Big Ten Country

Season Recaps: Ohio State & Wisconsin

The last of the season recaps for both football and basketball takes place today with the two programs that brought home the championship hardware.

Ohio State
It was a banner year in Columbus during the fall, as the Buckeyes won their third straight conference championship. The past two have been outright and have ended in the BCS Championship Game. Unfortunately, both seasons have ended with decisive title-game losses to an SEC school, but only the most ignorant media members (a category that sadly includes most of them) would focus only on the latter at the expense of the former.

Jim Tressel had to replace all of his 2006 playmakers, including Heisman winner Troy Smith. He still got off to an 8-0 start against a relatively soft schedule, then beat Penn State & Wisconsin late in the year and capped it off with a dominating defensive effort in Ann Arbor to seal the league title. Only Illinois, who pulled a big upset in Columbus has been able to dent the OSU armor in league play over the last two seasons.

The basketball team was rebuilding this year after losing Greg Oden and Mike Conley to the NBA draft, so a repeat of last year's run to a league title and the NCAA final was out of the question from the get-go. Thad Matta's team had its high points--a near-miss at Tennessee and big late-season wins at home against Purdue and Michigan State that kept their tournament hopes alive, but in the end there wasn't enough consistency to return to the Big Dance. The Buckeyes still won the NIT as a nice consolation prize.

Wisconsin
The football team had great expectations in August as a Big Ten crown and a possible run for a national title were seen as reasonable goals. Those didn't quite pan out, as the team struggled to some early wins and then played poorly in back-to-back losses at Illinois & Penn State. In the wake of the latter defeat they found their footing, and lost only at Ohio State the rest of the regular season, throwing in a big win against Michigan that proved enough to get them a New Year's bid to the Outback Bowl. A loss at Tennessee ended a year that wasn't bad, but could have been more.

The basketball team was an unmitigated success. Losing Player of the Year Alando Tucker didn't stop Bo Ryan from re-tooling his team and running to a 16-2 Big Ten record and winning his third conference title. The Badgers also won a big nonconference game in Texas. The NCAA Tournament produced a Sweet 16 performance. Losing to 10th-seeded Davidson was an undeniable disappointment, but the body of work overall was one of the most impressive in the nation.

The Land of Missed Opportunity

Wisconsin and Michigan State each exited the tournament in the round of 16 on Friday night. Each team can look back on their defeat as a missed opportunity, both for different reasons.

If anyone had said prior to the season that Wisconsin would break the 30-win barrier, capture the Big Ten title, win the conference tournament and then survive the first weekend of the NCAA, they might have been fitted for a straitjacket. The Badgers were rebuilding after the loss of Alando Tucker, and an early blowout loss at Duke, followed by a home loss to archrival Marquette seemed to validate that belief. But UW turned it on and enjoyed an outstanding season. Had they lost to #2-seed Georgetown in a hard-fought game on Friday, there would have been no reason for regrets.

But even giving Davidson all the credit they deserve after their wins over the Hoyas & Badgers, followed up by a near-miss yesterday against Kansas, it's still a major disappointment when you play a 10th-seeded team from a non-BCS conference in a regional semifinal and don't cash it in. It's an opportunity that means the bracket is breaking your way. And Wisconsin not only missed the chance to do so, they didn't even show up. Davidson beat UW to loose balls and long rebounds from the outset, and even had Stephen Curry not shot the lights out with an unconscious performance from downtown, the Badgers did not look ready to step up and take this game. Michael Hunt of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that Davidson was simply better, but while such is gracious, it's not necessarily accurate.

When the dust settles on this season over the next couple weeks, Wisconsin's extraordinary achievments will be what ultimately shines forth. But at least for a little while, Badger fans can't be blamed if they suffer a little melancholy depression over the lost opportunity.

