~2017-18 Big Ten Basketball Thread~

[betarhoalphadelta]

WVU keeps running into great teams in the Sweet 16.  Our last 3 S16 opponents have been a combined 102-5 heading into the game.  

Angry Purdue fans tell me that's no reason to keep Painter. After all, the four times he's made the S16 we've faced the one seed 3 times and this time was a 3 seed that was probably under-seeded due to the Evans injury that hurt their record. And of  those 4 seasons,  three were impacted by injury (two years from Hummel torn ACL, one mid season, and this year Haas).
But clearly they all say the S16 is his ceiling and we should demand better. 

[847badgerfan]

I thought the 'Eers got hosed a bit on some of those 2nd half calls. Some of that could have been punishment for the "attitude" and stuff like walking into Nova huddles, cutting through their warmups, etc. Who really knows. I really thought they were going to win.

[FearlessF]

Nova shot the 3 VERY well in the 2nd half, tough to beat a team shooting that well

was rooting for WVU

[Kris61]

Angry Purdue fans tell me that's no reason to keep Painter. After all, the four times he's made the S16 we've faced the one seed 3 times and this time was a 3 seed that was probably under-seeded due to the Evans injury that hurt their record. And of  those 4 seasons,  three were impacted by injury (two years from Hummel torn ACL, one mid season, and this year Haas).
But clearly they all say the S16 is his ceiling and we should demand better.

IMO, Purdue played the best team in the Big 12 last night.  Before Keenan Evans got hurt I thought (and still think) Tech would have won the regular season title.  They are super athletic and have a ton of kids between that 6’5 and 6’7 range that interchangeable on defense.  It’s really hard to catch them in mismatches on D because they can just switch all the screens and the guy who switches off is a carbon copy of the guy who was just guarding you.
Combine that with the fact Haas was out and there is no shame in losing that game last night.

[Kris61]

Nova shot the 3 VERY well in the 2nd half, tough to beat a team shooting that well

was rooting for WVU

Nova was a bad matchup for WVU.  They shoot the hell out of the 3 and all season WVU has guarded the 3 point line poorly.

[FearlessF]

and you didn't tell me before I filled out the bracket?

[MarqHusker]

That was the first time I had seen Texas Tech at all this season.   Looked like a really dynamic team.

[847badgerfan]

Loyola is fun to watch.

[Anonymous Coward]

They remind me of Michigan - smart/well coached, a team full of guards, great shooting, great passing, low turnovers.

[FearlessF]

Loyola is fun to watch.

and they can ball

[FearlessF]

sounds like the Florida speed might be too much for the plodding team from the Big Ten

[SuperMario]

If someone would have told me at the start of the season that Michigan was going to the Final Four, I would have laughed at them. What a well coached team. Halftime adjustments were incredible and defense carried them on a night of poor shooting. 

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't give Beilein enough credit for having the self-awareness this late in his career to realize that, unlike offense, he'd been putting out meh defenses and going all in the last two seasons by hiring assistants (first Donlon who got it rolling, now Yaklich who seems like a real wiz) to revolutionize that side of the ball. There's no way we get here without that.
NCAAt wins since 2013:
16 - UNC
15 - Michigan 
15 - Duke
15 - Kentucky 

[HailHailMSP]

What a run from this team. It’s fun to see them win in different ways with different players carrying the load each game. 

The crowds in NY and LA for Michigan were amazing.

In the last 6 years:
4 Sweet sixteens, 2 final fours, 2 B1G titles, and 2 B1G tourney titles.

In 2015 after Burke, Stauskas, and that group had all left it looked like there might be a downturn, but that looks more like a blip on the radar now.