2024-2025 B1G Basketball Thread

[FearlessF]

[ELA]

Survived the PTSD ending

[medinabuckeye1]

Survived the PTSD ending

Congratulations to 2025 outright B1G Champions, Michigan State  

[Brutus Buckeye]

The local jabber jocks on the radio were talking about football schools with horrendous basketball programs. They determined that OSU was the poster boy for this phenomenon, even though they erroneously gifted us a basketball NC in the early 2000s that we didn't actually win. 

[ELA]

The local jabber jocks on the radio were talking about football schools with horrendous basketball programs. They determined that OSU was the poster boy for this phenomenon, even though they erroneously gifted us a basketball NC in the early 2000s that we didn't actually win.

They are far from the best example of this.  They have a top 15 basketball program.

Alabama just made their first ever Final 4 last year.  I don't think Tennessee has ever made one.  USC?  Nebraska?  Georgia?  Michigan doesn't belong with those schools, but OSU has had a better basketball program than them.  I'd argue that of the great football programs, certainly of the helmets, OSU has the BEST basketball program

[medinabuckeye1]

They are far from the best example of this.  They have a top 15 basketball program.

Alabama just made their first ever Final 4 last year.  I don't think Tennessee has ever made one.  USC?  Nebraska?  Georgia?  Michigan doesn't belong with those schools, but OSU has had a better basketball program than them.  I'd argue that of the great football programs, certainly of the helmets, OSU has the BEST basketball program

People have such short memories.  Ohio State's BB program was hot garbage for the entirety of the Chris Holtmann era along with the dying days of Matta's tenure so that is what they remember.  

[medinabuckeye1]

All teams have played 19 games and have one more starting with tonight's Purdue at Illinois game here we go:

• 16-3 Michigan State, vs M Sunday
• 14-5 Michigan, at MSU Sunday
• 13-6 Maryland, vs NU Saturday
• 13-6 Wisconsin, vs PSU Saturday
• 13-6 Purdue, at Illinois Friday 
• 12-7 UCLA, vs USC Saturday
• 11-8 Illinois, vs PU Friday
• 11-8 Oregon, at UDub Sunday
• 9-10 Indiana, vs tOSU Saturday
• 9-10 Ohio State, at IU Saturday
• 7-12 Rutgers, vs MN Sunday
• 7-12 Northwestern, at UMD Saturday
• 7-12 Minnesota, at RU Sunday
• 7-12 Southern California, at UCLA Saturday
• 7-12 Nebraska, vs IA Sunday
• 6-13 Iowa, at UNL Sunday
• 5-14 Penn State, at UW Saturday
• 4-15 Washington, vs Ore Sunday

Cut lines:
Double-bye (top-4):  
The two Michigan schools have secured double-byes.  The abbreviated version is that Wisconsin loses all ties so they are the #5 unless PU or UMD lose.  

Single-bye (top-9):  
Indiana and Ohio State are kinda in their own little world here being two games behind the eight teams ahead of them and two games ahead of the eight teams behind them.  They will be the #9 and #10 seed and their game on Saturday in Bloomington is effectively the B1G 9th place game.  

Making the BTT (top-15):
UDub and PSU are out.  My understanding is that UNL and IA are effectively playing for the last spot.  

[boilerbanger]

Thought I suffered a bad beat last night, had Mich State -6.5  ... uggggh  ... holy crap, just looked at my account, they waved off that last basket, I turned the TV off and went to bed when I saw that 3 go in.  Happy Days!

[FearlessF]

[bayareabadger]

I have to root for Illinois tonight and don’t like it. 

[boilerbanger]

I have to root for Illinois tonight and don’t like it.

I don't like that either ... Boiler Up!

[Cincydawg]

UGA has one Final Four, the year after Dominique Wilkins graduated.  UGA would be on the list of largest disparity between CFB and BB (not including programs with no CFB).

[ELA]

UGA has one Final Four, the year after Dominique Wilkins graduated.  UGA would be on the list of largest disparity between CFB and BB (not including programs with no CFB).

The gap the other direction is larger.  Which makes sense, because football seems to lift the whole athletic department, while basketball doesn't.  The best basketball schools historically are honestly the worst football programs.  Duke, Kansas, UConn, Kentucky, Indiana, Arizona.

Those might be the historically worst or second worst football programs in the ACC, Big 8, Big East, SEC, Big 10, Pac 10.

UNC and UCLA being occasionally decent makes them easily the best basketball blue bloods in football

[ELA]

Izzo hiring his first "outsider" assistant coach since Dane Fife I think has helped as well.  Dusty May has done a great job, but not retaining Saddi Washington was a HUGE miss.  Juwan Howard retained him, and he is a great big man coach.  I think having better PG play is probably the biggest factor in MSU's jump, but they haven't had good frontcourt play since Tillman left.  Saddi took two guys who were on last year's roster, plus a transfer from Longwood, and has totally transformed them.

His dad played for MSU, and he grew up in Lansing.  He played for WMU, and has coached at Oakland, Michigan, and now MSU.  I think he might be a sneaky choice to replace Izzo.

The other thing is that his first job was as an assistant coach at Romulus HS...under Nate Oats.  That has to be an all timer of a public HS basketball coachig staff