Michigan State had its doors blown off by Memphis. Getting beat up by a #1 seed that's lost only one game and who put another whipping on Texas yesterday, isn't cause for shame per se. What the Spartans have to be upset about is that no one around the country was particularly surprised that it happened. This was a year of great expectation in East Lansing, as they were the top-heavy favorite in the Big Ten and expected to compete for the national championship. And they didn't exactly collapse, winning big non-conference games and staying on the outskirts of the conference title race, including a huge thumping of Indiana when the Hoosiers were still a viable contender. But at every point when they could have fulfilled their legitimate expectations, they couldn't seal the deal. Bad losses at Iowa & Penn State cost them a conference title. They dropped a tough one to Wisconsin in the league tournament semis. And on Friday they completed the trifecta by missing a chance to oust a #1 seed and restore themselves to glory.

Drew Sharp of The Detroit Press says that by any reasonable measurement, Tom Izzo still has an elite program. And Sharp is right. MSU missed an opportunity for a big year this year, but it would be foolish to write them off for 2009, when the Final Four comes to The Motor City.

Regional Preview: Midwest & South

The Big Ten gets center stage--or at least close to center stage starting Friday night, when both Michigan State and Wisconsin look to move on to San Antonio. Wisconsin is at the Midwest regionals in Detroit's expansive Ford Field, while MSU is down in Houston where the South championship is being settled.

Wisconsin seems to have the sea opening up in front of them, as they get to play 10th-seeded Davidson in the 7EST time slot. When the Badgers made their 2005 run to a regional final they cashed in a similar break at this round of the tournament. Top-seeded Kansas awaits on the other side, but the Jayhawks have to deal with 12th-seeded Villanova first. The 'Cats are a team that's stronger then their seed, although I think UK should survive it. Kansas coach Bill Self has done an outstanding job here, and in his previous jobs at Illinois & Tulsa, but there is one common thread--he's lost regional finals at all three places and has yet to get to the Final Four. His team is not an overwhelming #1 seed to begin with, and if Bo Ryan's team turns a potential Sunday game into a bump-and-grind battle, it could add to the tension the Jayhawks may be feeling.

While the rest of us watch the games, the players still have to study. Mark Stewart of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel takes a look at how the kids are adapting to the twin pressures.

Michigan State is also looking to recapture the spirit of '05. That year saw the Spartans march all the way to the Final Four. They did it in the South bracket and they had to take out a #1 seed (Duke) in the Sweet 16, and a #2 seed (Kentucky) in the final to get there. A similar path awaits, as they face off with top-seeded Memphis in Friday's late time slot and a potential date with second-seeded Texas would lie ahead on Sunday. Don't sleep on Tom Izzo's team. Memphis is young and doesn't shoot its free throws well, and the Spartans have already beaten Texas this year. If MSU finds its December form, they will be returning to the Lone Star state next weekend. The Detroit Free Press has a brief transcript of radio comments from Izzo's on Friday's game.

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Congratluations to Ohio State! The Buckeyes beat Dayton last night and will advance to the semifinals of the NIT at Madison Square Garden. Ohio State will play Ole Miss next Wednesday. And if they win? Then we can't seem to escape Ohio State-Florida championship showdowns. The Gators are in the other semi against UMass.

Wisconsin & Mich State Advance

Wisconsin & Michigan State will carry the banner of the Big Ten the rest of the way, as both schools put on impressive displays this past weekend to earn their way into the regional round. Michigan State took out both ends of the state of Pennsylvania. They got the tournament started with a 72-61 win over Philadelphia-based Temple. And they followed it up with another eleven-point win, this time over highly regarded Pittsburgh in the second round.

There was a different hero for Tom Izzo each night. Raymar Morgan led the way with 15 points in the opener, while Drew Neitzel opened up against Pitt and knocked down 21, including a 5-for-8 performance from treyland, an area the Spartans held a decisive edge. Kalin Lucas added 19 to key a backcourt-dominated win. But the MVP of the weekend may have been center Goran Suton. The big man quietly grabbed nine rebounds in each game and ensured that MSU had the rebounding edge both times. Suton was the constant, as the stars took turns in the spotlight.

