMarcus Cousins had a great game, when he was in the game, but foul trouble kept him from playing more than 25 minutes. John Wall distributed the ball well (8 assists) and rebounded well (7 rebounds), but I'm still waiting for the game where he takes over on the offensive end more from a scoring stand point. Kentucky will have to play better against West Virginia, or they might be going home before the Final Four.
Also of note before getting into tonight's games, Butler is one win away from playing in the Final Four in their home town. Not only is Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse only 6 miles from Lucas Oil Stadium (the home of this year's Final Four), but Butler is technically the host of this year's Final Four as well. In a state where basketball is king (even with the Colts being so good lately), the entire area would get behind Butler if they were to make it. The only thing better than that would be to see Purdue and Butler make it to Indy, but we'll get to that in a bit.
Midwest Regional
#2 Ohio State -4.5 over #6 Tennessee
I'm never really sure what to think of Thad Matta as a head coach. I'm also never sure what to think about Bruce Pearl as a head coach. It makes this Ohio State-Tennessee match-up rather intriguing. I've never wanted to give either of these coaches any credit as on the court coaches. They're both great recruiters. There's no denying that. This year, Pearl has gotten more from his team than anyone expected. That's especially true after he kicked two of his best players off the team after they faced some significant legal problems. Matta has effectively played a 6 man rotation for the second half of the year. Guards Jon Diebler, William Buford, David Lighty, and Evan Turner will play almost 40 minutes every game. Center Dallas Lauderdale will split time with Kyle Madsen, but Madsen only sees the court when Lauderdale is in foul trouble or needs a short break. With four days rest, it's hard to bet against Ohio State. They are 29-7 overall, but three of those loses came with National Player of the Year Evan Turner out with a broken back. They remind me a little of Kentucky in that everyone on the court can score. The four guards are athletic scorers. Even Diebler, your typical outside shooter has proven he can drive to the hoop if people close out on him too quickly. While I really like Scotty Hopson and Wayne Chism from Tennessee and feel those two players have been underrated all year, it's just not enough to compete with an explosive Ohio State team.
#5 Michigan State -1.0 over #9 Northern Iowa
When a basketball line is less than 2, you're pretty much picking the winner. The points really don't matter. Northern Iowa is a team that is much better than the NCAA committee gave them credit for this year. They are 30-4 this year. The problem is, they really don't play anyone with a lot of talent in their conference and some of their out of conference opponents had disappointing years. They destroyed Iowa. They beat Iowa State. They beat fellow NCAA tournament team Sienna by 17 and Old Dominion by 9. Jordan Eglseder looks like he might be 35 years old, but his low post game is solid. Senior forward Adam Koch was the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year this year and has a solid inside/outside game with some ability to slash through defenses. On top of those two, no Northern Iowa discussion is complete without discussing guard Ali Farokmanesh (is it sad that I am able to spell that without looking it up?). Ali hit what was maybe the greatest shot of this year's tournament. Up 1 with 35 seconds left against Kansas, with the ball in his hands and a 2 on 1 advantage, when most players would pull the ball out, get fouled, and hope to make some free throws to get up 3, Ali would think nothing of it. As the Kansas defender backed off to defend the basket, Ali fired a three pointer from the wing that had every Northern Iowa fan screaming, "NO!!!!", followed by it hitting nothing but net and everyone jumping for joy. The kid has no fear and wants to ball in his hands at crunch time. This is the same kid that hit the game winning shot against UNLV two days earlier as well. On top of the talent of those three, Northern Iowa plays very, very solid defense and does not turn the ball over often. In some ways, they remind me a lot of Wisconsin with an offense that will shoot the ball a little earlier than Wisconsin.
On the other side of the court will be Michigan State and Tom Izzo. Here's another team ripe for the Ewing Theory. During the Spartans buzzer beater victory over a very good Maryland team, star point guard Kalin Lucas tore his achillies tendon when he landed awkwardly after a running jumper. Lucas will not play basketball for the next four-to-six months. In steps sophomore guard Korie Lucious. Not only did Lucious have thirteen points and only two turnovers in 27 minutes, he also made the game winning three at the buzzer to help the Spartans advance. He'll need to be at his best for the Spartans to defeat the talented team from Northern Iowa. That being said, you could say the same thing about the rest of the Spartans. Raymar Morgan, often described as a head case due to his up and down performances, has been playing his best basketball the last three to four weeks. That will have to continue. Draymond Green, the heart and soul of this Spartan team, will have to keep doing the little things. He'll have to rebound the ball and find the open man. If he can consistently hit his 15-18 foot jump shot, it opens the court for the rest of the team to slash to the hoop and make plays. Green doesn't have to score 20 points for us to win, but he does have to rebound and take care of the ball. Durrell Summers, Tom Izzo's pet project for the last month, will need to continue to shoot the ball well. His offense against Maryland helped MSU jump out to a big lead and his three point shooting made Maryland extend their defense. With Chris Allen having a strained arch in his foot, Summers will need to continue his solid play.
In the end, I think the Spartans have enough talent and enough heart to beat a very good Northern Iowa team in what will probably be a low scoring game. The only hope is that the officials let both teams play because you'd hate to see a low scoring game decided by bench players because the stars for each team are on the bench with foul trouble. MSU will have to keep playing their best basketball of the season, but Tom Izzo will have his team ready and will throw some new wrinkles at UNI and pull out the victory, setting up a match-up with Big Ten foe Ohio State on Sunday.
South Regional
#3 Baylor -4.5 over #10 St. Mary's
This is a game I just can't pick. If I were betting, I'd stay away from this one. I think Baylor is the better team, but I've been very impressed with St. Mary's in this tournament. They've been hot going back to before the WCC tournament (which they won in a convincing manner). No one has seen much of this Baylor team. They're long They're explosive. They'll be playing in their home state in front of a crowd that will be behind them. Never underestimate St. Mary's though. The Gaels have a deadly inside-outside combination in Omar "Broadway O" Sahman (one of only two players in college basketball to average 20+ points and 10+ rebounds per game this year) and guard Mickey McConnell. McConnell has no fear from anywhere on the floor and Sahman is a smart big man that knows how to score in the post. Sahman should be able to use his strength and size to get rebounds and points and I wouldn't be surprised to see his big tournament continue.
Baylor is lead by Junior guard LaceDarius Dunn. Dunn, a deadly three point shooter and slasher, is averaging almost 20 points per game and seems to play his best on the biggest stage. Transfer C Epke Udoh has flashed offensive talent this year that no one saw when he was at Michigan early in his career. This Baylor offense is talented and will find ways to outscore St. Mary's. Udoh won't stop Sahman, but his long arms will force him to take some contested shots and in the end, Baylor will find a way to win this game with some late free throws putting them over the 4.5 point margin of victory.
#4 Purdue +8.5 over #1 Duke
Let me begin by saying I don't think Purdue will beat Duke. I just feel the game will be closer than the experts think. Purdue is not the same team without Robbie Hummel, but they still have talent. JaJuan Johnson is a very talented big man with range out to the three point. Guard E'Twaun Moore is maybe the most overlooked guard in the Big Ten. Guard Chris Kramer is the difference maker for Purdue now. He plays tough defense (Was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year) and has turned up his offensive output since Hummel went down. Purdue will need his defense and toughness against a very good Duke team that doesn't get as much credit as they deserve.
Listen, everyone loves to hate Duke. It's easy to do. Part of the reason everyone hates them though is the fact that they win. A lot. They're 31-5 heading into tonight's game. Guard Jon Scheyer is having his best year at Duke. Forward Kyle Singler is a dynamic player that can score from anywhere on the court. Guard Nolan Smith is living up to expectations after struggling his first two years at Duke (at least compared to the expectations he came in with his freshman year). The key for Duke though might be the play of senior center Brian Zoubek. Zoubek is a senior who finally seems to have found his place on this team. A legit 7-1 center, Zoubek struggled on both ends of the court for his first three years at Duke, never averaging more than 11 mintues per game. Now he's playing almost 20 minutes per game, playing solid defense and grabbing 7.5 rebounds per game. When you through in twin freshmen Miles and Mason Plumlee, the Duke front court has been a pleasant surprise. Everyone knew the guards and Singler could score, the question would be if they could find someone to rebound and play interior defense and those questions have been answered.
Overall, Purdue just plays too tough on both ends of the court to let Duke run away with this game. The only way Duke wins by more than 8.5 is if Purdue shoots less than 35% from the field or Duke makes numerous free throws down the stretch to push a close game to a 10 point margin at the buzzer.
In Closing
So, if I gambling were legal, I like Purdue +8.5, Baylor -4.5, Ohio State -4.5, and MSU -1.0. There's a good chance that MSU line moves to a a pick 'em by the tip, so I might as well be betting on them to win outright. I don't mind giving the point though.
Also to consider, if you think Duke is overrated, the Purdue money line bet looks juicy tonight. Purdue is +350 (bet $100 to win $350) to win outright. Do I think Purdue wins tonight? No. Do I think they'd win 1/3 if they played three times? Yes. That's the type of action you're looking for in a money line bet, so it might not be a bad play tonight. The other money lines aren't that enticing, but part of me is intrigued by St. Mary's at +220. Until tomorrow, I'm off to actually get some real work done.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
If I bet it: NCAA Tournament Style
If you're like me, your NCAA bracket is completely busted with Kansas losing to Northern Iowa. If not that, Villanova losing hurts. So, with no chance in any bracket pool, it's time to look at betting actual games. Quickly, as I'm writing this minutes before the first set of games, here are my thoughts on the first day of sweet sixteen games. I'll post my thoughts on the Friday games either later tonight or Friday morning sometime. (Writer's note, picks were made before games started this evening, but a phone call kept me from posting them before 8 PM)
West Regional
#5 Butler +6.5 over #1 Syracuse
Maybe it's just because I've watched a lot of Butler this year or because I haven't watched much of Syracuse, but I have a feeling Butler might win this game outright. I don't think there's any chance of Syracuse blowing them out. Syracuse is known for their 2-3 zone. I've seen good shooting teams outshoot the zone. I've also seen games where Syracuse just seems lost defensively. On top of that, they're playing without their starting center who is the anchor of the baseline of that zone. Butler has two star players in Forward Matt Howard and Forward Gordon Hayward and I think they'll cause problems for Syracuse. I'm taking Butler and the points.
#2 Kansas State -4.5 over #6 Xavier
Kansas State's coach might be crazy. Just watch. Frank Martin is a lunatic, but his team seems to respond to his style of coaching. I also think they'll find a way to keep Xavier star Jordan Crawford under control. There's no one in the tournament that has helped their NBA draft stock more than Crawford in the first two rounds. He went from possibly a second round pick or maybe being undrafted to being a possible first round pick with his play in this year's tournament. He's also the same guy that dunked on Lebron James in a summer league last year. Again, as well as he's played, I think this is the round where he comes back to earth and the rest of his teammates aren't there to pick up the slack. Kansas State wins and covers.
