B1G 2012

• thavoice

  ....and for IU.
  
  To see if they can win their first true road game!
• gorocks99

  

  Tight game in Minneapolis, 39-38 Minnesota at half. Gophers had a 12-point lead but MSU closed the half on a 14-3 run.
• gorocks99

  

  Good old fashioned Big Ten basketball at The Barn this afternoon. 64-63 Minnesota at the 4-minute timeout.
• gorocks99

  

  Gophers turned it on late and take down the Spartans 76-63. Minnesota looking strong when they play hard.
• gorocks99

  

  Carver-Hawkeye is rocking for the game against IU on ESPN2 right now. Another tough Big-Ten-style game going on, love it!!
• Classyposter58

  

  Minnesota may win the conference this season, they're extremely good
• wildcats20

  

  gorocks99;1354102 wrote:Carver-Hawkeye is rocking for the game against IU on ESPN2 right now. Another tough Big-Ten-style game going on, love it!!

  Throw in terrible officiating and yes, it's Big Ten style.
• gorocks99

  

  wildcats20;1354120 wrote:Throw in terrible officiating and yes, it's Big Ten style.

  Needs more Hightower IMO. We got a 4-point game under 15 to play.
• wildcats20

  

  lol how do you not call that a block?
• Classyposter58

  

  Indiana couldn't put it through a hula hoop tonight
• wildcats20

  

  IU is gonna hang on, but Iowa is going to beat some teams they have no business playing with.
• Classyposter58

  

  wildcats20;1354157 wrote:IU is gonna hang on, but Iowa is going to beat some teams they have no business playing with.

  They do have business because they're well coached and halfway decent
• WebFire

  Classyposter58;1354118 wrote:Minnesota may win the conference this season, they're extremely good

  Wanna put money on that?
• Classyposter58

  

  WebFire;1354405 wrote:Wanna put money on that?

  Nah just a possibility. The way this conference is, who the heck knows. It may be a 6 way tie
• WebFire

  Classyposter58;1354421 wrote:Nah just a possibility. The way this conference is, who the heck knows. It may be a 6 way tie

  That is true. Love how good the B1G is in basketball right now.
• reclegend22

  

  Duke's victory over Minnesota is looking ultra impressive right now. I feared playing the Gophers in November because they have elite players -- Rodney Williams is as good as any swingman in the country -- and Tubby Smith is on the sideline. It may not have worked out at Kentucky in the end, but Tubby is a national champion and he can coach.
• gorocks99

  

  reclegend22;1354933 wrote:Duke's victory over Minnesota is looking ultra impressive right now. I feared playing the Gophers in November because they have elite players -- Rodney Williams is as good as any swingman in the country -- and Tubby Smith is on the sideline. It may not have worked out at Kentucky in the end, but Tubby is a national champion and he can coach.

  Certainly this is the best team in Smith's tenure at Minnesota, mainly because they're finally healthy. I imagine things would've been crazy good last year had Royce White not flamed out and gone to Iowa State and had Mbakwe not gotten injured.
  
  I think this year the Gophers are finally hitting their stride as it took a while for Mbakwe to get back into the swing of things following his knee surgery. When they played Duke he wasn't nearly 100% but now that he's approaching that (just got his brace off this week) they're dangerous.
  
  However, the proof will be in the pudding and the next six games - vs Northwestern, @ Illinois, @ Indiana, vs Michigan, @ Northwestern, @ Wisconsin - will go a long way in determining whether or not Tubby has a national-championship-caliber team or something less. Three top-11 opponents (2 on the road), and two other road games, including a trip to the Kohl Center which is never easy, regardless of the Badgers' struggles this year. If they go 4-2 or better in that stretch, they can be considered legitimate B1G (and national) title contenders IMO.
  
  Interesting side note, this is about the best year possible for Minnesota to have a really good national contender from a recruiting perspective. The 2014 class in Minnesota is basically unheard of for the state, with #1 Tyus Jones, #10 Rashad Vaughn and #29 Reid Travis all playing in or in the suburbs of Minneapolis. While Jones is something of a long shot, putting together a big run this year - and securing the funding for a practice facility as a result - could go a long way in getting some big names up north.
• gorocks99

  

  Tonight's games:
  
  Nebraska @ OSU - OSU should roll the Huskers in this one. Nebraska will find tough sledding in the league this year, particularly away from home.
  
  Illinois @ Purdue - All signs point to a big Illini victory given that Purdue has been less-than-serviceable so far this year, but Illinois can put up a headscratcher at times. If Illinois wants to be serious in the title race, this is a road game they should win.
• gorocks99

  

  Illinois struggling big time against Purdue on the road, down 8 with a little more than 4 minutes to play.
• gorocks99

  

  And down go the Illini. That's a game a title contender doesn't lose.
• wildcats20

  

  Trey is putting on a show at Welsh Ryan.
• Laley23

  

  gorocks99;1355624 wrote:Tonight's games:
  
  Nebraska @ OSU - OSU should roll the Huskers in this one. Nebraska will find tough sledding in the league this year, particularly away from home.
  
  Illinois @ Purdue - All signs point to a big Illini victory given that Purdue has been less-than-serviceable so far this year, but Illinois can put up a headscratcher at times. If Illinois wants to be serious in the title race, this is a road game they should win.

  gorocks99;1356266 wrote:And down go the Illini. That's a game a title contender doesn't lose.

  Illinois isnt a title contender. Ken Pom had them at 9-9 I think in the B1G (before the Purdue loss). I would agree. I think they finish around/under .500 like most of us predicted. They are still much better than I expected, but they are well behind IU, Michigan and even Minny right now. Slightly behind OSU and MSU, imo.
• gorocks99

  

  Laley23;1356967 wrote:they are well behind IU, Michigan and even Minny right now.

  Oh come on, give us a LITTLE credit
• Laley23

  

  gorocks99;1356987 wrote:Oh come on, give us a LITTLE credit

  Hey, I have them a solid 3rd in the B1G. Thats pretty damn good!!! I was throwing Minny into the top level with IU and Michigan as opposed to the next level of OSU and MSU.
• Midstate01

  

  Wasn't minny pretty good a few years ago and had everyone talking... Then they didn't make the tourney?