Michigan State moves on to Houston, where the South regional championships get underway on Friday. They play top-seeded Memphis next. According to Shannon Shelton of The Detroit Free Press, Izzo is saying the Tigers remind him of Magic Johnson's Laker teams.

Wisconsin got a little scare from UC-Fullerton in the opening round, before asserting themselves in the final ten minutes and pulling away to a 71-56 win. Height was expected to be key in this game, and that proved to be the case. The UW frontline outrebounded their counterparts by a huge 30-13 margin, and blocked seven shots. The decisive edge up front was more then enough to overcome a noble effort by Fullerton's Josh Akognon, who poured in 31 points.

On Saturday, the Badgers ousted Kansas State and star freshman Michael Beasley. This time, Bo Ryan's team flipped gears and used the backcourt to win. In spite of the frontline being dominated in both points (43-13) and rebounds (21-9), the UW guards carried the day. Trevon Hughes scored 25 and Michael Flowers kicked in 15, and the Badgers had this game well in hand through most of the second half.

A sidenote on Wisconsin: Shortly before the tournament, this blog argued that the obsession over where one was seeded was an overrated issue, that in a tourney with no homecourt advantage and no re-seeding after rounds, it was impossible to tell where favorable bracket position would be. Perhaps the biggest seeding discussion surrounding Big Ten teams was whether Wisconsin could get a #2 spot. They did not, that honor going to Georgetown in the Midwest. What happened? The Hoyas were upset on Sunday, and UW now plays 10th-seeded Davidson in the coming regionals. And even had Georgetown won, the worse that would have happened is that the Badgers would have played using their road jerseys rather then their home ones. It's probably too much to think the media will notice this and stop the seeding obsession, but once again, this proved to be an irrelevant issue. Bill Glauber of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel takes a look at the unknown entity who stands in Wisconsin's way on Friday night.

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Ohio State kept moving forward in the NIT, ousting Cal and advancing to the quarterfinals on Wednesday night. The Buckeyes will meet Dayton in an in-state war to see who gets a ticket to Madison Square Garden next week. While it's not the stage Jamar Butler preferred to be in his final March, there are certainly worse ways for a college kid to leave the game then an all-expenses paid trip to New York. Bob Baptist of The Columbus Dispatch says the team is having fun.

Wisconsin Wraps It Up

It was anti-climactic when the Big Ten race was sewn up on Saturday afternoon. Wisconsin rolled past Northwestern 65-52, asserting control about ten minutes into the game and maintaining a comfortable double-digit margin the rest of the way. In a career filled with ups and downs, Brian Butch ended his regular season career with a big 20-point/14-rebound effort to ensure the Badger fans who made the short trip to Evanston would have a reason to celebrate.

The Ohio State reign is officially over--since Big Ten Country was founded during the '05 football season, the Buckeyes have won or shared the league title in both football & basketball each season of this blog's existence. Congratulations to OSU for their run of success in the Tressel/Matta era, and of course to Bo Ryan and the new champions. Mark Stewart of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is looking ahead to the conference tournament and says it will be no easy run for the Badgers.

Speaking of congratulating Ohio State, the Buckeyes may yet fight their way into the NCAA Tournament. Senior Jamar Butler delivered his second straight big game with the season on the line, scoring 20 points in a win over Michigan State. Butler has stood tall in do-or-die week, knocking down a combined 45 points in home wins over Purdue & MSU that ensure his team will have a fighting chance of hearing its name called on Selection Sunday. The Buckeyes and Spartans will rematch in the tournament quarterfinals on Friday. Bob Hunter at The Columbus Dispatch writes that a repeat win would strengthen OSU's case.

Another team keeping its tournament hopes alive with a home upset was Penn State. The Nittany Lions stunned Indiana in overtime, moving their record to 15-15. The Nittany Lions can play their way into the NIT this week. This achievment would be significant enough on its own merits, but considering that PSU has played almost the entire league schedule with Geary Claxton, and their seven Big Ten wins have to mean even that much more. As for Indiana, they got their usual good games from D.J. White & Eric Gordon. But no one else scored more then five and they turned the ball over seventeen times. If there were further evidence needed regarding how much this team needs a third wheel to step up in tournament play, yesterday provided it. Gordon says there's no need to worry.

