2020-2021 B1G Basketball Thread

[GopherRock]

If North Carolina can still have their banners up from what they obtained during their academic fraud, the U should have their banners up as well.

Besides, I have a whole stack of newspapers from that time documenting the craziness.

[847badgerfan]

UNC (and Dook and KY and KU and ...) get to play by a different set of rules.

[bayareabadger]

If North Carolina can still have their banners up from what they obtained during their academic fraud, the U should have their banners up as well.

Besides, I have a whole stack of newspapers from that time documenting the craziness.

No one is saying they can't hang the banners. Just that opposing fans will sass them about it. 

(That team was quite good from what I've read)

[Kris60]

Year after year Iowa and Wisconsin always field more white players than you typically see in a college basketball game.

[FearlessF]

racists

[Abba]

I'm wondering if we need to start worrying about the Badgers.  Gotta beat Northwestern and probably squeeze out at least one more.  They will probably be an underdog in their last 4 games.

[TyphonInc]

Good Win by the Bucks. PSU is always scrappy vs. OSU.

[Brutus Buckeye]

[bayareabadger]

Didn’t watch most of the game, but early on, shooting was just trash. Weird kind of season for them this year. Oh well. 

[MaximumSam]

Top 5 tilt for UM/OSU Sunday. I read somewhere that's a first.

[medinabuckeye1]

I'm wondering if we need to start worrying about the Badgers.  Gotta beat Northwestern and probably squeeze out at least one more.  They will probably be an underdog in their last 4 games.

I think they'll make the tournament but their woeful record against quality opponents is concerning to say the least.  The Badgers are just 2-5 against the .500+ B1G teams and they are even sub .500 against the league's top-12 (6-7 against all but NU/UNL).  

The Badgers are now in sixth place and they are 0-5 against the five teams ahead of them in the standings:

• 0-2 against Michigan
• 0-1 against Illinois, home game remaining
• 0-1 against Ohio State, no more games
• 0-1 against Iowa, road game remaining
• 0-0 against Purdue, road game remaining

They are in sixth place because they are near-perfect against teams behind them (9-2 with losses @PSU and vsUMD both balanced off by wins against those teams).  

Remaining games:

• @ Northwestern on 2/21, beat them 68-52 at home
• vs Illinois on 2/27, lost 75-60 to them in Champaign
• @ Purdue on 3/2, haven't played them yet
• @ Iowa on 3/7, lost to them 77-62 at home.  

That looks likely to result in a 1-3 finish but they are 15-8/9-7 so that would get them to the BTT at 16-11/10-10.  So long as they beat Northwestern, I agree with you that they probably only need one additional win to get in (and maybe not even that).  Any of those last three regular season games or a BTT game would do it.  

[medinabuckeye1]

If the BTT started today:
Wednesday:

• #11 Penn State vs #14 Nebraska
• #12 Michigan State vs #13 Northwestern

Thursday:

• #5 Purdue vs MSU/NU
• #6 Wisconsin vs PSU/UNL
• #7 Rutgers* vs #10 Minnesota
• #8 Indiana* vs #9 Maryland

Friday:

• #1 Michigan vs IU/UMD
• #2 Illinois vs RU/MN
• #3 Ohio State vs UW/PSU/UNL
• #4 Iowa vs PU/MSU/NU

Saturday:

• M/IU/UMD vs IA/PU/MSU/NU
• IL/RU/MN vs tOSU/UW/PSU/UNL

Sunday:
M/IU/UMD/IA/PU/MSU/NU vs IL/RU/MN/tOSU/UW/PSU/UNL

*Note that Rutgers and Indiana are tied at exactly .500.  Rutgers wins that tie because they won the only game between the two, in Bloomington.  

[Temp430]

[medinabuckeye1]

Top 5 tilt for UM/OSU Sunday. I read somewhere that's a first.

I can't wait, this game is HUGE!  Not only is it a top-4 AP match-up and a rivalry game and a game between two projected #1 seeds, but it is also just about the last chance to derail Michigan's regular season B1G Title hopes.  

Regular season title race:
Michigan is firmly in first place at 10-1 and, at present, they only have four games left on their schedule so their absolute worst case scenario (assuming nothing gets rescheduled) is 10-5.  If they beat Ohio State that improves to 11-4.  

There are really only two other contenders:

• 11-3 Illinois and
• 12-4 Ohio State

The Illini and Buckeyes are both projected to play the initially planned 20 league games but that includes playing each other in Columbus in the final game of the season for both teams.  If either IL or tOSU wins out, they would finish 17-3 (IL) or 16-4 (tOSU).  So for either of them to claim at least a share of the title, the Wolverines (on their 15 game schedule) would have to finish no better than 12-3.  

If the Buckeyes lose this weekend they will be practically (although not technically mathematically) eliminated because the only way to get even a share after losing to Michigan would be for Michigan to lose out (finish 11-4 or .733) while Ohio State won out (finish 15-5 or .750).  

The Illini have perhaps a little better starting point since they only have three losses but they have two disadvantages vis-a-vis the Buckeyes:

• They don't get a crack at the Wolverines themselves so they need other teams to take them out, and
• The tOSU/IL game at the end of the season is in Columbus.  

Since either Ohio State or Illinois needs Michigan to lose two games, one of them almost has to be this weekend at Ohio State.  Otherwise the Wolverines would have to lose at least two out of their last three:

• @ IU on 2/27
• vs IA on 3/4
• @ MSU on 3/7

If the Buckeyes beat Michigan and Illinois wins their game this weekend (@MN) then we have a three-team race for the Championship.  If Illinois or Ohio State lose then it is a two team race at best and if both lose then, at least practically, Michigan clinches.