East Regional
#2 West Virginia -4.5 over #11 Washington
This was a tough call. Washington has underachieved all year and the Pac-10 got no respect all year from the national media. They're better than an 11 seed and they proved it in the first round. They like to play up-tempo and push the ball as much as possible. They would be thrilled to play a game with a final score of 85-80 or higher. On top of that, West Virginia guard "Truck" Bryant broke his foot in practice this week, so the Mountaineers will be without their 4th leading scorer and point guard. This game screams "win one for the gipper." More often than not, after a major injury, teams will go out and play very well without their teammate to try and win one for the injured player. Someone will pick up the slack for Bryant. I'm sure not what this means for the rest of the tournament, but for one game, I feel WVU will find a way to win. That all being said, watch out for Washington F Quincy Pondexter, a very underrated player on the West Coast, and G Isaiah Thomas (not relation to the former Piston great). The two of them can put points on the board in a hurry and will likely keep Washington in the game late into the second half.
#12 Cornell +8.5 over #1 Kentucky
Another game I'm torn about. Cornell has been unbelievable in this tournament. They beat a very underrated Temple team in the first round and completely destroyed a Wisconsin team that was maybe slightly overrated. The shoot the ball well (understatement of the century) and play very solid defense. They also don't turn the ball over often and they won't be scared facing a highly talented Kentucky team. For Kentucky to win this game, they'll need to get off to a good start. If they get behind to Cornell early, it'll be interesting to see how Freshman of the Year John Wall and the other young Wildcats respond. Cornell has proven they can score a lot of points, so Kentucky shouldn't be able to out run them and outscore them. They'll have to play defense and rebound well. In the end, I feel the Wildcats will win this game, but I'm not convinced they'll win by more than 8.
So, those are my picks for tonight. I put them out there with one big thought. I hate betting on basketball. So many little things happen at the end of games that can change things. Guys will miss some free throws. Guys will throw in 3 point jumpers at the buzzer. Coaches will empty their bench with a big lead to try and let some of the guys that don't play very often get in the stat sheet. All of these can change the outcome of a game from a betting stand-point. While it may not seem like a big deal if you miss free throws and only win by 5 instead of 7, sometimes it can be all the difference when the line was -5.5. If you're going to truly bet basketball, the moneyline is often a better bet because there, the point spread doesn't matter and you're purely picking winners (though, the odds and payouts change and I'll probably get into that with Friday's picks).
West Regional
#5 Butler +6.5 over #1 Syracuse
Maybe it's just because I've watched a lot of Butler this year or because I haven't watched much of Syracuse, but I have a feeling Butler might win this game outright. I don't think there's any chance of Syracuse blowing them out. Syracuse is known for their 2-3 zone. I've seen good shooting teams outshoot the zone. I've also seen games where Syracuse just seems lost defensively. On top of that, they're playing without their starting center who is the anchor of the baseline of that zone. Butler has two star players in Forward Matt Howard and Forward Gordon Hayward and I think they'll cause problems for Syracuse. I'm taking Butler and the points.
#2 Kansas State -4.5 over #6 Xavier
Kansas State's coach might be crazy. Just watch. Frank Martin is a lunatic, but his team seems to respond to his style of coaching. I also think they'll find a way to keep Xavier star Jordan Crawford under control. There's no one in the tournament that has helped their NBA draft stock more than Crawford in the first two rounds. He went from possibly a second round pick or maybe being undrafted to being a possible first round pick with his play in this year's tournament. He's also the same guy that dunked on Lebron James in a summer league last year. Again, as well as he's played, I think this is the round where he comes back to earth and the rest of his teammates aren't there to pick up the slack. Kansas State wins and covers.
East Regional
#2 West Virginia -4.5 over #11 Washington
This was a tough call. Washington has underachieved all year and the Pac-10 got no respect all year from the national media. They're better than an 11 seed and they proved it in the first round. They like to play up-tempo and push the ball as much as possible. They would be thrilled to play a game with a final score of 85-80 or higher. On top of that, West Virginia guard "Truck" Bryant broke his foot in practice this week, so the Mountaineers will be without their 4th leading scorer and point guard. This game screams "win one for the gipper." More often than not, after a major injury, teams will go out and play very well without their teammate to try and win one for the injured player. Someone will pick up the slack for Bryant. I'm sure not what this means for the rest of the tournament, but for one game, I feel WVU will find a way to win. That all being said, watch out for Washington F Quincy Pondexter, a very underrated player on the West Coast, and G Isaiah Thomas (not relation to the former Piston great). The two of them can put points on the board in a hurry and will likely keep Washington in the game late into the second half.
#12 Cornell +8.5 over #1 Kentucky
Another game I'm torn about. Cornell has been unbelievable in this tournament. They beat a very underrated Temple team in the first round and completely destroyed a Wisconsin team that was maybe slightly overrated. The shoot the ball well (understatement of the century) and play very solid defense. They also don't turn the ball over often and they won't be scared facing a highly talented Kentucky team. For Kentucky to win this game, they'll need to get off to a good start. If they get behind to Cornell early, it'll be interesting to see how Freshman of the Year John Wall and the other young Wildcats respond. Cornell has proven they can score a lot of points, so Kentucky shouldn't be able to out run them and outscore them. They'll have to play defense and rebound well. In the end, I feel the Wildcats will win this game, but I'm not convinced they'll win by more than 8.
So, those are my picks for tonight. I put them out there with one big thought. I hate betting on basketball. So many little things happen at the end of games that can change things. Guys will miss some free throws. Guys will throw in 3 point jumpers at the buzzer. Coaches will empty their bench with a big lead to try and let some of the guys that don't play very often get in the stat sheet. All of these can change the outcome of a game from a betting stand-point. While it may not seem like a big deal if you miss free throws and only win by 5 instead of 7, sometimes it can be all the difference when the line was -5.5. If you're going to truly bet basketball, the moneyline is often a better bet because there, the point spread doesn't matter and you're purely picking winners (though, the odds and payouts change and I'll probably get into that with Friday's picks).
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Random Thoughts from the world of sports
I've been completely swamped with work and life lately. Going on vacation for four days really gets in the way. Instead of looking way back and finishing my thoughts on the Big Ten weekend, I'm just going to touch on some highlights from sports and entertainment from the last week or so. Just some random thoughts in not particular order.
- One of the best parts of going to the Big Ten Tournament is the people we meet and see year after year. There are two older guys that sat in front of us the first year of the tournament. One a Wisconsin fan, one a Michigan State fan. We see them every year and it's always good to catch-up. This year we met a couple from Champaign, IL that were Ohio State fans. We drank a couple beers with them one day and then ran into them the next. As we were leaving Sunday, he gave me his business card and promised to buy me dinner if I was ever in Champaign for any reason (even if it was with a bunch of Spartans for a football game). Great guy. Saturday night we met a guy and his son at the bar. The dad was almost the same age as my dad and his son was about my age. Turns out my dad and the other guy had very similar life experiences. We ended up talking with them (and the guy's other son) for close to 3 hours after we stopped in the bar for "one last beer." Since then I've traded multiple texts and have become facebook friends with one of the sons. Good times for all and definitely people we'll look forward to seeing again next year, if not sooner.
- The first day of the NCAA tournament was unbelievable. The first day had more excitement than some first weekends. The number of close games were unbelievable and I've never been so thankful for my internet connection at work. CBS and the NCAA have teamed up to stream every game across the internet in real time. There were actually times Friday and Saturday night when the internet stream was ahead of my cable at home. To add to that, there were three games that went into overtime the first day. 8 other games were decided by less than 10 points. That doesn't even include 14th seed Ohio blowing out 3rd seed Georgetown. It was an unbelievable day of basketball. There was no way the rest of the weekend could top the first day, but it sure came close.
- The Big Ten is again proving why they're one of the top conferences in the country. They have three teams in the sweet 16, more than any other conference. Everyone spent the year talking about how great the Big 12 and the Big East were this year. Even though both conferences had more teams in the tournament, they each have two teams left, while the Big Ten sits with 3.
- Injuries are playing a major role and teams are finding ways to get through them. Purdue lost the heart and soul of their team when Robbie Hummel went down for the year with a knee injury the last week of the regular season. While they had lots of talent around Hummel, he was the guy they always counted on for a big shot or a big rebound at key moments of the game. While E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson have been good all year, they've stepped it up even more during the NCAA tournament. On top of that, Chris Kramer, once considered to be only a defensive stopper for the Boilermakers, has proven he has some offensive ability as he's picked up some of the slack from Hummel being out. Kramer has averaged 13.5 points per game, more than double his regular season average, and he made the game winning shot, in overtime, to get Purdue to the sweet sixteen.
- While speaking of injuries, the discussion should start and end with the Michigan State Spartans. Late in a very physical game in the opening around against New Mexico State, Chris Allen went down with what is described as an injury to the arch of his foot. Come the second round, the Spartans knew they needed a big game from much-maligned junior Durrell Summers. Summers has often times found himself in Tom Izzo's dog-house this year. He's struggled to be consistent on both ends of the floor and when he's not scoring, his defense seems to struggle. If you're not going to score, you have to play defense for Izzo. If you don't play defense, you're going to find yourself on the bench, and that's exactly where Summers has spent a lot of time late this year. Then came the NCAA tournament. He started the game against New Mexico State on fire, scoring 10 of MSU's first 12 points, helping the Spartans jump out to a big first half lead. In their second game of the tournament, Summers was on a mission. Summers was 10-14 over, including 6-8 from three point range, on his way to a season high 26 points. In a game when Kalin Lucas went down with a torn Achillies tendon, Summers hit big shot after big shot. It was also a game where Allen tried to come back, but only played 4 minutes of the game. While everyone will forever remember Korie Lucious' shot to win the game, they never would have had that opportunity without the play of Summers in the first 39 minutes of the game.
