I excluded the hometown Big 10 from today’s Bubble News because I think today’s conference slate deserves its own post. Four of the top five teams in the league go head to head today and a third game between a league contender and bubble club dot the schedule. When I’m not watching the NFL playoffs, you can bet my eye wont stray too far from the Big 10 games.
Penn State at Iowa, 1:00, BTN. PSU -3.5
A compelling day of league hoops begins with the worst game of the day and one of the least attractive matchups of the season. The clubs are a combined 0-8 in league play. This is the battle of the basement. I’m not sure even the greatness of Talor Battle can keep me interested in this one. This hypothesis on Iowa hoops is way more entertaining than the game itself. Penn State as a women’s volleyball school always cracks me up
Illinois at Michigan State, 3:30, CBS. MSU -10.5
Now, this is serious business. And the complete opposite of the Iowa/PSU. Instead of last place, some of the marbles are on the line in East Lansing today. These teams are both 4-0 and the last two unbeatens standing in the league race. Illinois is a testament to how ridiculous it is to put a whole lot of stock in the shape of the bubble as its perceived by the Bracket Matrix in mid January. Despite being in first place in the Big 10, the Illini are out of the Matrix field, the seventh to last out and only on one -quarter of all mocks. The Illini are talented, but the blending of key holdovers from last season and one of the nation’s top recruiting classes has led to some uneven play as the kinks get worked out. I think their better days lay ahead of them. Hopefully for them, in the very near future. They’ve beat up on the bottom part of the league in their 4-0 start, but play at MSU and host Purdue in the next four days. They’re looking to make their claim for the Big 10 title. A week ago, they came from 13 behind to beat Indiana, dominating at the foul line. They might need a different formula today agianst the Spartans defense that doesnt commit many fouls. MSU needs to defend home court. The have a grueling middle portion of the league slate where they play 7 of 10 on the road. They need to collect these home wins to help insure they’ll still be a factor in the league race after that 10-game stretch. A win today will do that as only a home game with Iowa is on tap before that stretch. A 6-0 mark heading into that stretch will look nice. From a Matrix standpoint, the Spartans are a solid 3-seed.
Purdue at Northwestern, 5:30, BTN. PU -6.5
First place might not be on the line, but this contest is every bit as important as Illinois/MSU. The Wildcats had put themselves in great position during non league play. But a 1-3 start in league play, with home losses already to MSU and Wisconsin, have been hits to their resume. The loss to the Badgers was a lost opportunity and Northwestern couldnt take advantage of a shorthanded Badger team that missed 10 straight shots at one point in the second half. They’re 11th last left out of the Matrix field with support coming from 4 mock brackets. A home win over Purdue reasserts their chase for a bid. It might not be enough to elevate them into the Matrix during the next round of updates, but it will help position them in the proverbial ‘.500 record in league play will get you a bid’ spot. As for the Boilers, the good news is they are a #2 seed right now. The bad news is they’ve lost two games in a row. Horrible second halves against Wisco and OSU have question marks suddenly lingering over this team. They won a pair of nailbiters over the Wildcats last year. If Northwestern can get a little revenge today, the Boilers would fall three behind in the loss column out of first place. Ouch. My preseason pick to win the league would be in full on chase mode to get the trophy.
Wisconsin at Ohio State, 8:00, BTN. OSU -5
How do the Badgers play in their first heavyweight fight without their leading scorer John Leuer, who is out with a broken wrist? They did win at Northwestern by turning to a Badger staple: playing defense that you cant score against. Eventually they eased passed the Cats, 60-50. Keeping up with the talented Buckeyes in their building might be a whole different story. Not that the Bucks will have any sympathy. It was just 16 days ago that Wisco ran them off the Kohl Center floor when they were without their best players. The fortunes have certainly flip flopped for tonight.
For Ohio State, we want to see how their momentum from their amazing second half comeback win at Purdue carries over. With Evan Turner back and playing in top form, a case can be made that this is the most talented team in the league. But they suffered three losses when he was hurt and transition back on the court. Was the Purdue second half just magic in a bottle. Or is that the Buckeye team we’ll see the rest of the way. One thing should be certain. With a win here, the Buckeyes will start a charge up the Big 10 charts where they currently sit in seventh. This starts a seven game stretch in Big 10 play where they play five home games and the road contests are at Iowa and Indiana. The hoops fan in me loves watching Turner, William Buford and Jon Diebler play. The Michigan fan in me seethes, however, before turning pragmatic. I wouldnt mind Turner and Buford tearing it up for two months and turning pro. Their departures might be enough to contain the program next season despite the addition of the nation’s top ranked recruiting class. If either stay, there wont be any drop off.
