Posted on

Big Ten Report – Week #05 (02/04/2013)

Standings

Here are the current Big Ten standings, after Week #5:

Team (AP Rank)

Big Ten

Overall

Wins

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent
Indiana (#3)

8

1

0.889

20

2

0.909
Michigan (#1)

7

2

0.778

20

2

0.909
Michigan State (#13)

7

2

0.778

18

4

0.818
Ohio State (#11)

7

2

0.778

17

4

0.810
Wisconsin

6

3

0.667

15

7

0.682
Minnesota (#23)

5

4

0.556

17

5

0.773
Purdue

4

5

0.444

11

11

0.500
Northwestern

4

6

0.400

13

10

0.565
Iowa

3

6

0.333

14

8

0.636
Illinois

2

7

0.222

15

8

0.652
Nebraska

2

8

0.200

11

12

0.478
Penn State

0

9

0.000

8

13

0.381

Results

Here are the results from last week’s games (Week #5):

Tuesday (01/29/2013)

Wisconsin lost at Ohio State, 58-49

Nebraska lost at Minnesota, 84-65

Wednesday (01/30/2013)

Northwestern lost at Michigan, 68-46

Indiana won at Purdue, 97-60

Thursday (01/31/2013)

Illinois lost at Michigan State, 80-75

Penn State lost at Iowa, 76-67

Saturday (02/02/2013)

Purdue lost at Northwestern, 75-60

Ohio State won at Nebraska, 58-53

Michigan lost at Indiana, 81-73

Sunday (02/03/2013)

Iowa lost at Minnesota, 62-59

Wisconsin won at Illinois, 74-68

The home teams did pretty well this week, going 8-3. There were no surprises this week.

The Upcoming Week

Here are the games scheduled for the upcoming week (Week #6):

Tuesday (02/05/2013)

Purdue at Penn State

Ohio State at Michigan

Wednesday (02/06/2013)

Minnesota at Michigan State

Iowa at Wisconsin

Thursday (02/07/2013)

Indiana at Illinois

Saturday (02/09/2013)

Michigan at Wisconsin

Northwestern at Iowa

Michigan State at Purdue

Penn State at Nebraska

Sunday (02/10/2013)

Indiana at Ohio State

Illinois at Minnesota

There are four big games this week:

  • Ohio State at Michigan on Tuesday. Somebody’s getting their 3rd loss.
  • Minnesota at Michigan State on Wednesday. Last call for Minnesota.
  • Michigan at Wisconsin on Saturday. This is a brutal week for Michigan.
  • Indiana at Ohio State on Sunday. Ohio State has a tough week as well.

Full Schedule

Here’s the entire Big Ten schedule, with the teams in alphabetical order. I’ll include this table every week, with the wins and losses filled in:

Team

Record

 Wins Losses Remaining Games
Illinois

Total:

2-7

 Ohio State (H)
Nebraska (A)		 Purdue (A)
Minnesota (H)
Wisconsin (A)

Northwestern (H)

Michigan (H)

Michigan State (A)

Wisconsin (H)

 Indiana (H)
Minnesota (A)
Purdue (H)

Northwestern (A)

Penn State (H)

Michigan (A)

Nebraska (H)

Iowa (A)

Ohio State (A)

Home:

1-4

Away:

1-3
Indiana

Total:

8-1

 Iowa (A)
Penn State (A)
Minnesota (H)

Northwestern (A)

Penn State (H)

Michigan State (H)

Purdue (A)

Michigan (H)

 Wisconsin (H)
 Illinois (A)
Ohio State (A)
Nebraska (H)

Purdue (H)

Michigan State (A)

Minnesota (A)

Iowa (H)

Ohio State (H)

Michigan (A)

Home:

4-1

Away:

4-0
Iowa

Total:

3-6

 Northwestern (A)
Wisconsin (H)
Penn State (H)		 Indiana (H)
Michigan (A)
Michigan State (H)

Ohio State (A)

Purdue (A)

Minnesota (A)

 Wisconsin (A)
Northwestern (H)
Penn State (A)

Minnesota (H)

Nebraska (A)

Purdue (H)

Indiana (A)

Illinois (H)

Nebraska (H)

Home:

2-2

Away:

1-4
Michigan

Total:

7-2

 Northwestern (A)
Iowa (H)
Nebraska (H)

Minnesota (A)

Purdue (H)

Illinois (A)

Northwestern (H)

 Ohio State (A)
Indiana (A)		 Ohio State (H)
Wisconsin (A)
Michigan State (A)

Penn State (H)