- Draymond Green is a complete beast. The competitive drive he has rivals anyone who has ever played at MSU, and I include Mateen Cleaves in that discussion. There are times that I feel his emotions get the best of him if MSU is losing, I think he will continue to mature and put it to good use. He also has an aggressive streak. He will not be pushed around by anyone and he's not afraid to mix it up a little. There might even be times where he should use this more to his advantage because he will intimidate some people. Coach Izzo sees his leadership qualities. Izzo named him a co-captain of this team in the middle of the season when it seemed we were lacking some leadership. That allowed the already outspoken Green to speak without stepping on anyone's toes. As a captain, it's just job to bring the troops together when times are tough. On top of that, he wants the ball in his hands when it matters most. With 20 seconds left in the game against Maryland, down one, Green hit an 18 foot jumper from the wing. Then, after Maryland went back down and scored to retake the lead, Green almost demanded the ball be inbounded to him. Here's a guy, who at 6'6" and 235 lbs, brought the ball up the court and had the frame of mind to not be the hero, but to pass to a wide open Korie Lucious for the game winning three (we'll just ignore the fact that he almost hit Delvon Roe in the head with that pass). The guy is a gamer who wants the ball in crunch time. You don't see that often in college sports, but I think Green is going to be a special player for MSU (if he's not already).
- Delvon Roe and Korie Lucious have the two coolest tattoos on the MSU basketball team (At least that I've seen). Roe has a "Gruff Sparty" on his upper arm. As if that wasn't cool enough, the fact that he got it before he even enrolled at MSU makes it even better. The guy wants to be a Spartan and is proud of it. Not bad for a guy from Ohio. As for Lucious, he's sticking to his Milwaukee roots. Lucious has the old Milwaukee Brewers logo (the one with an "m" and "b" blended together to look like a baseball glove) tattoo. On top of that, after hitting the game winning shot, he was in the stands later wearing an old school Brewers hat. Awesome.
- The Detroit Red Wings are playing some of the best hockey they've played all year. They're 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and are solidly in the playoffs now. With 10 games left to play, they're in 8th place in the West, two points behind 7th place Colorado and 4 points ahead of 9th place Calgary. They're also 4 points behind 6th place Nashville, but Nashville has played one more game at this point. On top of the playoff position, there have been a couple games lately to prove that the Wings have a lot of fight in them. Against Edmonton last week, they were down 1 in the final minute of the game, but Brian Rafalski found room to score from in close with 0.2 seconds left on the clock to force overtime and guarantee a point for the Wings. The next night at Vancouver, with overtime winding down, Henrik Zetterberg scored with 1 second left to win the game before going to a shootout. For anyone that's seen the Wings in a shootout this year, it's huge that they won the game without having to go to a shootout. Finally, you have last night's game between the Wings and Pittsburgh. Not only did the Wings win the game 3-1 (Zetterberg is still hot having 2 more goals last night), but they managed to frustrate Sidney Crosby all night long. All his frustration came out at the end of the game when he gave Zetterberg a couple of cheap cross checks at the final buzzer. Not only did Zetterberg fight back, but goalie Jimmy Howard (who I can't say enough about) was the first one to jump in and defend Z. Most goalies would pull away from that situation, but you can see how much Howard cares about this team. I was glad to see him go after Crosby and hopefully people around the league will see Crosby for the whiner he is with his actions at the end of last night's game. That's just not how a star would behave. You'd never see Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, or any of the star players from the last 10 years be that much of an idiot at the end of a regular season game.
- One of the best parts of going to the Big Ten Tournament is the people we meet and see year after year. There are two older guys that sat in front of us the first year of the tournament. One a Wisconsin fan, one a Michigan State fan. We see them every year and it's always good to catch-up. This year we met a couple from Champaign, IL that were Ohio State fans. We drank a couple beers with them one day and then ran into them the next. As we were leaving Sunday, he gave me his business card and promised to buy me dinner if I was ever in Champaign for any reason (even if it was with a bunch of Spartans for a football game). Great guy. Saturday night we met a guy and his son at the bar. The dad was almost the same age as my dad and his son was about my age. Turns out my dad and the other guy had very similar life experiences. We ended up talking with them (and the guy's other son) for close to 3 hours after we stopped in the bar for "one last beer." Since then I've traded multiple texts and have become facebook friends with one of the sons. Good times for all and definitely people we'll look forward to seeing again next year, if not sooner.
- The first day of the NCAA tournament was unbelievable. The first day had more excitement than some first weekends. The number of close games were unbelievable and I've never been so thankful for my internet connection at work. CBS and the NCAA have teamed up to stream every game across the internet in real time. There were actually times Friday and Saturday night when the internet stream was ahead of my cable at home. To add to that, there were three games that went into overtime the first day. 8 other games were decided by less than 10 points. That doesn't even include 14th seed Ohio blowing out 3rd seed Georgetown. It was an unbelievable day of basketball. There was no way the rest of the weekend could top the first day, but it sure came close.
- The Big Ten is again proving why they're one of the top conferences in the country. They have three teams in the sweet 16, more than any other conference. Everyone spent the year talking about how great the Big 12 and the Big East were this year. Even though both conferences had more teams in the tournament, they each have two teams left, while the Big Ten sits with 3.
- Injuries are playing a major role and teams are finding ways to get through them. Purdue lost the heart and soul of their team when Robbie Hummel went down for the year with a knee injury the last week of the regular season. While they had lots of talent around Hummel, he was the guy they always counted on for a big shot or a big rebound at key moments of the game. While E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson have been good all year, they've stepped it up even more during the NCAA tournament. On top of that, Chris Kramer, once considered to be only a defensive stopper for the Boilermakers, has proven he has some offensive ability as he's picked up some of the slack from Hummel being out. Kramer has averaged 13.5 points per game, more than double his regular season average, and he made the game winning shot, in overtime, to get Purdue to the sweet sixteen.
- While speaking of injuries, the discussion should start and end with the Michigan State Spartans. Late in a very physical game in the opening around against New Mexico State, Chris Allen went down with what is described as an injury to the arch of his foot. Come the second round, the Spartans knew they needed a big game from much-maligned junior Durrell Summers. Summers has often times found himself in Tom Izzo's dog-house this year. He's struggled to be consistent on both ends of the floor and when he's not scoring, his defense seems to struggle. If you're not going to score, you have to play defense for Izzo. If you don't play defense, you're going to find yourself on the bench, and that's exactly where Summers has spent a lot of time late this year. Then came the NCAA tournament. He started the game against New Mexico State on fire, scoring 10 of MSU's first 12 points, helping the Spartans jump out to a big first half lead. In their second game of the tournament, Summers was on a mission. Summers was 10-14 over, including 6-8 from three point range, on his way to a season high 26 points. In a game when Kalin Lucas went down with a torn Achillies tendon, Summers hit big shot after big shot. It was also a game where Allen tried to come back, but only played 4 minutes of the game. While everyone will forever remember Korie Lucious' shot to win the game, they never would have had that opportunity without the play of Summers in the first 39 minutes of the game.
- Draymond Green is a complete beast. The competitive drive he has rivals anyone who has ever played at MSU, and I include Mateen Cleaves in that discussion. There are times that I feel his emotions get the best of him if MSU is losing, I think he will continue to mature and put it to good use. He also has an aggressive streak. He will not be pushed around by anyone and he's not afraid to mix it up a little. There might even be times where he should use this more to his advantage because he will intimidate some people. Coach Izzo sees his leadership qualities. Izzo named him a co-captain of this team in the middle of the season when it seemed we were lacking some leadership. That allowed the already outspoken Green to speak without stepping on anyone's toes. As a captain, it's just job to bring the troops together when times are tough. On top of that, he wants the ball in his hands when it matters most. With 20 seconds left in the game against Maryland, down one, Green hit an 18 foot jumper from the wing. Then, after Maryland went back down and scored to retake the lead, Green almost demanded the ball be inbounded to him. Here's a guy, who at 6'6" and 235 lbs, brought the ball up the court and had the frame of mind to not be the hero, but to pass to a wide open Korie Lucious for the game winning three (we'll just ignore the fact that he almost hit Delvon Roe in the head with that pass). The guy is a gamer who wants the ball in crunch time. You don't see that often in college sports, but I think Green is going to be a special player for MSU (if he's not already).
- Delvon Roe and Korie Lucious have the two coolest tattoos on the MSU basketball team (At least that I've seen). Roe has a "Gruff Sparty" on his upper arm. As if that wasn't cool enough, the fact that he got it before he even enrolled at MSU makes it even better. The guy wants to be a Spartan and is proud of it. Not bad for a guy from Ohio. As for Lucious, he's sticking to his Milwaukee roots. Lucious has the old Milwaukee Brewers logo (the one with an "m" and "b" blended together to look like a baseball glove) tattoo. On top of that, after hitting the game winning shot, he was in the stands later wearing an old school Brewers hat. Awesome.
- The Detroit Red Wings are playing some of the best hockey they've played all year. They're 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and are solidly in the playoffs now. With 10 games left to play, they're in 8th place in the West, two points behind 7th place Colorado and 4 points ahead of 9th place Calgary. They're also 4 points behind 6th place Nashville, but Nashville has played one more game at this point. On top of the playoff position, there have been a couple games lately to prove that the Wings have a lot of fight in them. Against Edmonton last week, they were down 1 in the final minute of the game, but Brian Rafalski found room to score from in close with 0.2 seconds left on the clock to force overtime and guarantee a point for the Wings. The next night at Vancouver, with overtime winding down, Henrik Zetterberg scored with 1 second left to win the game before going to a shootout. For anyone that's seen the Wings in a shootout this year, it's huge that they won the game without having to go to a shootout. Finally, you have last night's game between the Wings and Pittsburgh. Not only did the Wings win the game 3-1 (Zetterberg is still hot having 2 more goals last night), but they managed to frustrate Sidney Crosby all night long. All his frustration came out at the end of the game when he gave Zetterberg a couple of cheap cross checks at the final buzzer. Not only did Zetterberg fight back, but goalie Jimmy Howard (who I can't say enough about) was the first one to jump in and defend Z. Most goalies would pull away from that situation, but you can see how much Howard cares about this team. I was glad to see him go after Crosby and hopefully people around the league will see Crosby for the whiner he is with his actions at the end of last night's game. That's just not how a star would behave. You'd never see Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, or any of the star players from the last 10 years be that much of an idiot at the end of a regular season game.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Want to write more, way too busy
So, I was planning to write part two of the Big Ten Tournament weekend and write something about day 1 of the NCAA tournament, but I'm just way too swamped at work and have been battling what I think has been the flu (head and stomach problems). Hopefully I'll have a down minute this weekend and I'll write a couple different entries. We'll have to wait and see.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Another weekend in Indianapolis
Ok, let it be known, any post from me that goes up between 8 and 11 AM on a work day, I wrote the night before and posted it in the morning. This entry falls into that category as I wrote it while watching the Red Wings win and I couldn't sleep.
