Big Ten Report – Week #11 (03/12/2012)


Results

Here are the results from last week’s games (Big Ten Tournament):

 

Thursday (03/08/2012) – 1st Round

Game #01: (#8) Iowa beat (#9) Illinois, 64-61

Game #02: (#5) Indiana beat (#12) Penn State, 75-58

Game #03: (#7) Northwestern lost to (#10) Minnesota, 75-68 (overtime)

Game #04: (#6) Purdue beat (#11) Nebraska, 79-61

 

Friday (03/09/2012) – Quarterfinals

Game #05: (#1) Michigan State beat (#8) Iowa, 92-75

Game #06: (#4) Wisconsin beat (#5) Indiana, 79-71

Game #07: (#2) Michigan beat (#10) Minnesota, 73-69 (overtime)

Game #08: (#3) Ohio State beat (#6) Purdue, 88-71

Continue reading “Big Ten Report – Week #11 (03/12/2012)”

Nothing But ‘Net – Week #20 – 03/12/2012 – A Forgettable Big Ten Tournament

The (#10) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games in the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis last week, and they won one and lost one.  On Friday (03/09/2012) they beat Minnesota 73-69 (overtime), then on Saturday (03/10/2012) they lost to (#7) Ohio State 77-55.  The win and the loss leave Michigan with a record of 24-9 (13-5 in the Big Ten).

It was a forgettable Big Ten Tournament for Michigan.  Sure, they won a game, but they played very poorly in that one, and were lucky to pull out the win.  They played even worse in the loss to OSU.  It was not very encouraging, and it probably cost UM their presumed #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they are a #4 seed in the Midwest Regional (Nashville).  More on that in a minute.  First, let’s take a look at the two games in the Big Ten Tournament.

Continue reading “Nothing But ‘Net – Week #20 – 03/12/2012 – A Forgettable Big Ten Tournament”

Nothing But ‘Net – Week #19 – 03/05/2012 – Big Ten (Co) Champions!

The (#13) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played their final two games of the regular season on the road last week, and they won both of them.  On Thursday (03/01/2012) they beat Illinois 72-61, then on Sunday (03/04/2012) they beat Penn State 71-65.  The wins raise Michigan’s final regular season record to 23-8 (13-5 in the Big Ten).  More importantly, the wins, combined with two Michigan State losses this week, allowed UM to tie for the Big Ten title with Michigan State and Ohio State!  This is a really big deal, and completely unexpected.  At the beginning of the season, most experts expected Michigan to finish near the top of the Big Ten, but few expected Michigan to win it.  As recently as last week, when UM lost their last home game of the season to Purdue, it looked highly improbable, though mathematically possible.  No way would MSU lose both games, even though they were against contenders.  Well, they did, and Michigan won a share of the title, their first since 1986. Continue reading “Nothing But ‘Net – Week #19 – 03/05/2012 – Big Ten (Co) Champions!”

Big Ten Report – Week #10 (03/05/2012)

Standings

Here are the final Big Ten standings:

Team

Big Ten

Overall

Wins

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent

#10 Ohio State

13

5

0.722

25

6

0.806

#5 Michigan State

13

5

0.722

24

7

0.774

#13 Michigan

13

5

0.722

23

8

0.742

#14 Wisconsin

12

6

0.667

23

8

0.742

#18 Indiana

11

7

0.611

24

7

0.774

Purdue

10

8

0.556

20

11

0.645

Northwestern

8

10

0.444

18

12

0.600

Iowa

8

10

0.444

16

15

0.516

Illinois

6

12

0.333

17

14

0.548

Minnesota

6

12

0.333

18

13

0.581

Nebraska

4

14

0.222

12

17

0.414

Penn State

4

14

0.222

12

19

0.387

 

There was a 3-way tie for the Big Ten regular season title, between Michigan State, Ohio State, and Michigan.

Continue reading “Big Ten Report – Week #10 (03/05/2012)”

Nothing But ‘Net – Week #18 – 02/27/2012 – It Was Fun While It Lasted

The (#11) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they won one and lost one.  On Tuesday (02/21/2012) they beat Northwestern 67-55 (overtime) in Evanston, then on Saturday (02/25/2012) they lost to Purdue 75-61 in Crisler Arena.  The win and loss leave Michigan with a record of 21-8 (11-5 in the Big Ten).  The loss to Purdue ruined Michigan’s perfect season at home.  They finished their home schedule 15-1, which is still very good.  The loss also knocked Michigan out of contention for the Big Ten title.  Being in the title hunt in the next-to-last week of the season was fun, but it didn’t work out.  Maybe next year…

Continue reading “Nothing But ‘Net – Week #18 – 02/27/2012 – It Was Fun While It Lasted”