Illinois (H)

Penn State (A)

Michigan State (H)

Purdue (A)

Indiana (H)

Home:

4-0

Away:

3-2
Michigan State

Total:

7-2

 Purdue (H)
Iowa (A)
Nebraska (H)

Penn State (A)

Ohio State (H)

Wisconsin (A)

Illinois (H)

 Minnesota (A)
Indiana (A)		 Minnesota (H)
Purdue (A)
Michigan (H)

Nebraska (A)

Indiana (H)

Ohio State (A)

Michigan (A)

Wisconsin (H)

Northwestern (H)

Home:

4-0

Away:

3-2
Minnesota

Total:

5-4

 Michigan State (H)
Northwestern (H)
Illinois (A)

Nebraska (H)

Iowa (H)

 Indiana (A)
Michigan (H)
Northwestern (A)

Wisconsin (A)

 Michigan State (A)
Illinois (H)
Wisconsin (H)

Iowa (A)

Ohio State (A)

Indiana (H)

Penn State (H)

Nebraska (A)

Purdue (A)

Home:

4-1

Away:

1-3
Nebraska

Total:

2-8

 Penn State (A)
Northwestern (H)		 Ohio State (A)
Wisconsin (H)
Michigan (A)

Michigan State (A)

Purdue (H)

Illinois (H)

Minnesota (A)

Ohio State (H)

 Penn State (H)
Indiana (A)
Michigan State (H)

Iowa (H)

Wisconsin (A)

Illinois (A)

Minnesota (H)

Iowa (A)

Home:

1-4

Away:

1-4
Northwestern

Total:

4-6

 Penn State (A)
Illinois (A)
Minnesota (H)

Purdue (H)

 Michigan (H)
Minnesota (A)
Iowa (H)

Indiana (H)

Nebraska (A)

Michigan (A)

 Iowa (A)
Ohio State (A)
Illinois (H)

Wisconsin (H)

Purdue (A)

Ohio State (H)

Penn State (H)

Michigan State (A)

Home:

2-3

Away:

2-3
Ohio State

Total:

7-2

 Nebraska (H)
Purdue (A)
Michigan (H)

Iowa (H)

Penn State (A)

Wisconsin (H)

Nebraska (A)

 Illinois (A)
Michigan State (A)		 Michigan (A)
Indiana (H)
Northwestern (H)

Wisconsin (A)

Minnesota (H)

Michigan State (H)

Northwestern (A)

Indiana (A)

Illinois (H)

Home:

4-0

Away:

3-2
Penn State

Total:

0-9

 Wisconsin (A)
Indiana (H)
Northwestern (H)

Purdue (A)

Michigan State (H)

Nebraska (H)

Indiana (A)

Ohio State (H)

Iowa (A)

 Purdue (H)
Nebraska (A)
Iowa (H)

Michigan (A)

Illinois (A)

Michigan (H)

Minnesota (A)

Northwestern (A)

Wisconsin (H)

Home:

0-5

Away:

0-4
Purdue

Total:

4-5

 Illinois (H)
Penn State (H)
Nebraska (A)

Iowa (H)

 Michigan State (A)
Ohio State (H)
Michigan (A)

Indiana (H)

Northwestern (A)

 Penn State (A)
Michigan State (H)
Illinois (A)

Indiana (A)

Northwestern (H)

Iowa (A)

Wisconsin (A)

Michigan (H)

Minnesota (H)

Home:

3-2

Away:

1-3
Wisconsin

Total:

6-3

 Penn State (H)
Nebraska (A)
Illinois (H)

Indiana (A)

Minnesota (H)

Illinois (A)

 Iowa (A)
Michigan State (H)
Ohio State (A)		 Iowa (H)
Michigan (H)
Minnesota (A)

Ohio State (H)

Northwestern (A)

Nebraska (H)

Purdue (H)

Michigan State (A)

Penn State (A)

Home:

3-1

Away:

3-2


Posted on

Hoop Dreams Realized

Recorded in 2004 by Brent Petway (special thanks to TG!)

{Verse 1}
We play in Crisler Arena, where the hoopers at.
The post men, the high flyers,
And the three-point shooters at.
NIT 2004, other teams pursuing that.
Dunkin on these lame cats
(A.G., why you doin’ that?)
Man cuz that’s my job, 2-for-1.
I catch the lob,
the lob I catch.
make you say whoa like Black Rob.
But it ain’t ova yet cuz who handle the rock?
D. Horton, plain and simple, yeah he get off his shots.
But who call the shots, T.A.,
coach Ram, coach Moore, coach Swen.
Slam Jam thank you ma’am!
Next up, nyce man game high 28,
My first 28 field goals,
(How many were dunks?) 28!
Then L.A., Mr. consistency,
Sherrod Harrell, Graham Brown Tri-captaincy.
And why we play so hard?
Why we run when Plock say run?
It ain’t the name on the back,
It’s the name on the front!