Another weekend in Indianapolis. While it was disappointing to have both Wisconsin and Michigan State lose on Friday, Dad and I managed to still have a great time for the entire weekend. The city of Indianapolis is perfect for an event like the Big Ten Tournament. There are tons of hotel rooms downtown. The downtown area is relatively one of the safer cities in America (compared to other cities of the same size). There are plenty of bars and restaurants within walking distance. I can park the car on Thursday morning and there's no need to drive anywhere until I leave on Sunday. On top of everything being close, the city absolutely embraces the tournament. Every school is assigned a "team bar." The city has signs for the tournament every where and goes out of their way to make everyone feel at home. The seven or eight blocks around the Conseco Fieldhouse are filled with fans from all over the Big Ten and, for the most part, everyone is very friendly.
Here's part one of a running diary of the days in Indy (written in retrospection because there's no way I could have written all of this while down there). Part two will probably be posted about 24 hours after the first part goes up.
10:45 AM Thursday - Driving into Indianapolis, I'm reminded of just how much I look forward to this weekend every year. Aside from my bride-to-be, my dad is my best friend. If you don't have a similar relationship with your parent(s), I don't think I can explain it. There's never been a topic I can't talk to him about. We have so much in common, we just have a bond as father and son. The basketball starts this afternoon and I can't wait. It's the worst day of the tournament (the best team playing today is 6th seed Minnesota), but it's still better than any day at work.
I get to the hotel, park, and head inside. We're staying at the Sheraton in downtown Indianapolis. It's a great location for everything we're going to do all weekend. After a little hassle (as I tried to check in, they told me I had checked in at 11 PM this night before), we got myself checked in and my bags up to my room. At this point, it was about 11:30 and we had until 2:30 before the first game. Lunch time!
11:45 AM Thursday - After a short walk to the original Claddagh Irish Pub, Dad and I took our reserved seats at their bar (ok, not really reserved, but it's the two bar stools we always sit in if they're available). The first thing I realize is they have Fat Tire on tap. It's going to be a good weekend. Dad and I order two beers and peak at a menu. Lunch is good, we have a couple more beers, and we're about to head out to our next location. Right before we head out, Dad takes a bathroom stop and I start talking to the two guys to my right. Turns out they're both from Iowa originally. While they don't know my dad, they know close to 15 guys that either played football with my dad or against my dad. It's another reminder of what a small world we live in these days. Well, they ended up spending close to half an hour talking about their days in Iowa and I could tell my Dad was loving it. At that point, it was game time.
2:30 PM Thursday - We're sitting down, waiting for game 1 of 10 that weekend. As always, Dad was able to get us amazing seats. We were in the third row, right on the baseline across from the visiting bench. On top of being close to the floor, we had the media in front of us (two rows of media seats for the tournament) and I could peak at their TV screens to see all the replays that were mildly controversial (Big Ten policy says those can't be shown on the big screen in the arena). Over my right shoulder, I spot two guys we met 9 years ago. One is a big Wisconsin fan; the other a big Michigan State fan. We immediately bonded with them over the similarities (even if both guys are 10 years older than my Dad). We've seen them every year since and it's great.
3:30 PM Thursday - Michigan is well on their way to a victory over Iowa, but the 100 MSU fans sitting in the 300 level behind the visiting basket will not let Iowa die. I think they're louder than the Iowa fans. Chants of, "Let's Go Hawks!" and "Go Black! Go Gold!" can be heard throughout the fieldhouse. Every time Michigan shoots a free throw, chants of "Little Sister!" are heard coming from the MSU fans. I absolutely love it! Gotta love the MSU fans never letting Michigan basketball fans get comfortable.
4:30 PM Thursday - Iowa keeps it close, by Michigan pulls away with the victory most expected. Rumors starting to float around about Iowa coach Todd Lickliter's job being in jeopardy. We'll see.
5:00 PM Thursday - Northwestern vs. Indiana tips off. Pretty poor showing from the IU fan base. The disappointment in Hoosier land is pretty evident today. I see good things though. While IU is struggling, Tom Crean is building a good foundation. Not much to say about this game. Northwestern let the Hoosiers hold a slim lead for the first 30 minutes of the game before turning up their effort the last 10 minutes of the game and blowing out the Hoosiers by 20.
7:30 PM Thursday - Minnesota vs. Penn State. Talor Battle must be hurt worse than we know, because he looked awful for Penn State in this game. He has to play well for them to be competitive and it was pretty disappointing as Minnesota won in a game where Penn State never was really competitive. In 9 years of attending the Big Ten Tournament, Dad and I have never left a game year. With about 4 minutes left in this game, we seriously started thinking about heading out early. It was that bad.
9:30 PM Thursday - Dad and I realize we didn't eat dinner tonight. Luckily, the Rock Bottom Brewery is on the way back to the hotel. If you're a beer drinker and you're ever in downtown Indy, this is a must stop location. Great micro-brews on tap and a pretty decent menu. Dad and I each had a couple of beers and a sandwich about 10 PM. As it turns out, the Minnesota Alumni Association of Indiana has rented out the basement of Rock Bottom for a pep rally after tonight's Minnesota game. Cheerleaders, coaches, and the band were all present. It's all part of the Big Ten experience (even if I can't stand Minnesota).
11:30 PM Thursday - Back to the hotel. The walk is always shorter on the way home (though, at 8 blocks from hotel to Conseco, our furthest destination, nothing is a long walk in Indy for us). Dad and I agree we're having a great time and we can't wait for tomorrow.
10:00 AM Friday - I meet Dad at the Starbucks in the Sheraton lobby for coffee. Dad comments on how he's feeling better this morning than expected. At 61 years old, he's still able to hold his own with his 28 year old son when it comes to drinking beer and having a good time. I'm not sure who is prouder, father or son.
10:45 AM Friday - We're walking through Indy, realizing that most bars don't open until 11 on weekday mornings. How are we supposed to get two beers in before the noon games if we have to wait until 11?? Luckily, we see some people walk out of the Champps establishment (not my favorite bar and restaurant, but it gets the job done). We meet a guy at the bar from Indiana. He's an IU grad, but his wife and daughter both went to Purdue, so today, he cheers for Purdue. Nice guy and we have a nice chat over our beers while his wife and daughter are in the mall above Champps doing some quick shopping.
Noon Friday - Game one today is Ohio State - Michigan. Torn on who to cheer for. I guess Ohio State is more entertaining to watch, so we'll cheer for them. I'm a pretty silent observer for this game though. I really don't like either team (nothing against the players, it's the fan bases that really drive me crazy). It's at this point that Dad and I realize it's Friday and we can't eat meat. Cheese pizza it is! Sporting event pizza is never great, but this stuff wasn't too bad. Definitely an upgrade over other stadium pizza I've had.
2 PM Friday - What should have been a blow out for a talented OSU team just ended in one of the best finishes ever in the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan went on a run late in the second half thanks to the 3-point shooting of Stu Douglass and the playmaking skills of Manny Harris. With 30 seconds left, Harris hits a tough jumper in the lane to take their first lead since the 3 minute mark of the first half. With 14 seconds left, OSU guard David Lighty hits a jumper to tie the game at 66. With 2.2 seconds left, Harris makes another tough jumper to put the Wolverines back up by 2. As if the last 30 seconds hadn't been great, I don't think anyone expected what happened next. Evan Turner, league MVP and Mr. Everything for OSU, takes the inbounds pass moving toward half-court. About 10 feet across half-court, Turner throws up a prayer and it goes in! OSU wins, 69-68 in the most improbable manner. Unreal finish. Words just can't explain it, you just had to see it (on TV or in person)
2:30 PM Friday - The first game where we have a real rooting interest. Wisconsin vs. Illinois. In a strange year, the first two times these teams played, the road team came out victorious. I fully expected Wisconsin to win this game (see my Tournament predictions). They had just beaten Illinois by 15 the previous Sunday. What I didn't factor in was how much this game meant to Illinois. If they had any chance of getting in the NCAA tournament, they really needed to win this game. Wisconsin really had nothing to play for in this game (other than winning the tournament and maybe a better seed in the tournament, but they didn't NEED to win). Wisconsin came out flat and was never really in the game. While Illinois didn't play great, Wisconsin was awful for the first 35 minutes. At the end of the game, they started to make it interesting and even had a 3 point shot with 12 seconds left to tie the game at 54, but it bounced off the rim and Illinois hung on for victory.
4:30 PM Friday - This is the hardest part about the Big Ten Tournament. On Friday, there are four games. After the first two, they clear out the arena so they can sell a different ticket for the early games and the late games. With there only being two hours between games and 18,000 people trying to find somewhere for dinner or to kill time, everywhere is crowded. If you don't have a reservation somewhere, don't even bother trying to have a sit down meal. Dad and I have gotten in the habit of just running through Jimmy John's quickly and then finding a bar for a beer or two between games. This year though, we decided to try and find a couple of my Dad's friends (Jeff and Randy) who happen to also come to the tournament every year. Jeff is a Purdue fan, but is stuck living in Columbus, OH. His friend Randy lives in Columbus and is a Buckeye fan. Jeff loves the bar closest to the Conseco Fieldhouse (a place simply called, The Pub). It's a relatively small sports bar, but we've managed to have a lot of fun there with those two. Well, we get there and Jeff and Randy are all set-up with seats at the bar. On top of that, Jeff has already made friends with everyone around him. He has friends from Purdue, friends from Michigan State, friends from Wisconsin, and even a couple Hawkeyes and he's trying to have a conversation running with all of them. That's Jeff in a nut shell (on top of him probably being on beer 5 for that hour). Good guy, good times.
6:30 PM - Back in Conseco for the late games that day. Purdue vs. Northwestern leads off the evening. There's a pretty decent showing of Purdue fans, but you can tell they're a lot less excited ever since star forward Robbie Hummel went down for the year with a knee injury. At least for tonight, Purdue still looks dangerous and they jump out to an early lead against Northwestern and hang on for victory. It started to get close toward the end, but Purdue hung on for a fairly easy victory. It was a 7 point victory, but it felt like the game was never in doubt.
9 PM - The moment is here, we finally get to see the MSU Spartans in the 7th game of the tournament. It's Minnesota-MSU and I'm feeling good. I like the Spartans to win this game as Izzo always seems to have Tubby Smith's number. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how well Minnesota would play (or how poorly MSU would play). Minnesota impressed me again for the 2nd day in a row with their ability to knock down shots at all the right moments. On the other hand, Michigan State didn't seem to play very well on the defensive end of the floor and really only Raymar Morgan showed up to play for 40 minutes. Draymond Green and Kalin Lucas played well at times, but not the whole game.