Purdue locked up second place with a win at Michigan. The Boilermakers conclude the conference season at 15-3, a mark that is normally good enough to win a championship and a mark of enormous credit to the job Matt Painter did in integrating his freshman into the lineup quickly. And Illinois was able to end the regular season on an up note, beating Minnesota at home.

Wisconsin Claims A Share

At least one-third of the Big Ten championship is spoken for. Wisconsin staked their claim with an easy 77-41 home win over Penn State, keyed by Marcus Landry's 15 points and aided considerably by poor shooting from the Nittany Lions. PSU was able to get lined up for open looks at three-point shots, more then UW normally allows, but most of the shots clanked off the rim harmlessly. And the result was little tension being expended in Wisconsin winning its first league title since 2003. The Badgers can make it an outright crown with a win at Northwestern on Saturday.

The door opened for UW on Tuesday night in Columbus. Ohio State finally got over the hump in a big game, nipping Purdue in overtime. Jamar Butler led all scorers with 25 points, as the senior is unwilling to let his career end in the NIT without a fight. The victory keeps the Buckeyes squarely in the midst of the bubble discussion. Big Ten Country will continue that discussion here tomorrow morning, as we assess OSU's chances just before Championship Week tips off later in the day.

As for Purdue, they slipped into a second-place tie with Indiana. Both teams are hoping for an upset in Evanston and to claim a share of the title for themselves. IU kept their hopes alive by beating Minnesota 69-55 in Bloomington. D.J. White was uncharacteristically quiet on the glass, getting only five rebounds. But Jamarcus Ellis picked up the slack with 13 boards and Eric Gordon was good for his usual 20. The Gophers had sixteen turnovers, allowed eleven steals and shot just 59 percent from the line. All of which is a good way to dig a hole on the road. Indiana and Purdue both close the season on Sunday, at Penn State & Michigan respectively, so both will know if they still have a chance at pulling into their own share of the crown by the time the ball tips.

IU's fallen leader, Kelvin Sampson, was back in the state. He is now working as an unofficial advisor for the San Antonio Spurs, who were in town to play the Pacers. He had little to say in a very brief news conference, reports Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star.

Michigan State looked to build momentum for potential runs in the Big Ten & NCAA Tournaments by beating Illinois 57-51. Drew Neitzel had 17 points to lead the way. And Iowa beat Northwestern 67-62, with four players in double-figures and a big edge in three-point shooting.

One Week To Go

Back in November and early December, Wisconsin went to Duke and was blown out of Cameron. They quickly followed that up with a rare home loss to Marquette. The Badgers looked every bit the part of the rebuilding team they were thought to be. Purdue lost to Wofford. The Boilermakers looked every bit the part of the freshman team they are. But with one week to go in the regular season, both teams have defied the odds and usurped the spots most of us had reserved for Indiana and Michigan State. Locked up at 14-2, UW and Purdue will settle the Big Ten championship this week.

The Boilers-Badgers photo finish is just one of what's going to be an exciting final week around the nation. Nip-and-tuck races and big showdowns are the order of the day in all six power conferences. In this day and age, it's quite easy to argue that conference titles really don't matter, with all the teams concerned having long since locked up NCAA bids. I beg to differ. The purpose of the game is to win championships and the teams that prevail this week know that no matter what happens the rest of the month, they've got a trophy to add to their case. If the runner-up(s) can trump them by winning a regional title and going to the Final Four, more power to them. But that's a lot easier said then done, and this week represents the best bet for all of the involved schools to make certain that 2008 is represented with a championship banner. Here's a brief look at what's going around the country.