{Chorus}
I Said, we gotta be one of the most underrated teams in basketball
By the end of this year, we’re gonna be called #1! #1!
Michigan..huh? #1! #1! (Yeah) (x2)

{Verse 2}
The NIT was just for starters,
Naw…we ain’t finished yet.
Courtney Sims keeps blockin’ shots,
I’m flyin through the air like lear jets.
Then in comes Big Game Hunter,
Known as a Big Game Hunter,
Shoot three-pointers like his name’s Lindsey Hunter.
Switch the subject, in comes J.C. Mathis,
He’s complaining ‘cuz Amadou keeps hackin’.
Keeps smackin’, he keeps foulin’,
meanwhile Ashtyn Bell still wildin’.
Dani, John and R.C., too,
Blue team combo like R2 D2.
Michigan State and Illinois, too,
Georgia Tech, yeah, they’ll all get ran through.
All get done too, Maize Rage, Blue Crew,
Cheer for who, who, dribble, dribble, shoot, shoot.
Basketball this year and football this year,
We all goin’ for the championship.

{Chorus}

Posted on

Nothing But ‘Net – Week #14 – 01/28/2013 – Number One?

The (#2) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they won them both. At the same time, (#1) Duke got hammered on the road by (#25) Miami (FL), so it sure looks like Michigan is going to be ranked #1 in the AP Poll this week!

The two games that Michigan played last week were good, solid wins against middle-of-the-pack Big Ten teams. On Thursday (01/24/2013), they beat Purdue 68-53 in Crisler Arena, then on Sunday (01/27/2013), they beat Illinois 74-60 in Champaign. The two wins raise UM’s record to 19-1, 6-1 in Big Ten play. They are tied for 1st place in the Big Ten.

In both games, Michigan fell behind early, but didn’t panic. In fact, Purdue actually had a 1-point lead (33-32) at halftime, the only time UM has trailed at halftime at home this season. However, in both games, Michigan slowly but surely erased the deficit and built a lead, then protected it. In the Purdue game, Michigan was still behind (40-39) with 15 minutes left, then they went on a quick 10-0 run to get a lead that they never lost. In the Illinois game, Michigan led for most of the game, but it was close (2-4 points) for most of the 1st half. In the 2nd half, UM pushed the lead out to double digits, and mostly kept it there. They did let Illinois get within 4 points (41-37) with 16:41 left in the game, but that’s when Michigan pulled away.

The stats for the Purdue game are much nicer than the ones for the Illinois game. In the Purdue game, Michigan shot pretty well overall (27-for-55 = 49.1%), and pretty well from 3-point range (7-for-16 = 43.8%). They shot free throws pretty well (7-for-10 = 70.0%), and they won the rebounding battle (35-29) and the turnover battle (10-12). Michigan shot pretty well overall in the Illinois game (31-for-59 = 52.5%), but not so well from 3-point range (5-for-15 = 33.3%). They were mediocre from the free-throw line (7-for-13 = 53.8%), they lost the rebounding battle (35-36), but they won the turnover battle (12-15). Overall, they played well enough to win, but not up to the level they set in some of their more impressive victories. Still, a win is a win. Just ask Duke.

Individually, 3 players hit double figures in both games:

The 5th starter, Jordan Morgan had 6 points vs. Purdue, but 0 points vs. Illinois. He only played 91 seconds in the Illinois game before he injured his ankle. He didn’t return to the game. His status isn’t known at this time.

The bench players had mixed success scoring:

  • Spike Albrecht – 0 and 0 points.
  • Max Bielfeldt – DNP and 4 points. Max had to play a lot more minutes in the Illinois game, with Morgan out, and he did fine.
  • Jon Horford – 2 and 7 points. Jon also had to play a lot more minutes in the Illinois game, with Morgan out, and he also did fine.
  • Caris LeVert – 2 and 0 points.
  • Mitch McGary – 6 and 6 points.

Michigan only got 10 points from the bench in the Purdue game, but they got 17 points vs. Illinois, which is more like it.