11 PM - After playing from behind the whole game, MSU scored the last seven points of regulation time to tie the game at 55. MSU had the ball with 10 seconds left and a chance to win the game. Unfortunately, Kalin Lucas drove the lane, got bumped a little, and lost the ball out of bounds. Lucas has to know he's not getting a foul call at that point in the Big Ten Tournament (tie game, 5 seconds left) for just a little hip bump. A pull up jumper makes a lot more sense for him there instead of driving to the basket, but it's poor decisions like that one that cause me to wonder what Lucas is thinking sometimes. Luckily, the Spartans play better defense than Michigan in the last 3 seconds and Minnesota fails to get off a decent shot at the end of regulation.
11:10 PM - Overtime begins and the Spartans look poised to take care of business. They lose the opening tip, but Draymond Green has a great block followed by Raymar Morgan making a great post move, getting fouled, and making the shot and the free throw and MSU is up 58-55 and looks to be in control. Then they forget to play defense the way they did to end the game. Minnesota gets open look after open look and it seems the Spartans have forgotten how to play offense again. In the end, Minnesota built a decent overtime lead and won the game. Without getting into my frustrations as a Spartan fan, I can see Minnesota was the better team and hit bigger shots today. They deserve to play on the weekend.
11:30 PM - Dad and I are walking back to the hotel after what's been a very long day of beer, food, and basketball. We pass The Pub and consider ducking in for one more beer (knowing full well one more could turn into 4 more if we bump into Jeff and Randy). At that point, we both looked at each other and decided we could both use some sleep. Good call if you ask me, as we got back to the hotel and were both exhausted and asleep shortly after midnight.
If you were at all interested by this, check back tomorrow for the rest of the weekend as we met more people, ran into some old friends, and had lots more fun
Another weekend in Indianapolis. While it was disappointing to have both Wisconsin and Michigan State lose on Friday, Dad and I managed to still have a great time for the entire weekend. The city of Indianapolis is perfect for an event like the Big Ten Tournament. There are tons of hotel rooms downtown. The downtown area is relatively one of the safer cities in America (compared to other cities of the same size). There are plenty of bars and restaurants within walking distance. I can park the car on Thursday morning and there's no need to drive anywhere until I leave on Sunday. On top of everything being close, the city absolutely embraces the tournament. Every school is assigned a "team bar." The city has signs for the tournament every where and goes out of their way to make everyone feel at home. The seven or eight blocks around the Conseco Fieldhouse are filled with fans from all over the Big Ten and, for the most part, everyone is very friendly.
Here's part one of a running diary of the days in Indy (written in retrospection because there's no way I could have written all of this while down there). Part two will probably be posted about 24 hours after the first part goes up.
10:45 AM Thursday - Driving into Indianapolis, I'm reminded of just how much I look forward to this weekend every year. Aside from my bride-to-be, my dad is my best friend. If you don't have a similar relationship with your parent(s), I don't think I can explain it. There's never been a topic I can't talk to him about. We have so much in common, we just have a bond as father and son. The basketball starts this afternoon and I can't wait. It's the worst day of the tournament (the best team playing today is 6th seed Minnesota), but it's still better than any day at work.
I get to the hotel, park, and head inside. We're staying at the Sheraton in downtown Indianapolis. It's a great location for everything we're going to do all weekend. After a little hassle (as I tried to check in, they told me I had checked in at 11 PM this night before), we got myself checked in and my bags up to my room. At this point, it was about 11:30 and we had until 2:30 before the first game. Lunch time!
11:45 AM Thursday - After a short walk to the original Claddagh Irish Pub, Dad and I took our reserved seats at their bar (ok, not really reserved, but it's the two bar stools we always sit in if they're available). The first thing I realize is they have Fat Tire on tap. It's going to be a good weekend. Dad and I order two beers and peak at a menu. Lunch is good, we have a couple more beers, and we're about to head out to our next location. Right before we head out, Dad takes a bathroom stop and I start talking to the two guys to my right. Turns out they're both from Iowa originally. While they don't know my dad, they know close to 15 guys that either played football with my dad or against my dad. It's another reminder of what a small world we live in these days. Well, they ended up spending close to half an hour talking about their days in Iowa and I could tell my Dad was loving it. At that point, it was game time.
2:30 PM Thursday - We're sitting down, waiting for game 1 of 10 that weekend. As always, Dad was able to get us amazing seats. We were in the third row, right on the baseline across from the visiting bench. On top of being close to the floor, we had the media in front of us (two rows of media seats for the tournament) and I could peak at their TV screens to see all the replays that were mildly controversial (Big Ten policy says those can't be shown on the big screen in the arena). Over my right shoulder, I spot two guys we met 9 years ago. One is a big Wisconsin fan; the other a big Michigan State fan. We immediately bonded with them over the similarities (even if both guys are 10 years older than my Dad). We've seen them every year since and it's great.
3:30 PM Thursday - Michigan is well on their way to a victory over Iowa, but the 100 MSU fans sitting in the 300 level behind the visiting basket will not let Iowa die. I think they're louder than the Iowa fans. Chants of, "Let's Go Hawks!" and "Go Black! Go Gold!" can be heard throughout the fieldhouse. Every time Michigan shoots a free throw, chants of "Little Sister!" are heard coming from the MSU fans. I absolutely love it! Gotta love the MSU fans never letting Michigan basketball fans get comfortable.
4:30 PM Thursday - Iowa keeps it close, by Michigan pulls away with the victory most expected. Rumors starting to float around about Iowa coach Todd Lickliter's job being in jeopardy. We'll see.
5:00 PM Thursday - Northwestern vs. Indiana tips off. Pretty poor showing from the IU fan base. The disappointment in Hoosier land is pretty evident today. I see good things though. While IU is struggling, Tom Crean is building a good foundation. Not much to say about this game. Northwestern let the Hoosiers hold a slim lead for the first 30 minutes of the game before turning up their effort the last 10 minutes of the game and blowing out the Hoosiers by 20.
7:30 PM Thursday - Minnesota vs. Penn State. Talor Battle must be hurt worse than we know, because he looked awful for Penn State in this game. He has to play well for them to be competitive and it was pretty disappointing as Minnesota won in a game where Penn State never was really competitive. In 9 years of attending the Big Ten Tournament, Dad and I have never left a game year. With about 4 minutes left in this game, we seriously started thinking about heading out early. It was that bad.
9:30 PM Thursday - Dad and I realize we didn't eat dinner tonight. Luckily, the Rock Bottom Brewery is on the way back to the hotel. If you're a beer drinker and you're ever in downtown Indy, this is a must stop location. Great micro-brews on tap and a pretty decent menu. Dad and I each had a couple of beers and a sandwich about 10 PM. As it turns out, the Minnesota Alumni Association of Indiana has rented out the basement of Rock Bottom for a pep rally after tonight's Minnesota game. Cheerleaders, coaches, and the band were all present. It's all part of the Big Ten experience (even if I can't stand Minnesota).
11:30 PM Thursday - Back to the hotel. The walk is always shorter on the way home (though, at 8 blocks from hotel to Conseco, our furthest destination, nothing is a long walk in Indy for us). Dad and I agree we're having a great time and we can't wait for tomorrow.
10:00 AM Friday - I meet Dad at the Starbucks in the Sheraton lobby for coffee. Dad comments on how he's feeling better this morning than expected. At 61 years old, he's still able to hold his own with his 28 year old son when it comes to drinking beer and having a good time. I'm not sure who is prouder, father or son.
10:45 AM Friday - We're walking through Indy, realizing that most bars don't open until 11 on weekday mornings. How are we supposed to get two beers in before the noon games if we have to wait until 11?? Luckily, we see some people walk out of the Champps establishment (not my favorite bar and restaurant, but it gets the job done). We meet a guy at the bar from Indiana. He's an IU grad, but his wife and daughter both went to Purdue, so today, he cheers for Purdue. Nice guy and we have a nice chat over our beers while his wife and daughter are in the mall above Champps doing some quick shopping.
Noon Friday - Game one today is Ohio State - Michigan. Torn on who to cheer for. I guess Ohio State is more entertaining to watch, so we'll cheer for them. I'm a pretty silent observer for this game though. I really don't like either team (nothing against the players, it's the fan bases that really drive me crazy). It's at this point that Dad and I realize it's Friday and we can't eat meat. Cheese pizza it is! Sporting event pizza is never great, but this stuff wasn't too bad. Definitely an upgrade over other stadium pizza I've had.
2 PM Friday - What should have been a blow out for a talented OSU team just ended in one of the best finishes ever in the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan went on a run late in the second half thanks to the 3-point shooting of Stu Douglass and the playmaking skills of Manny Harris. With 30 seconds left, Harris hits a tough jumper in the lane to take their first lead since the 3 minute mark of the first half. With 14 seconds left, OSU guard David Lighty hits a jumper to tie the game at 66. With 2.2 seconds left, Harris makes another tough jumper to put the Wolverines back up by 2. As if the last 30 seconds hadn't been great, I don't think anyone expected what happened next. Evan Turner, league MVP and Mr. Everything for OSU, takes the inbounds pass moving toward half-court. About 10 feet across half-court, Turner throws up a prayer and it goes in! OSU wins, 69-68 in the most improbable manner. Unreal finish. Words just can't explain it, you just had to see it (on TV or in person)
2:30 PM Friday - The first game where we have a real rooting interest. Wisconsin vs. Illinois. In a strange year, the first two times these teams played, the road team came out victorious. I fully expected Wisconsin to win this game (see my Tournament predictions). They had just beaten Illinois by 15 the previous Sunday. What I didn't factor in was how much this game meant to Illinois. If they had any chance of getting in the NCAA tournament, they really needed to win this game. Wisconsin really had nothing to play for in this game (other than winning the tournament and maybe a better seed in the tournament, but they didn't NEED to win). Wisconsin came out flat and was never really in the game. While Illinois didn't play great, Wisconsin was awful for the first 35 minutes. At the end of the game, they started to make it interesting and even had a 3 point shot with 12 seconds left to tie the game at 54, but it bounced off the rim and Illinois hung on for victory.
4:30 PM Friday - This is the hardest part about the Big Ten Tournament. On Friday, there are four games. After the first two, they clear out the arena so they can sell a different ticket for the early games and the late games. With there only being two hours between games and 18,000 people trying to find somewhere for dinner or to kill time, everywhere is crowded. If you don't have a reservation somewhere, don't even bother trying to have a sit down meal. Dad and I have gotten in the habit of just running through Jimmy John's quickly and then finding a bar for a beer or two between games. This year though, we decided to try and find a couple of my Dad's friends (Jeff and Randy) who happen to also come to the tournament every year. Jeff is a Purdue fan, but is stuck living in Columbus, OH. His friend Randy lives in Columbus and is a Buckeye fan. Jeff loves the bar closest to the Conseco Fieldhouse (a place simply called, The Pub). It's a relatively small sports bar, but we've managed to have a lot of fun there with those two. Well, we get there and Jeff and Randy are all set-up with seats at the bar. On top of that, Jeff has already made friends with everyone around him. He has friends from Purdue, friends from Michigan State, friends from Wisconsin, and even a couple Hawkeyes and he's trying to have a conversation running with all of them. That's Jeff in a nut shell (on top of him probably being on beer 5 for that hour). Good guy, good times.
