~2017-18 Big Ten Basketball Thread~

[bayareabadger]

When/if Underwood fills this roster, Illinois' is going to be a royal pain in the ass to play.  They already are not your typical last place team.

It seems like that physical Huggins/Frank Martin-type team. Just get in your grill, bump, rely on defense. 
What's interesting was his SFA teams and OkSU team were really good shooting teams. Less hard to watch than some other teams in that coaching tree. 

[ELA]

I think Bridges took it personally that Smith changed his mind and went to Illinois.  Every time he gets him one on one, he is just taking it to him.  Smith will be good, but he's forced to play more minutes as a true freshman than he should.

[ELA]

Jaren Jackson is the second most talented player in MSU history

[ELA]

Whoever made these schedules should be fired.

I knew at the start of the year this would hurt continuity and confidence.

It's great for the really good, experienced teams, but horrible for young teams.

Everyone has it at some point, it is what it is.  Maryland now gets 6 days off before playing MSU travelling on 1 day rest.  MSU just had a week off, and are now playing 4 games in 9 days.  It is what it is.

[mcwterps1]

Everyone has it at some point, it is what it is.  Maryland now gets 6 days off before playing MSU travelling on 1 day rest.  MSU just had a week off, and are now playing 4 games in 9 days.  It is what it is.

I'm talking about the home, away, home, away crap. 
MSU is an experienced team with confidence. 

[847badgerfan]

This past Friday against Illinois was UW's first home game in 17 days. Back on the road tonight for Iowa and then on Friday at Michigan State.

I too just saw on Land of Ten that Trice was held out of practice and will not travel with the team today. I'm thinking if he can't go by the time UW starts playing home games again, give him a red shirt and put him on the shelf.

[MaximumSam]

Bucks with another bad night shooting from three.  Only 2 for 14.

[847badgerfan]

On this actual topic, for a second, it sounded as if D'Mitrik Trice might return to the court soon. It now appears that's not the case.

And as such, UW's mess of a year will go on. The Badgers long had a rep as developers, turning fine players into good ones, or at least system ones. At this point, UW has five scholarship juniors. Only one is better than an inconsistent role player. One is an inconsistent role player, the other three are not in the lineup. There are no scholarship seniors. Hope the six underclassmen can take some kind of jump.

The 2015 class is, overall, a major bust. Two of them will possibly not be back for their senior seasons. 

[ELA]

I'm talking about the home, away, home, away crap.
MSU is an experienced team with confidence.

I actually think this year has been the exact opposite.  Generally there is far more H-A-H-A scheduling.  This year seems like everyone is playing all of their home games in the front half or back half of their schedule.
MSU starts 4 sophomores and a freshman, so I guess that is experienced?
People are blaming the early BTT.  While that was a horrible idea, it is a separate horrible idea.  They played the two December games which negated shortening the conference schedule by a week.  The reason for all of this is the new FOX basketball deal.  Prior to this year the weekday games were always Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, never Friday or Monday.  Now, by adding those days in, it seems like they feel ok scheduling teams for three games in a week.  It's like an NBA schedule.  Problem is in the NBA, that's your job, so you can have home stands and road trips.  Can't schedule college kids on a bunch of road games in a row, with the conference spreading from New Jersey to Nebraska.  Maybe the old ACC did it, when all the teams were basically between Virginia and North Carolina and even on the road swings you could return home.  The Big Ten has never really done that because it's been more geographically spread out, but with the expansion extending that footprint, it's basically impossible.

[ELA]

Also, an SVP Bad Beats submission.  Illinois intentionally fouled MSU when they were down 11 with 9 seconds left, Illini were +11.5.  MSU made both FTs to cover.

[ELA]

Ouch!
Also, not exactly correct. While people like to lambast Painter for never getting past the Sweet 16, very few of his teams were truly expected to. Even the best team he's ever had prior to this year, the year when Hummel/Johnson/Moore were juniors and Kramer was a senior, the ACL tear Hummel had derailed the season.
Every year Purdue has made the sweet 16, they faced the 1 seed in that game. They never were the ones to get lucky enough to have the 8/9 winner knock off the 1. Up until last year, the other 1 seeds they faced were UConn (made it to the Final Four) and Duke (won the whole damn thing).
Last year, Purdue had a good team, but was still only a 4 seed. They faced Kansas in the Sweet 16, held the lead for much of the first half, and the game was within 2 points about 5 minutes into the 2nd half. And then Kansas just went crazy and couldn't miss.
And that team last year had a problem. They just weren't athletic enough. Swanigan was a beast, but he can't guard an athletic 4. Haas is a human mountain, but can't guard away from the basket. Carsen Edwards was athletic, but he was still a freshman playing too fast for himself.
This year's different. Carsen is letting the game flow to him but still can turn up the pace on command. Haarms is the athletic, tall stretch big that can help against more athletic 4's or 5's that give Haas trouble. Eastern is a frosh point guard who can play enough minutes and is a big, 6'6" guy who is athletic enough to give opponents fits when he defends. And that's who you have supporting the cast of 4 seniors who have all basically started together since their freshman years and know the game inside and out.
I'm not sure how Purdue is going to finish the season. But I honestly believe that this is Matt Painter's best team -- even better than the Hummel/Johnson/Moore/Kramer year before Hummel's injury. This team lost the Big Ten Player of the Year... And got better.

Something about tourney coaching experience.  Of the past 34 National Champions, only 3 were coached by a guy who had never coached past the Sweet 16, and all were in cases where they sort of took over a team, rather than trying to do it with their own team for the first time.  You have Steve Fisher in '89 taking over right before the tourney; Tubby Smith basically being handed a championship team by Rick Pitino in '98 when he left for the NBA; and Kevin Ollie taking over for Calhoun for the '14 UConn champs.

[Brutus Buckeye]

Yeah, he'd be a bad fit for a team like MSU that is NC or bust. 

Not so much for a team like Purdue, who has two Final Four appearances in their history, most recently in 1980. 

3 Sweet 16 appearances for a team that hadn't been there since 2000 is pretty darn good. 

[mcwterps1]

4 sophomores and a freshman sounds better than 2 sophomores and 3 freshmen. 

If Bender and Jackson were playing, we'd probably win vs Michigan and Indiana, both away games. 

[ELA]

4 sophomores and a freshman sounds better than 2 sophomores and 3 freshmen.

If Bender and Jackson were playing, we'd probably win vs Michigan and Indiana, both away games.

I didn't say they were the LEAST experienced team.  I just wouldn't call that experienced for anyone but Kentucky or Duke who plan on running out like 3-4 freshmen starters every year.
Purdue is starting 4 seniors.  Ohio State is starting 2 seniors and 2 juniors.  There might be a reason they are the top two teams.  A whole lot of experience on the court in West Lafayette and Columbus.