A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
A number of college basketball bracketologists released updated projections on Tuesday, and while it’s easy to argue the merits of doing this so early, it certainly makes for some interesting discussion and helps gauge where teams stand as conference play gets rolling.
I’ll be releasing my own projections starting next week, but for now I thought it would be worthwhile to look at how Big Ten teams are shaping up with as many as nine of them in some of these mock brackets.
The Tinley children are on Fall Break, so we’re spending the week vacationing on Perdido Key. I was without Internet access until yesterday, when I successfully guessed the password for a wireless router in a neighboring condo. A word of advice: If you’re in Florida and your wireless password is “sunshine,” you’re inviting anyone who can pick up your signal to use your Internet.
Anyway, here are some things we learned this week:
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The Ohio State University is 42-7-0 all-time versus the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Ohio State was 11-0 at the Metrodome, but Saturday will be their first road test at the new outdoor TCF Bank Stadium.
This is just bizarre…although considering how sports and social media become more and more intertwined every day, perhaps it shouldn’t seem so bizarre anymore.
Royce White, a highly recruited basketball player from Minnetonka who chose to stay home and play for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, has announced via YouTube that he is quitting the Minnesota basketball team.
White has been suspended for the entire start of the 2009 season after having an altercation with a mall security guard, and then his name later came up in a dorm theft investigation.
White maintains his innocence but says in the video that he is quitting to keep his family, Tubby Smith, and his Golden Gopher teammates from having to deal with the distractions.
To which I, and many others who have watched the video, are responding, huh?
Thanks to @TheBigLead for the tip to this story from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune regarding the indefinite suspension of freshman Royce White and senior Devron Bostick from the Minnesota Golden Golphers mens basketball team.
Freshman Royce White and senior Devron Bostick have been suspended indefinitely from the Gophers men’s basketball team for a violation of team rules, coach Tubby Smith said Tuesday morning. Smith provided no additional details about the disciplinary action.
In what has seemingly been the year of upsets in college football, it’s been almost a guarantee that a highly ranked team will go down every week.
With three matchups between ranked teams this week, we know for certain that at least three ranked teams will lose. But again, that doesn’t mean the other ranked teams are safe, and more than one should be on upset alert this week.
The 2010 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament preview post is live.
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We are now firmly in the heart of the conference schedule as the 2008-2009 college basketball season sprints towards the glory of March Madness. Earlier today, we offered up a quick preview of the 2009 NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament, and now we will get a little more granular and preview the 2009 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament.
I have to admit that doing this preview is a little bittersweet for me as an IU fan. This season’s Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament will most likely mark the first (and hopefully only) time that Indiana comes in as the #11 seed. As IU fans, we all understand that It is the price we have to pay for the era of the lying-cheating-bastard-who-shall-not-be-named, but it does not make it any easier to handle.
Still, there will be a twinge of excitement come March 12th when the Hoosiers tip off against whoever the #5 seed winds up being in this topsy-turvy season of Big Ten basketball. Maybe Devan Dumes and Matt Roth can get hot from the outside and the Hoosiers can pull off an upset. Not likely, I know. Still, the Hoosiers will have a definite home-court advantage playing in front of their fans in Indianapolis, and after last season’s heartbreaking loss to Minnesota on a wild last-second shot, the Big Ten Tournament owes us one.
Anyway, enough pipe-dreaming from me. Onto the particulars of the 2009 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament:
- Dates: March 12-15
- Location: Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana
- TV: Big Ten Network, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS Sports (see below)
- StubHub Tickets: Buy Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Tickets
- StubHub Tickets:2009 NCAA Tournament Tickets
| Game | Date | Matchup | Time | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thu, March 12 | #8 Minnesota def. #9 Northwestern 66-53 | 12:00 ET | Big Ten Network |
| 2 | Thu, March 12 | #7 Michigan def. #10 Iowa 72-45 | 2:30 ET | ESPN2 |
| 3 | Thu, March 12 | #6 Penn State def. #11 Indiana 66-51 | 5:00 ET | ESPN2 |
| 4 | Fri, March 13 | #1 Michigan State def. #8 Minnesota 64-56 | 12:00 ET | ESPN |
| 5 | Fri, March 13 | #5 Ohio State def. #4 Wisconsin 61-57 | 2:30 ET | ESPN |
| 6 | Fri, March 13 | #2 Illinois def. #7 Michigan 60-50 | 6:30 ET | Big Ten Network |
| 7 | Fri, March 13 | #3 Purdue def. #6 Penn State 79-65 | 9:00 ET | Big Ten Network |
| 8 | Sat, March 14 | #5 Ohio State def. #1 Michigan State 82-70 | 1:40 ET | CBS |
| 9 | Sat, March 14 | #3 Purdue def. #2 Illinois 66-56 | 4:00 ET | CBS |
| 10 | Sun, March 15 | #3 Purdue def. #5 Ohio State 65-61 | 3:30 ET | CBS |
And let’s take a quick trip down memory lane and count down the past Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champions: 1998 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:
1999 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:
2000 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:
2001 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:
2002 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:
2003 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:
2004 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:
2005 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:
2006 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:
2007 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:
2008 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:
2009 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Champion:
Who will this year’s Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament? At this point, it looks like a major toss-up. Michigan State, Michigan, Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State, Minnesota, and Penn State have looked capable of winning it at different points this season. And if history is any indicator, a dark horse may emerge once the balls get rolled out on March 12. Four times in the brief ten-year history of the Big Ten Tournament, a team seeded #8 or lower has played in the championship game. The lowest seeded team to ever win the Big Ten tournament, however, is #6 seed Iowa in 2001. So the smart money would go on one of the teams listed above.
Either way, I’m sure it will be an exciting weekend — and the only chance for Indiana to crack this year’s field of 64. No, it isn’t likely. But you better believe Hoosier Nation will be out in droves on March 12th hoping their undermanned Hoosiers can pull off an unlikely first round upset.