6:30 PM - Back in Conseco for the late games that day. Purdue vs. Northwestern leads off the evening. There's a pretty decent showing of Purdue fans, but you can tell they're a lot less excited ever since star forward Robbie Hummel went down for the year with a knee injury. At least for tonight, Purdue still looks dangerous and they jump out to an early lead against Northwestern and hang on for victory. It started to get close toward the end, but Purdue hung on for a fairly easy victory. It was a 7 point victory, but it felt like the game was never in doubt.
9 PM - The moment is here, we finally get to see the MSU Spartans in the 7th game of the tournament. It's Minnesota-MSU and I'm feeling good. I like the Spartans to win this game as Izzo always seems to have Tubby Smith's number. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how well Minnesota would play (or how poorly MSU would play). Minnesota impressed me again for the 2nd day in a row with their ability to knock down shots at all the right moments. On the other hand, Michigan State didn't seem to play very well on the defensive end of the floor and really only Raymar Morgan showed up to play for 40 minutes. Draymond Green and Kalin Lucas played well at times, but not the whole game.
11 PM - After playing from behind the whole game, MSU scored the last seven points of regulation time to tie the game at 55. MSU had the ball with 10 seconds left and a chance to win the game. Unfortunately, Kalin Lucas drove the lane, got bumped a little, and lost the ball out of bounds. Lucas has to know he's not getting a foul call at that point in the Big Ten Tournament (tie game, 5 seconds left) for just a little hip bump. A pull up jumper makes a lot more sense for him there instead of driving to the basket, but it's poor decisions like that one that cause me to wonder what Lucas is thinking sometimes. Luckily, the Spartans play better defense than Michigan in the last 3 seconds and Minnesota fails to get off a decent shot at the end of regulation.
11:10 PM - Overtime begins and the Spartans look poised to take care of business. They lose the opening tip, but Draymond Green has a great block followed by Raymar Morgan making a great post move, getting fouled, and making the shot and the free throw and MSU is up 58-55 and looks to be in control. Then they forget to play defense the way they did to end the game. Minnesota gets open look after open look and it seems the Spartans have forgotten how to play offense again. In the end, Minnesota built a decent overtime lead and won the game. Without getting into my frustrations as a Spartan fan, I can see Minnesota was the better team and hit bigger shots today. They deserve to play on the weekend.
11:30 PM - Dad and I are walking back to the hotel after what's been a very long day of beer, food, and basketball. We pass The Pub and consider ducking in for one more beer (knowing full well one more could turn into 4 more if we bump into Jeff and Randy). At that point, we both looked at each other and decided we could both use some sleep. Good call if you ask me, as we got back to the hotel and were both exhausted and asleep shortly after midnight.
If you were at all interested by this, check back tomorrow for the rest of the weekend as we met more people, ran into some old friends, and had lots more fun
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Big Ten Basketball
So I realize it's been a long time since I wrote anything. With any chance, I still have a follower or two. I guess that's the life during the busy season for accountants. The last thing I've wanted to do at home at night is write. Fortunately, I'm sitting at a client, waiting for a meeting to start and I have some free time to write this. We'll see how much I finish, it may be a two part posting.
Basketball season is winding to a close. By Thursday of this week, every conference will have started their conference tournament. The smaller conferences have mostly completed their tournaments and the big conferences will have started. Special congratulations should go to Wofford College, a school with a total enrollment of 1,400 students. By winning the Southern Conference tournament, Wofford, lead by Noah Dahlman (brother of MSU senior Isaiah Dahlman), will be in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Other teams of note from small conferences include Sienna (third straight appearance in the NCAA), Oakland University (2nd ever appearance), and Murray State (the only team in the NCAA with 30 wins so far this season). We'll see how these teams fair come the big tournament.
Speaking of big conference tournaments, the Big Ten Tournament begins Thursday afternoon. The 2010 tournament marks the 8th year in a row for a father-son outing for my dad and I. While in college, spring break was always the same week as the big ten tournament. My junior year, I suggested to my dad that he and I go to the tournament. One, it was a chance to spend time with my day. Two, it was a lot of decent quality basketball. Three, it was in Indianapolis, one of my favorite cities to visit. That first year turned into lots of basketball, lots of beer, and a great four days with Dad. After that first year, we decided it should become a tradition. We went the next three years while I finished grad school. When I started my career, I had it written into my contract that I would receive three days of vacation in March even though it was the busiest time of year for accountants. I swear, I think I look forward to the tournament more than I look forward to any holiday. It's better than the start of football season. It's better than Super Bowl Sunday. Words can't describe how much Dad and I look forward to this weekend. Now the only hope is his Badgers and my Spartans will have a good showing this weekend.
On that note, my thoughts on the Big Ten regular season (in reverse order of seeding for the Big Ten Tournament).
The Big Ten: A Season of Adversity
Penn State
The Nittany Lions were the Big Ten's youngest team this year, with no scholarship seniors on the team. Junior Talor Battle was the heart and soul for this team (even if his cocky attitude rubs a lot of people the wrong way). He's one of the few players in the Big Ten that can completely take over a game and carry a team on his back (as seen in his 32 point showing against Virginia, Penn State's best win of the year). Unfortunately, Battle misses having a good second and third option, and sometimes presses too much to make things happen. Penn State draws a tough Minnesota team in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament and I think it'll be a quick end to a painful season in Happy Valley that will probably see head coach Ed DeChellis looking for a new job.
Indiana
If Penn State is the youngest team in the conference, Tom Crean's Hoosiers are not far behind. The top three scorers were freshman or sophomores. Senior Devan Dumas is the only senior who sees significant playing time, and he's 7th on the team in minutes played. The Hoosiers were significantly hurt when leading scorer (and Big Ten freshman of the year candidate) Maurice Creek went down with a season ending surgery 12 games into the season. Creek averaged 16 points while only seeing the court for 24 minutes per game. No one expected the Hoosiers to be in the top of the Big Ten, but losing Creek really hurt their chances to be very competitive. That being said, Tom Crean is building a foundation for a team that could be very, very good in the next few years. Unfortunately, they're just outclassed and will probably struggle in an opening match-up with Northwestern on Thursday afternoon.
Iowa
The Hawkeyes might be the most non-descript team in the Big Ten. Led by guards Matt Gatens and Anthony Tucker and forward Jared Cole, the Hawkeyes have struggled to consistently find a rhythm on offense. Todd Lickliter is in his third year at Iowa and his team has struggled to improve in his first three years. Some recruiting battles have been lost, some players transferred, and some injuries have hurt the Hawkeyes, but Lickliter will need to show improvement soon, or his time with the Hawkeyes may be short. Lickliter is a proven winner, he just needs to translate his winning ways of the past into Big Ten victories. They face Michigan early Thursday afternoon in what should be the most competitive of the first round Big Ten Tournament games.
Michigan
The Wolverines are lead by Junior Manny Harris and Senior DeShawn Sims. Harris and Sims were supposed to carry this team to the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year. Unfortunately, Head Coach John Beilein has an offensive system based on the ability for his guards to shoot the basketball well from long range. While Harris and Sims find ways to score points, the rest of the team has struggled this season. The Wolverines have not shot the ball well and have struggled to score points when their outside shots aren't falling. Zack Novak and Stu Douglass were supposed to be significant outside shooting threats, but neither shot better than 31% from three-point range this season. Also, Beilein's zone defense has struggled to keep other team's shooters at bay, while giving up way too many offensive rebounds. While I expect them to get by Iowa on Thursday, their match-up with Ohio State on Friday could put an ugly end to an ugly season.
Northwestern
Oh what a year it should have been for the Wildcats. Kevin Coble was going into his senior year and was a possible first team all-big ten candidate. Guard Michael Thompson was supposed to handle the point guard position. Guard Jeremy Nash was going to be the defensive stopper. Forward John Shurna was supposed to come into his sophomore year and be a more consistent scorer than his freshman year (when he'd have a 18 point game followed by a 5 point game). Then the walls came crashing down for the Wildcats as Coble suffered an injury that was going to keep him out for the entire year. But something strange happened. The Wildcats opened the season 12-3, including victories over Notre Dame and Iowa State. The talk around the country was this was the year the Wildcats would make the NCAA tournament for the first time. Shurna was on a run, averaging over 20 points a game and replacing Coble as the top scoring option for the Wildcats. Then the walls came crashing down and the Wildcats struggled to put together more than two victories in a row and finished the Big Ten season a disappointing 7-11 (19-12 overall). The Wildcats will probably need to win the Big Ten tournament to see the NCAA tournament, a path that would probably include victories over Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State, and Ohio State or Wisconsin. A tough task for a team with a fairly short bench.
Minnesota
The Golden Gophers play a tough style of basketball that is symbolic of their coach. Tubby Smith is a no-nonsense type coach who finds a way to get the most out of his players year in and year out. The season got off to a tough start as heralded freshman Royce White was suspended for the year and eventually left the team completely. Yet, Lawrence Westbrook, Blake Hoffarber, and Ralph Sampson III managed to carry this team to a 18-12 record and a 9-9 record in the Big Ten. They probably could have been even better, but point guard Al Nolen was suspended halfway through the season and the Gophers struggled at times. While I expect them to beat Penn State Thursday, a tough match-up with Michigan State awaits and will probably end the Big Ten Tournament for the Golden Gophers.
Illinois
The Illini live and die by the play of point guard Demetri McCamey. McCamey lead the Big Ten in assists at almost 7 per game and also averaged 15 points per game. McCamey is the type of scoring point guard that can completely control a game on both ends of the court and make life miserable for his opponents. This Illini team should have been better this year, but forward Mike Davis really struggled to improve on his breakout year last season. Davis still averaged 11 points and 8 rebounds a game, but more was expected on the offensive end from the talented forward. The Illini come into the Big Ten Tournament on a three game losing streak and probably need to beat Wisconsin on Friday to get into the NCAA tournament. If they fail to win Friday, they'll probably find themselves on the outside looking in.