The Big East, ACC and Pac-10 all have showdown games. It starts out west on Thursday night. UCLA has a one-game lead on Stanford, but plays the Cardinal in an 11 EST tipoff. The weekend battles in the East are going to be even more intense, as both leagues are in a dead heat. On Saturday night, Duke and Carolina go at it in Durham to settle the ACC crown, college basketball's equivalent of the Red Sox & Yankees playing winner-take-all on the final day of the season. And on Sunday, Louisville and Georgetown hook up to settle who's the Beast of the Big East.

Tennessee has the strongest grip of any potential conference champ, but the SEC is still very much in play. The Vols got breathing room with a home win over Kentucky, but they still have only a one-game lead on Mississippi State. And Bruce Pearl's team has a visit to Florida on Wednesday night. MSU can still sneak into a tie before this is over. In the Big 12, Kansas and Texas are tied in the loss column. The Jayhawks have the 1/2 game lead, but must visit Texas A&M this weekend, while the Longhorns have two winnable home games on tap.

Which brings us back to our home conference here in the Big Ten. The schedule decidedly favors Wisconsin, with only Penn State and Northwestern in the way of a share of first place. Purdue has to go on the road to Ohio State and Michigan. It starts tonight in Columbus on ESPN. Four games collectively to settle a title. Jeff Washburn at Boiler Station writes that these game excite the young players. Wisconsin is here in large part because of the play of Michael Flowers, as Mark Stewart of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tells us.

Nearly Perfect In Madison

When it came to avoiding mistakes last night in the Kohl Center, the Badgers were nearly perfect, as Mark Stewart of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel put it. Wisconsin had only one turnover, allowed just five free throw attempts and consequently got an enormous 57-42 win over Michigan State. Goran Suton was stellar for the Spartans in defeat, pulling down fifteen rebounds, but the lack of complete offensive play on the road continues to plague Tom Izzo's team.

At 14-2, UW now gets the weekend off to watch Purdue and Indiana fight it out to pull back even. Looking ahead to next week, the Badgers have only Penn State and Northwestern standing between them and at least a share of the league championship.  It would appear as though the folks in Madison can virtually sit back and start celebration plans, only waiting to see if Indiana will lose in East Lansing on Saturday or Purdue will falter in Columbus next week, in the hopes that their share might grow a little larger.

But Penn State and Northwestern both signaled this week that they haven't thrown in the towel on 2007-08. The Lions knocked off Iowa behind 22 points from Jamelle Cornley. And the Wildcats finally got on the board. Eight treys from Craig Moore triggered a 62-60 upset of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It was the highlight of a busy week in the NU offices, as the school got a new athletic director. James Phillips is reportedly coming over for Northern Illinois, once he finishes the task of helping his current school recover from the recent tragic shootings.

Purdue and Indiana each maintained control of their own championship destiny this week. The Boilermakers beat Minnesota at home behind 22 points from E'Twaun Moore. On the Gopher side, Dan Coleman finally broke out of his February slump with 10 points and 13 rebounds, but twenty turnovers for Minny negated their edge on the glass.

Further downstate, Dan Dakich got his biggest win as interim head coach by beating Ohio State. Armon Bassett knocked down 23 points. This is the second straight game Bassett has been 20+, and the fourth time in five he's hit double-digits. If he's a reliable third weapon behind D.J. White and Eric Gordon, the Hoosiers are a threat to go a long way in March. After all the tumult, the team's legacy now rests in the hands of the players, says Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star.

Two Weeks Notice

There's two weeks to go in conference races around the nation. The Big Ten seems headed towards a split championship for the first time since a four-way train wreck in 2002. Since then, the league has crowned an outright champ for five straight years (Wisconsin, Illinois back-to-back, and a Ohio State twin killing). With the Badgers, Indiana and Purdue all deadlocked in the loss column, who's got the advantage?

Right now, Wisconsin looks to be in the driver's seat. A huge win in Columbus over the weekend moved Bo Ryan's team to 13-2. If nothing else, the Badgers have only three games to win these next couple weeks while their rivals have four (UW is off over the weekend). They also do not have a significant road test left. A big game on Thursday night awaits in the Kohl Center against Michigan State. If Ryan's troops defend their home floor they need only win at home against Penn State and on the road against Northwestern. Then they're sitting at home with at least a share of the crown while hoping their rivals fall by the wayside.