This Week

After a couple games against lower-division teams, Michigan has one more relatively easy game, then they start a brutal 4-game stretch. This week, they play Northwestern on Wednesday (01/30/2013, 6:30 p.m., BTN) in Crisler Arena, then on Saturday (02/02/2013, 9:00 p.m. EST, ESPN) they play at (#7) Indiana. They should beat Northwestern fairly easily, but the game at IU will be Michigan’s toughest test yet. If they can win that one, they’ll be in the driver’s seat for the Big Ten title.

Check back next week to see what happened, and why.

Go Blue!

Posted on

Big Ten Report – Week #04 (01/28/2013)

Standings

Here are the current Big Ten standings, after Week #4:

 

Team (AP Rank)

Big Ten

Overall

Wins

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent
Michigan (#2)

6

1

0.857

19

1

0.950
Indiana (#7)

6

1

0.857

18

2

0.900
Michigan State (#13)

6

2

0.750

17

4

0.810
Ohio State (#14)

5

2

0.714

15

4

0.789
Wisconsin

5

2

0.714

14

6

0.700
Purdue

4

3

0.571

11

9

0.550
Minnesota (#12)

3

4

0.429

15

5

0.750
Northwestern

3

5

0.375

12

9

0.571
Illinois

2

5

0.286

15

6

0.714
Iowa

2

5

0.286

13

7

0.650
Nebraska

2

6

0.250

11

10

0.524
Penn State

0

8

0.000

8

12

0.400

 

Results

Here are the results from last week’s games (Week #4):

 

Tuesday (01/22/2013)

Iowa lost at Ohio State, 72-63

Michigan State won at Wisconsin, 49-47

Illinois won at Nebraska, 71-51

 

Wednesday (01/23/2013)

Penn State lost at Indiana, 72-49

Minnesota lost at Northwestern, 55-48

 

Thursday (01/24/2013)

Purdue lost at Michigan, 68-53

 

Saturday (01/26/2013)

Ohio State won at Penn State, 65-51

Minnesota lost at Wisconsin, 45-44

Northwestern lost at Nebraska, 64-49

 

Sunday (01/27/2013)

Michigan State lost at Indiana, 75-70

Iowa lost at Purdue, 65-62 (OT)

Michigan won at Illinois, 74-60

 

The home teams did pretty well this week, going 8-4. There were just a couple surprises this week:

 

  • Minnesota lost at Northwestern on Wednesday. Minnesota is ranked, and Northwestern is struggling, but it’s tough to win on the road in the Big Ten.
  • Northwestern lost at Nebraska on Saturday. Northwestern just beat Minnesota, then they lose to Nebraska?

 

The Upcoming Week

Here are the games scheduled for the upcoming week (Week #5):

 

Tuesday (01/29/2013)

Wisconsin at Ohio State

Nebraska at Minnesota

 

Wednesday (01/30/2013)

Northwestern at Michigan

Indiana at Purdue

 

Thursday (01/31/2013)

Illinois at Michigan State

Penn State at Iowa

 

Saturday (02/02/2013)

Purdue at Northwestern

Ohio State at Nebraska

Michigan at Indiana

 

Sunday (02/03/2013)

Iowa at Minnesota

Wisconsin at Illinois

 

There are two big games this week:

 

  • Wisconsin at Ohio State on Tuesday. Somebody’s getting their 3rd loss.
  • Michigan at Indiana on Saturday. This one could be for 1st place.

 

Full Schedule

Here’s the entire Big Ten schedule, with the teams in alphabetical order. I’ll include this table every week, with the wins and losses filled in:

 

Team

Record

 Wins Losses Remaining Games
Illinois

Total:

2-5

 Ohio State (H)
Nebraska (A)		 Purdue (A)
Minnesota (H)

Wisconsin (A)

Northwestern (H)

Michigan (H)

 Michigan State (A)
Wisconsin (H)

Indiana (H)

Minnesota (A)

Purdue (H)

Northwestern (A)

Penn State (H)

Michigan (A)

Nebraska (H)

Iowa (A)

Ohio State (A)

Home:

1-3

Away:

1-2
Indiana

Total:

6-1

 Iowa (A)
Penn State (A)

Minnesota (H)

Northwestern (A)

Penn State (H)

Michigan State (H)

 Wisconsin (H)
 Purdue (A)
Michigan (H)

Illinois (A)

Ohio State (A)

Nebraska (H)

Purdue (H)

Michigan State (A)

Minnesota (A)

Iowa (H)

Ohio State (H)

Michigan (A)

Home:

3-1

Away:

3-0
Iowa

Total:

2-5

 Northwestern (A)
Wisconsin (H)		 Indiana (H)
Michigan (A)

Michigan State (H)