Wisconsin
The most over-achieving team in the Big Ten this season. Many selected Wisconsin to finish in the lower half of the Big Ten this season. Some pre-season polls had them as low as 8th. But, as Bo Ryan has proven in the past, his system works with just about anyone in it. They play tough defense. They run a very deliberate style of offense that forces opponents to play tough defense for 30 seconds almost every possession. They also have talented players that seem to really step up when they're presented with an opportunity. This season, those players were Jon Leuer and Trevon Hughes. Hughes showed he's one of the better point guards in the Big Ten on both ends of the court. His defense and timely shot making skills are two of the reasons the Badgers are locks to make the NCAA tournament. The other big reason is the breakout year from forward Jon Leuer. Leuer was the Badgers best offensive option for the first half of the year. Unfortunately, he went down in the middle of January with a wrist injury that held him out for 9 games. While the Badgers struggled at times with him out, Leuer is now back and healthy, and the Badgers are on a roll, winning five of their last six. The latest victory was a statement game at Illinois where the Badgers avenged their earlier season loss to the Illini. Those two teams play for the third time on Friday, a game I see the Badgers winning and effectively knocking the Illini out of the running for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
Michigan State
This was supposed to be the Spartans conference title to lose. The team returned a lot of talent from the team that made a run to the National Championship game last year. Unfortunately, a lot of people didn't understand the importance of what they lost from last year. The loss of Goran Suton and Travis Walton was easy to see early this season. Izzo's Spartans spent the early part of the season looking for an identity. Their half-court offense struggled at times while trying to break in freshman centers Derrick Nix and Garrick Sherman. This team is best when they're on the running and playing an up-tempo game. Forward Draymond Green has proven he's an instant energy guy for the Spartans, coming off the bench to finish first on the team in rebounding and third in scoring. Point guard Kalin Lucas, last season's Big Ten player of the year has struggled at times this season and a mid-season ankle injury kept him out of a two games and hindered him for two more where he wasn't playing at full-strength. But all of that being said, the Spartans managed to finish in a three-way tie for first in the Big Ten and are showing life heading into the post-season. Senior Raymar Morgan is playing his best basketball of the season. The Spartans will need his mental game to match his abilities for a chance at a big run in the post season. A match-up with Penn State or Minnesota awaits the Spartans on Friday, with possibly a game against Purdue on Saturday. If they play well, the Spartans are probably the favorite to reach the finals of the Big Ten Tournament from their half of the bracket.
Purdue
The season that should have been. That's what Purdue fans will probably be saying for a while. Purdue was rolling through the season. They were once ranked as high as number 3 in the country and were looking like a sure-fire Big Ten Champion and number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. And then, in a second, those dreams came crashing down as star forward Robbie Hummel went down with a season ending knee injury in a late season game against Minnesota. That was followed by a home loss to the Michigan State Spartans and allowed Ohio State and MSU to creep back into the title race. But, that isn't to say the cupboard is bare for the Boilermakers. Guard E'Twaun Moore leads them in scoring while center JuJuan Johnson leads the way in the paint at both ends of the court, scoring over 14 points a game while averaging two blocks per game. The Boilermakers have enough talent to make a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA tournament, but the loss of their leader Hummel will hurt this team in the long run. He was the guy on the team you could always count on for a key basket, a key rebound, or a tough loose ball. Someone else will have to step up for this team. While you can count on Moore, Johnson, and guard Keaton Grant to make some big shots, there is no one that can replace what Hummel brings to this team.
Ohio State
The Buckeyes start with all-everything guard Evan Turner. If you haven't seen this team play, you might think it starts and stops with Turner. What can you say, Turner is the best player in the Big Ten, and in my opinion, the best player in the country. He's a scorer (19.5 ppg), a rebounder (9.4 rpg), a distributor (5.8 apg) and a solid defender (1.8 steals per game). On top of that he is shooting over 53%. But, this OSU team isn't just Turner. Guards Jon Diebler (outside shooting threat), David Lighty (tough defender, all-around offensive player), William Buford (possibly the best pure scorer on the team behind Turner), and forward Dallas Lauderdale (imposing defender, rebounder, and dirty work tough guy) combine to help this team play at such a high level. It really makes you wonder what this team could have done if Turner hadn't missed six games with a broken back early this year. Yep, that's right, he fell and broke his back. 6 games later, he was back doing his thing. My only fear for them going into the Big Ten Tournament is that coach Thad Matta has done little or nothing to develop his bench. 4 players on this team average over 34 minutes per game. It makes you wonder how they'll do playing 3 games in 3 days (or even back to back games on consecutive days).
Big Ten Tournament Predictions
Opening Round
Iowa over Michigan: Call it a hunch. 60-53
Northwestern over Indiana: Gutty Hoosiers aren't enough, even in front of home crowd. 65-59
Minnesota over Penn State: Tubby keeps Battle under wrap. 68-54
Quarterfinals
OSU over Iowa: Hawkeyes don't stand a chance against a much more talented team. 75-55
Wisconsin over Illinois: Badgers too tough on both ends and slow down the game. 62-53
Purdue over Northwestern: Jon Shurna does his best Robbie Hummel impression, but it's not enough. Purdue escapes a close game 68-62
MSU over Minnesota: Spartans, playing without guard Chris Allen, struggle early, but turn on the jets in the second half. 74-62
Semifinals
OSU over Wisconsin: The OSU athletes prove too much for the Badgers. Bo's team struggles to get much going on offense and Turner and Company do just enough to pull out the close victory. 65-54
MSU over Purdue: The Spartans destroy the Boilers on the glass and second chance points get them a hard fought victory of a Boilermaker team trying to prove they're more than just Robbie Hummel. Draymond Green and Raymar Morgan both have a double-double and the Spartans head to the finals 66-60
Big Ten Championship
OSU over MSU. In a game between the two most athletic teams in the Big Ten, OSU's athletes are too tough for MSU. The Spartans have no answer for Evan Turner. The Spartans shoot the ball well though and keep it close against the worn out Buckeyes playing their third game in three days. In a close game, OSU wins 74-70. (It pains me to say this, but it's how I feel right now. I hope I'm wrong and MSU walks away with the title, but I just don't feel it happening. We'll see how they play on Friday and I may change my mind).
Basketball season is winding to a close. By Thursday of this week, every conference will have started their conference tournament. The smaller conferences have mostly completed their tournaments and the big conferences will have started. Special congratulations should go to Wofford College, a school with a total enrollment of 1,400 students. By winning the Southern Conference tournament, Wofford, lead by Noah Dahlman (brother of MSU senior Isaiah Dahlman), will be in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Other teams of note from small conferences include Sienna (third straight appearance in the NCAA), Oakland University (2nd ever appearance), and Murray State (the only team in the NCAA with 30 wins so far this season). We'll see how these teams fair come the big tournament.
Speaking of big conference tournaments, the Big Ten Tournament begins Thursday afternoon. The 2010 tournament marks the 8th year in a row for a father-son outing for my dad and I. While in college, spring break was always the same week as the big ten tournament. My junior year, I suggested to my dad that he and I go to the tournament. One, it was a chance to spend time with my day. Two, it was a lot of decent quality basketball. Three, it was in Indianapolis, one of my favorite cities to visit. That first year turned into lots of basketball, lots of beer, and a great four days with Dad. After that first year, we decided it should become a tradition. We went the next three years while I finished grad school. When I started my career, I had it written into my contract that I would receive three days of vacation in March even though it was the busiest time of year for accountants. I swear, I think I look forward to the tournament more than I look forward to any holiday. It's better than the start of football season. It's better than Super Bowl Sunday. Words can't describe how much Dad and I look forward to this weekend. Now the only hope is his Badgers and my Spartans will have a good showing this weekend.
On that note, my thoughts on the Big Ten regular season (in reverse order of seeding for the Big Ten Tournament).
The Big Ten: A Season of Adversity
Penn State
The Nittany Lions were the Big Ten's youngest team this year, with no scholarship seniors on the team. Junior Talor Battle was the heart and soul for this team (even if his cocky attitude rubs a lot of people the wrong way). He's one of the few players in the Big Ten that can completely take over a game and carry a team on his back (as seen in his 32 point showing against Virginia, Penn State's best win of the year). Unfortunately, Battle misses having a good second and third option, and sometimes presses too much to make things happen. Penn State draws a tough Minnesota team in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament and I think it'll be a quick end to a painful season in Happy Valley that will probably see head coach Ed DeChellis looking for a new job.
Indiana
If Penn State is the youngest team in the conference, Tom Crean's Hoosiers are not far behind. The top three scorers were freshman or sophomores. Senior Devan Dumas is the only senior who sees significant playing time, and he's 7th on the team in minutes played. The Hoosiers were significantly hurt when leading scorer (and Big Ten freshman of the year candidate) Maurice Creek went down with a season ending surgery 12 games into the season. Creek averaged 16 points while only seeing the court for 24 minutes per game. No one expected the Hoosiers to be in the top of the Big Ten, but losing Creek really hurt their chances to be very competitive. That being said, Tom Crean is building a foundation for a team that could be very, very good in the next few years. Unfortunately, they're just outclassed and will probably struggle in an opening match-up with Northwestern on Thursday afternoon.
Iowa
The Hawkeyes might be the most non-descript team in the Big Ten. Led by guards Matt Gatens and Anthony Tucker and forward Jared Cole, the Hawkeyes have struggled to consistently find a rhythm on offense. Todd Lickliter is in his third year at Iowa and his team has struggled to improve in his first three years. Some recruiting battles have been lost, some players transferred, and some injuries have hurt the Hawkeyes, but Lickliter will need to show improvement soon, or his time with the Hawkeyes may be short. Lickliter is a proven winner, he just needs to translate his winning ways of the past into Big Ten victories. They face Michigan early Thursday afternoon in what should be the most competitive of the first round Big Ten Tournament games.
Michigan
The Wolverines are lead by Junior Manny Harris and Senior DeShawn Sims. Harris and Sims were supposed to carry this team to the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year. Unfortunately, Head Coach John Beilein has an offensive system based on the ability for his guards to shoot the basketball well from long range. While Harris and Sims find ways to score points, the rest of the team has struggled this season. The Wolverines have not shot the ball well and have struggled to score points when their outside shots aren't falling. Zack Novak and Stu Douglass were supposed to be significant outside shooting threats, but neither shot better than 31% from three-point range this season. Also, Beilein's zone defense has struggled to keep other team's shooters at bay, while giving up way too many offensive rebounds. While I expect them to get by Iowa on Thursday, their match-up with Ohio State on Friday could put an ugly end to an ugly season.
