~2017-18 Big Ten Basketball Thread~

[ELA]

Seems like it might be former NBA agent Andy Miller opening his books for this FBI probe.  A quick look at his company (ASM) client list, the only former Big Ten player he currently has signed is AJ Hammons.

[jhetfield99]

I haven't followed much of this.  Is that agent one of the accused as part of the FBI probe?

[ELA]

Per Pat Forde today, yes, and the fact that he hasn't been charged with anything is leading most people to assume he is the one cooperating.  One witness said his lost of recruits he potentially paid is over three times the number he eventually signed.

This is what I speculated about the other day.  That this isn't going to be a story about schools benefitting like Louisville did, but schools forfeiting wins due to payments from agents or shoe companies to recruits, that schools legitimately didn't know about, and didn't benefit from, but would have made the player ineligible.

[boilerbanger]

ELA ... the more we find out about this the more I agree with your assessment on the shoe guys.   I also think a lot of coaches probably weren't aware, but some were, but even those that were could be difficult to prove that fact.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Seems like it might be former NBA agent Andy Miller opening his books for this FBI probe.  A quick look at his company (ASM) client list, the only former Big Ten player he currently has signed is AJ Hammons.

I also saw that he had Troy Williams from Indiana.
I sincerely hope that AJ Hammons signing with him is a coincidence and nothing more... I noted from his player list that he had a number of unhyped players from all sorts of small schools, so I hope that anything nefarious that he did wasn't actually tied to either AJ or Purdue.

[PSUinNC]

What a dud, Penn State.  What a total lack of preparation, Patrick Chambers.  What a lack of in-game adjustments when Michigan was making, oh I don't know, 75% of their 3pt shots.  

Never again should anyone around State College mutter why people don't attend PSU hoops games.  Just when excitement is brewing, when national pundits are talking, you come up with THAT performance?

Anyone seen Mike Watkins the past week?  Anyone?  Buehler?  Buehler?

Shaking my head.....

[ELA]

Didn't Watkins miss most of the game with an injury?

[PSUinNC]

Didn't Watkins miss most of the game with an injury?

He did.  He also missed most of the Purdue game with his usual foul trouble.  

[847badgerfan]

I'm really hoping UW can get a win in Evanston tonight and keep building for next season. The younger players have shown a lot of grit lately, and they have been overcoming the Hack-a-Happ strategy that teams have been using.

If they can continue to hit the outside shots into tonight, they could be in good position to steal one in Evanston.

It's been kinda fun to watch lately, which is great, because it wasn't fun a month ago.

[PSUinNC]

I'm really hoping UW can get a win in Evanston tonight and keep building for next season. The younger players have shown a lot of grit lately, and they have been overcoming the Hack-a-Happ strategy that teams have been using.

If they can continue to hit the outside shots into tonight, they could be in good position to steal one in Evanston.

It's been kinda fun to watch lately, which is great, because it wasn't fun a month ago.

Been VERY impressed with how Wisconsin has handled this season.  It's bound to happen, everyone has this kind of year.  It's like Michigan State football in 2016 - how do you bounce back?  Well, we saw that in full in 2017.  That's the culture/program that's been developed.
I fully expect the Badgers to be back their usual selves next season.  

[medinabuckeye1]

Michigan did play vPU, and Purdue won that game. 

My mistake.  I knew that and just forgot it when I typed that up, too much stuff going on.  

[Brutus Buckeye]

You can't slide one by Medina very often.

Dude has all 14 schedules memorized, as well as the Big Ten standings, his tier system, and all of the tiebreakers. 

Steel trap mind. 

I'd have to have about 20 tabs open to figure all this stuff out. He just runs the algorithm through his head. Like a computer. 

[medinabuckeye1]

Michigan's win at Penn State last night was an upset so that changes things but not much.  Here is seeding information:

• Michigan State unless they lose (@UW) and tOSU wins (@IU), then tOSU
• Ohio State unless MSU (see above) or Purdue (see below)
• Purdue unless they win their last two (@IL, vMN) and tOSU loses (@IU), then tOSU
• Nebraska unless they lose (vPSU) and M wins (@UMD), then Michigan
• Michigan unless Nebraska (see above)
• Indiana unless they lose (vtOSU) and PSU wins (@UNL), then PSU
• Penn State unless Indiana (see above)
• Maryland, the first to clinch their seed (because best-case is a tie with IU and/or PSU and they would lose any of those ties while worse-case is a tie with UW and/or NU and they would win any of those ties)
• Northwestern unless they lose tonight then possibly Wisconsin
• Wisconsin or possibly NU (see above)
• Minnesota or possibly IL, RU, or IA
• Illinois or possibly MN, RU, or IA
• Rutgers or possibly MN, IL, or IA
• Iowa or possibly MN, IL, or RU

Maryland is the only team to have clinched their seed.  They will be the home team in the #8/9 game in the BTT at MSG in NYC on Thursday, March 1 at noon on BTN.  

Looked at the other way:

• Michigan State will be #1 or #2.  
• Ohio State will be #1, #2, or #3.  
• Purdue will be #2 or #3.  
• Nebraska and Michigan will be #4 and #5 (order is TBD).  
• Indiana and Penn State will be #6 and #7 (order is TBD).  
• Maryland will be #8.  
• Northwestern and Wisconsin will be #9 and #10 (order is TBD)
• Minnesota, Illinois, Rutgers, and Iowa will be #11, #12, #13, and #14 (order is TBD)

Minnesota, Illinois, Rutgers, and Iowa will open BTT play on Wednesday, February 28.  

Wisconsin, Northwestern, Maryland, Penn State, Indiana, and either Michigan or Nebraska will open BTT play on Thursday, March 1.  

Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, and either Michigan or Nebraska will open BTT play on Friday, March 2.  

[medinabuckeye1]

You can't slide one by Medina very often.

Dude has all 14 schedules memorized, as well as the Big Ten standings, his tier system, and all of the tiebreakers.

Steel trap mind.

I'd have to have about 20 tabs open to figure all this stuff out. He just runs the algorithm through his head. Like a computer.

LoL, not really.  I have a spreadsheet that I use.  Each year at the beginning of the season I place that year's schedule into it then add in the projected results based on the tiers.  
What I do to keep it all straight is that I have the spreadsheet set up to calculate the projected result two ways:

• Mathematically based on projected Round-robin minus games not played +/- upsets, and
• By simply adding up the projected wins

Then I have a column that I have marked as "check" that simply checks to make sure that the two projections are the same.