Indiana and Purdue are both sitting on 12-2. The Hoosiers have the toughest row to hoe due to a road trip to East Lansing that awaits this weekend. Of all the games the trio of contenders have, this is the only one where you have to presume against the contender winning. The home slate isn't a cakewalk either, with Ohio State coming in tonight and Minnesota next week.

Matt Painter's Cinderella story is still on track, but he will have to navigate a difficult road trip to Columbus next week. Thus far, Indiana and Wisconsin have both survived their visits to the two-time defending champs and Purdue will have to match that. They conclude the season in Michigan. While that's probably a win, the Wolverines have played better in recent weeks and it could be set up as a prelude of things to come kind of win--much like Ohio State delivered against Illinois in the 2005 finale when they wrecked Illinois' perfect season and set the stage for two straight championships of their own.

The schedule has played a role in the race. Indiana got the biggest advantage, being able to miss a road trip to Purdue. But overall, kudos to the Big Ten for increasing the regular season schedule back to 18 games and minimizing the impact scheduling would have on crowning a champion.

Michigan State still has an outside shot, although it's about as outside as you can get. The Spartans are two games back of all three teams in the loss column, but they can still beat Wisconsin and Indiana on their own. Then they'd need both teams to lose another one, while Purdue lost two (presumably two of three against Minnesota at home, and the road trips to Ohio State and Michigan). But pulling that off would make the Giants' Super Bowl run look predictable by comparison.

One team that's been accustomed to being in this conversation in recent years is Illinois. The Illini are on hard times this year. Herb Gould of The Chicago Sun-Times looks at the team's ugly loss in Michigan as a sign of the offensive gridlock that bogs them down.

Bohannon Is Big Off The Bench

Wisconsin cleared the toughest road hurdle that stands between them and at least a share of the Big Ten title. In a hard-fought game in Columbus, the Badgers eventually prevailed over Ohio State 58-53. Marcus Landry turned in a balanced effort of 10 points/9 rebounds to help Wisconsin overcome the foul trouble keeping Brian Butch on the bench for extended periods.

But even more impressive was the spark again provided by Jason Bohannon off the bench. Bohannon knocked down 16 points and this marks the fifth straight game the reserve guard has hit double figures. He's helped Bo Ryan's team through a stretch where Trevon Hughes' production has been slipping.

Wisconsin's toughest remaining test is a big home date with Michigan State on Thursday night. This past weekend, MSU took revenge for an earlier defeat against Iowa. Detroit radio personality Anthony Fenech tells the Free Press that the Spartans are still disappointing. Understandable sentiment,  but while the Spartans may have played themselves out of the title hunt, they are still 22-5 and may end up as the league's highest seed in the NCAA Tournament. Right now, a good goal would be for Tom Izzo's team to redeem themselves in the conference tourney before entering March Madness.

It will take awhile to get attention back exclusively on the basketball court at Indiana. Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star writes that there are many unanswered questions in the wake of Kelvin Sampson's departure. On the court, the Hoosiers quickly lost the Sampson trademark--defense--in an 85-82 escape at Northwestern. But even though D.J. White was one of the players angry about his coach's dismissal it didn't affect him on the court, as he put up his usual 16/11 line. Eric Gordon got his points (18) and Armon Bassett led all scorers with 24.  As for the Wildcats, they got a superlative night from Kevin Coble, as he knocked down 37 points. It's the rebounding that kills Northwestern, as Indiana doubled them up on the glass. Such stats are what make teams winless in league play at the end of February.

Rounding things out, Minnesota beat Penn State and kept its NCAA hopes on the respirator as they get set to enter a series of big games where they can play themselves back onto the bubble. And Michigan won an ugly 49-43 decision over Illinois. Neither team broke 33 percent from the field, and no starter on either side hit half his shots. I can't say I'm sorry I missed that one.