Northwestern
Oh what a year it should have been for the Wildcats. Kevin Coble was going into his senior year and was a possible first team all-big ten candidate. Guard Michael Thompson was supposed to handle the point guard position. Guard Jeremy Nash was going to be the defensive stopper. Forward John Shurna was supposed to come into his sophomore year and be a more consistent scorer than his freshman year (when he'd have a 18 point game followed by a 5 point game). Then the walls came crashing down for the Wildcats as Coble suffered an injury that was going to keep him out for the entire year. But something strange happened. The Wildcats opened the season 12-3, including victories over Notre Dame and Iowa State. The talk around the country was this was the year the Wildcats would make the NCAA tournament for the first time. Shurna was on a run, averaging over 20 points a game and replacing Coble as the top scoring option for the Wildcats. Then the walls came crashing down and the Wildcats struggled to put together more than two victories in a row and finished the Big Ten season a disappointing 7-11 (19-12 overall). The Wildcats will probably need to win the Big Ten tournament to see the NCAA tournament, a path that would probably include victories over Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State, and Ohio State or Wisconsin. A tough task for a team with a fairly short bench.
Minnesota
The Golden Gophers play a tough style of basketball that is symbolic of their coach. Tubby Smith is a no-nonsense type coach who finds a way to get the most out of his players year in and year out. The season got off to a tough start as heralded freshman Royce White was suspended for the year and eventually left the team completely. Yet, Lawrence Westbrook, Blake Hoffarber, and Ralph Sampson III managed to carry this team to a 18-12 record and a 9-9 record in the Big Ten. They probably could have been even better, but point guard Al Nolen was suspended halfway through the season and the Gophers struggled at times. While I expect them to beat Penn State Thursday, a tough match-up with Michigan State awaits and will probably end the Big Ten Tournament for the Golden Gophers.
Illinois
The Illini live and die by the play of point guard Demetri McCamey. McCamey lead the Big Ten in assists at almost 7 per game and also averaged 15 points per game. McCamey is the type of scoring point guard that can completely control a game on both ends of the court and make life miserable for his opponents. This Illini team should have been better this year, but forward Mike Davis really struggled to improve on his breakout year last season. Davis still averaged 11 points and 8 rebounds a game, but more was expected on the offensive end from the talented forward. The Illini come into the Big Ten Tournament on a three game losing streak and probably need to beat Wisconsin on Friday to get into the NCAA tournament. If they fail to win Friday, they'll probably find themselves on the outside looking in.
Wisconsin
The most over-achieving team in the Big Ten this season. Many selected Wisconsin to finish in the lower half of the Big Ten this season. Some pre-season polls had them as low as 8th. But, as Bo Ryan has proven in the past, his system works with just about anyone in it. They play tough defense. They run a very deliberate style of offense that forces opponents to play tough defense for 30 seconds almost every possession. They also have talented players that seem to really step up when they're presented with an opportunity. This season, those players were Jon Leuer and Trevon Hughes. Hughes showed he's one of the better point guards in the Big Ten on both ends of the court. His defense and timely shot making skills are two of the reasons the Badgers are locks to make the NCAA tournament. The other big reason is the breakout year from forward Jon Leuer. Leuer was the Badgers best offensive option for the first half of the year. Unfortunately, he went down in the middle of January with a wrist injury that held him out for 9 games. While the Badgers struggled at times with him out, Leuer is now back and healthy, and the Badgers are on a roll, winning five of their last six. The latest victory was a statement game at Illinois where the Badgers avenged their earlier season loss to the Illini. Those two teams play for the third time on Friday, a game I see the Badgers winning and effectively knocking the Illini out of the running for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
Michigan State
This was supposed to be the Spartans conference title to lose. The team returned a lot of talent from the team that made a run to the National Championship game last year. Unfortunately, a lot of people didn't understand the importance of what they lost from last year. The loss of Goran Suton and Travis Walton was easy to see early this season. Izzo's Spartans spent the early part of the season looking for an identity. Their half-court offense struggled at times while trying to break in freshman centers Derrick Nix and Garrick Sherman. This team is best when they're on the running and playing an up-tempo game. Forward Draymond Green has proven he's an instant energy guy for the Spartans, coming off the bench to finish first on the team in rebounding and third in scoring. Point guard Kalin Lucas, last season's Big Ten player of the year has struggled at times this season and a mid-season ankle injury kept him out of a two games and hindered him for two more where he wasn't playing at full-strength. But all of that being said, the Spartans managed to finish in a three-way tie for first in the Big Ten and are showing life heading into the post-season. Senior Raymar Morgan is playing his best basketball of the season. The Spartans will need his mental game to match his abilities for a chance at a big run in the post season. A match-up with Penn State or Minnesota awaits the Spartans on Friday, with possibly a game against Purdue on Saturday. If they play well, the Spartans are probably the favorite to reach the finals of the Big Ten Tournament from their half of the bracket.
Purdue
The season that should have been. That's what Purdue fans will probably be saying for a while. Purdue was rolling through the season. They were once ranked as high as number 3 in the country and were looking like a sure-fire Big Ten Champion and number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. And then, in a second, those dreams came crashing down as star forward Robbie Hummel went down with a season ending knee injury in a late season game against Minnesota. That was followed by a home loss to the Michigan State Spartans and allowed Ohio State and MSU to creep back into the title race. But, that isn't to say the cupboard is bare for the Boilermakers. Guard E'Twaun Moore leads them in scoring while center JuJuan Johnson leads the way in the paint at both ends of the court, scoring over 14 points a game while averaging two blocks per game. The Boilermakers have enough talent to make a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA tournament, but the loss of their leader Hummel will hurt this team in the long run. He was the guy on the team you could always count on for a key basket, a key rebound, or a tough loose ball. Someone else will have to step up for this team. While you can count on Moore, Johnson, and guard Keaton Grant to make some big shots, there is no one that can replace what Hummel brings to this team.
Ohio State
The Buckeyes start with all-everything guard Evan Turner. If you haven't seen this team play, you might think it starts and stops with Turner. What can you say, Turner is the best player in the Big Ten, and in my opinion, the best player in the country. He's a scorer (19.5 ppg), a rebounder (9.4 rpg), a distributor (5.8 apg) and a solid defender (1.8 steals per game). On top of that he is shooting over 53%. But, this OSU team isn't just Turner. Guards Jon Diebler (outside shooting threat), David Lighty (tough defender, all-around offensive player), William Buford (possibly the best pure scorer on the team behind Turner), and forward Dallas Lauderdale (imposing defender, rebounder, and dirty work tough guy) combine to help this team play at such a high level. It really makes you wonder what this team could have done if Turner hadn't missed six games with a broken back early this year. Yep, that's right, he fell and broke his back. 6 games later, he was back doing his thing. My only fear for them going into the Big Ten Tournament is that coach Thad Matta has done little or nothing to develop his bench. 4 players on this team average over 34 minutes per game. It makes you wonder how they'll do playing 3 games in 3 days (or even back to back games on consecutive days).
Big Ten Tournament Predictions
Opening Round
Iowa over Michigan: Call it a hunch. 60-53
Northwestern over Indiana: Gutty Hoosiers aren't enough, even in front of home crowd. 65-59
Minnesota over Penn State: Tubby keeps Battle under wrap. 68-54
Quarterfinals
OSU over Iowa: Hawkeyes don't stand a chance against a much more talented team. 75-55
Wisconsin over Illinois: Badgers too tough on both ends and slow down the game. 62-53
Purdue over Northwestern: Jon Shurna does his best Robbie Hummel impression, but it's not enough. Purdue escapes a close game 68-62
MSU over Minnesota: Spartans, playing without guard Chris Allen, struggle early, but turn on the jets in the second half. 74-62
Semifinals
OSU over Wisconsin: The OSU athletes prove too much for the Badgers. Bo's team struggles to get much going on offense and Turner and Company do just enough to pull out the close victory. 65-54
MSU over Purdue: The Spartans destroy the Boilers on the glass and second chance points get them a hard fought victory of a Boilermaker team trying to prove they're more than just Robbie Hummel. Draymond Green and Raymar Morgan both have a double-double and the Spartans head to the finals 66-60
Big Ten Championship
OSU over MSU. In a game between the two most athletic teams in the Big Ten, OSU's athletes are too tough for MSU. The Spartans have no answer for Evan Turner. The Spartans shoot the ball well though and keep it close against the worn out Buckeyes playing their third game in three days. In a close game, OSU wins 74-70. (It pains me to say this, but it's how I feel right now. I hope I'm wrong and MSU walks away with the title, but I just don't feel it happening. We'll see how they play on Friday and I may change my mind).
Monday, February 8, 2010
Super Bowl Bets Update
Just in case anyone was interested and didn't want to actually check the old blog post, I thought I'd update here to let you know how much I would have won if I actually bet on the Super Bowl. To review, here are my bets.
- The Saints +5.5 (line has moved around anywhere from +4.5 to +6.5, I just saw online a line at +5.5 so I'd take that)
- Over 56.5
- Drew Brees for MVP getting 3-1 odds
- Yes a team will make a field goal in the first half (-105)
- There will not be a defensive touchdown (-170)
- Points scored by the Colts: Under 31.5 (-115)
- Points scored by the Saints: Over 25.5 (-125)
Now, let's assume I bet enough on each item to win $100 and I bet $100 on Drew Brees for MVP.
The Bet = My profit or loss
Saints +5.5 = +$100
Over 56.5 = -$110
Drew Brees MVP = +$300
Field Goal in the first half = +$100
No defensive touchdown = -$170
Colts Points Scored = +$100
Saints Points Scored = +$100
So, to clarify, I would have had 5 winning bets and 2 losing bets. Overall, I would have won $420. Personally, I would have been ecstatic to have this outcome, as it would have been a pretty good return on my money for the weekend. Oh well, maybe next year I'll find some way to bet it....you know, if gambling was legal.
- The Saints +5.5 (line has moved around anywhere from +4.5 to +6.5, I just saw online a line at +5.5 so I'd take that)
- Over 56.5
- Drew Brees for MVP getting 3-1 odds
- Yes a team will make a field goal in the first half (-105)
- There will not be a defensive touchdown (-170)
- Points scored by the Colts: Under 31.5 (-115)
- Points scored by the Saints: Over 25.5 (-125)
Now, let's assume I bet enough on each item to win $100 and I bet $100 on Drew Brees for MVP.
The Bet = My profit or loss
Saints +5.5 = +$100
Over 56.5 = -$110
Drew Brees MVP = +$300
Field Goal in the first half = +$100
No defensive touchdown = -$170
Colts Points Scored = +$100
Saints Points Scored = +$100
So, to clarify, I would have had 5 winning bets and 2 losing bets. Overall, I would have won $420. Personally, I would have been ecstatic to have this outcome, as it would have been a pretty good return on my money for the weekend. Oh well, maybe next year I'll find some way to bet it....you know, if gambling was legal.
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