Ohio State (A)

Purdue (A)

 Penn State (H)
Minnesota (A)

Wisconsin (A)

Northwestern (H)

Penn State (A)

Minnesota (H)

Nebraska (A)

Purdue (H)

Indiana (A)

Illinois (H)

Nebraska (H)

Home:

1-2

Away:

1-3
Michigan

Total:

6-1

 Northwestern (A)
Iowa (H)

Nebraska (H)

Minnesota (A)

Purdue (H)

Illinois (A)

 Ohio State (A) Northwestern (H)
Indiana (A)

Ohio State (H)

Wisconsin (A)

Michigan State (A)

Penn State (H)

Illinois (H)

Penn State (A)

Michigan State (H)

Purdue (A)

Indiana (H)

Home:

3-0

Away:

3-1
Michigan State

Total:

6-2

 Purdue (H)
Iowa (A)

Nebraska (H)

Penn State (A)

Ohio State (H)

Wisconsin (A)

 Minnesota (A)
Indiana (A)		 Illinois (H)
Minnesota (H)

Purdue (A)

Michigan (H)

Nebraska (A)

Indiana (H)

Ohio State (A)

Michigan (A)

Wisconsin (H)

Northwestern (H)

Home:

3-0

Away:

3-2
Minnesota

Total:

3-4

 Michigan State (H)
Northwestern (H)

Illinois (A)

 Indiana (A)
Michigan (H)

Northwestern (A)

Wisconsin (A)

 Nebraska (H)
Iowa (H)

Michigan State (A)

Illinois (H)

Wisconsin (H)

Iowa (A)

Ohio State (A)

Indiana (H)

Penn State (H)

Nebraska (A)

Purdue (A)

Home:

2-1

Away:

1-3
Nebraska

Total:

2-6

 Penn State (A)
Northwestern (H)		 Ohio State (A)
Wisconsin (H)

Michigan (A)

Michigan State (A)

Purdue (H)

Illinois (H)

 Minnesota (A)
Ohio State (H)

Penn State (H)

Indiana (A)

Michigan State (H)

Iowa (H)

Wisconsin (A)

Illinois (A)

Minnesota (H)

Iowa (A)

Home:

1-3

Away:

1-3
Northwestern

Total:

3-5

 Penn State (A)
Illinois (A)

Minnesota (H)

 Michigan (H)
Minnesota (A)

Iowa (H)

Indiana (H)

Nebraska (A)

 Michigan (A)
Purdue (H)

Iowa (A)

Ohio State (A)

Illinois (H)

Wisconsin (H)

Purdue (A)

Ohio State (H)

Penn State (H)

Michigan State (A)

Home:

1-3

Away:

2-2
Ohio State

Total:

5-2

 Nebraska (H)
Purdue (A)

Michigan (H)

Iowa (H)

Penn State (A)

 Illinois (A)
Michigan State (A)		 Wisconsin (H)
Nebraska (A)

Michigan (A)

Indiana (H)

Northwestern (H)

Wisconsin (A)

Minnesota (H)

Michigan State (H)

Northwestern (A)

Indiana (A)

Illinois (H)

Home:

3-0

Away:

2-2
Penn State

Total:

0-8

 Wisconsin (A)
Indiana (H)

Northwestern (H)

Purdue (A)

Michigan State (H)

Nebraska (H)

Indiana (A)

Ohio State (H)

 Iowa (A)
Purdue (H)

Nebraska (A)

Iowa (H)

Michigan (A)

Illinois (A)

Michigan (H)

Minnesota (A)

Northwestern (A)

Wisconsin (H)

Home:

0-5

Away:

0-3
Purdue

Total:

4-3

 Illinois (H)
Penn State (H)

Nebraska (A)

Iowa (H)

 Michigan State (A)
Ohio State (H)

Michigan (A)

 Indiana (H)
Northwestern (A)

Penn State (A)

Michigan State (H)

Illinois (A)

Indiana (A)

Northwestern (H)

Iowa (A)

Wisconsin (A)

Michigan (H)

Minnesota (H)

Home:

3-1

Away:

1-2
Wisconsin

Total:

5-2

 Penn State (H)
Nebraska (A)

Illinois (H)

Indiana (A)

Minnesota (H)

 Iowa (A)
Michigan State (H)		 Ohio State (A)
Illinois (A)

Iowa (H)

Michigan (H)

Minnesota (A)

Ohio State (H)

Northwestern (A)

Nebraska (H)

Purdue (H)

Michigan State (A)

Penn State (A)

Home:

3-1

Away:

2-1