BIG TEN Regular Season | Page 2 | The Boneyard

BIG TEN Regular Season

cancontent said:
Some media experts didn't have them ahead of Iowa or Indiana in their own conference. I believe they were considered a Sweet 16/Elite 8 team at the beginning of the season.
Expand ...

You know how media experts are. A lot of them are on crack cocaine.


Edit: I just took a look at my Big 10 predictions in that Prediction thread.... :oops::oops::oops::oops::oops: Imma have to take back my comment on the crack cocaine. :oops:
 
Man! Michigan started out looking pretty good against Ohio State and managed to get within two points in the final 5-6 minutes of the game, but Ohio State was just too much in the end. Ohio State just quietly going about their business of winning and playing some fun basketball.
 
JellyBean said:
Man! Michigan started out looking pretty good against Ohio State and managed to get within two points in the final 5-6 minutes of the game, but Ohio State was just too much in the end. Ohio State just quietly going about their business of winning and playing some fun basketball.
Expand ...

Turnovers and lack of composure if you ask me. The 3rd quarter was their undoing when they let OSU go on a run of 16-5 at one point. Disappointed in Brown's performance on both ends of the court. They needed her to be in control to win this game.
 
.-.
I watched the Iowa-Illinois game earlier today. I was very impressed with Illinois. They play well together, take smart shots, and generally look organized on both ends of the floor. Their three starting guards are outstanding, easily the best backcourt trio I’ve seen this year. Absolutely dynamic. All three had great stretches. Makira Cook, statistically the best of the three, didn’t have a great shooting game but took over for a period in the second quarter that put Illinois in front for good. Glad to see Genesis Bryant thriving after she was unable to crack the rotation at NC State. Also shoutout to Kendall Bostic, who at 6’2” is undersized in the post but plays her role very well.

Shauna Green looks like a home run hire and the runaway favorite for NCOY at this point. Illinois has a legitimate shot to win the league after going 1-13 last year.
 
So the Big 10 is the most interesting of all the conferences to me. They have a plethora of top teams (for once!) with tOSU, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Illinois and to a lesser degree Nebraska, Purdue and even Mich State. This is a wide open title up for grabs and any of the 3 or 4 of the top 6 teams could be in the top 10. Compared to the other conferences with either a truly elite team (Stanford, SC, UConn) or a group of lower top 10 to low teens ranked teams (ACC-ND, NC State, VPI, NC, Duke, FSU; Big12-Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor, Iowa St), these teams could make noise come March. And yes, I know ND is currently #4 in the country but let's see how the ACC Road games treats them before assailing them elite.

I am still suspect on tOSU as while Mikesell has been other worldly, Mikulasikova is "meh" as the 3rd option. she doesn't really rebound (5.5) or block shots (0) so her 14.3 pts per game is nice but....They need Jacy Sheldon back especially now with Madison Greene out for the year.

If Indiana can get Grace Berger back, that helps their case for #1 but heck, Illinois has put the league on notice with a great game against Iowa yesterday. They could surprise. Iowa still has the dynamic duo and Michigan has balance and Maryland has Miller and Sellers so this is why I purchased the Big10 tv package this year. I can't recall the Big10 ever being this deep in talented teams in all my years of watching or even researching WCBB.
 
DefenseBB said:
So the Big 10 is the most interesting of all the conferences to me. They have a plethora of top teams (for once!) with tOSU, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Illinois and to a lesser degree Nebraska, Purdue and even Mich State. This is a wide open title up for grabs and any of the 3 or 4 of the top 6 teams could be in the top 10. Compared to the other conferences with either a truly elite team (Stanford, SC, UConn) or a group of lower top 10 to low teens ranked teams (ACC-ND, NC State, VPI, NC, Duke, FSU; Big12-Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor, Iowa St), these teams could make noise come March. And yes, I know ND is currently #4 in the country but let's see how the ACC Road games treats them before assailing them elite.

I am still suspect on tOSU as while Mikesell has been other worldly, Mikulasikova is "meh" as the 3rd option. she doesn't really rebound (5.5) or block shots (0) so her 14.3 pts per game is nice but....They need Jacy Sheldon back especially now with Madison Greene out for the year.

If Indiana can get Grace Berger back, that helps their case for #1 but heck, Illinois has put the league on notice with a great game against Iowa yesterday. They could surprise. Iowa still has the dynamic duo and Michigan has balance and Maryland has Miller and Sellers so this is why I purchased the Big10 tv package this year. I can't recall the Big10 ever being this deep in talented teams in all my years of watching or even researching WCBB.
Expand ...
I am a little more impressed by Mikulasikova, though you're right about her stats not being impressive. But in the games I've watched, she's seemed to be a key to their success, the backstop that allows Mikesell and that press to work so effectively.
 
DefenseBB said:
So the Big 10 is the most interesting of all the conferences to me. They have a plethora of top teams (for once!) with tOSU, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Illinois and to a lesser degree Nebraska, Purdue and even Mich State. This is a wide open title up for grabs and any of the 3 or 4 of the top 6 teams could be in the top 10. Compared to the other conferences with either a truly elite team (Stanford, SC, UConn) or a group of lower top 10 to low teens ranked teams (ACC-ND, NC State, VPI, NC, Duke, FSU; Big12-Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor, Iowa St), these teams could make noise come March. And yes, I know ND is currently #4 in the country but let's see how the ACC Road games treats them before assailing them elite.

I am still suspect on tOSU as while Mikesell has been other worldly, Mikulasikova is "meh" as the 3rd option. she doesn't really rebound (5.5) or block shots (0) so her 14.3 pts per game is nice but....They need Jacy Sheldon back especially now with Madison Greene out for the year.

If Indiana can get Grace Berger back, that helps their case for #1 but heck, Illinois has put the league on notice with a great game against Iowa yesterday. They could surprise. Iowa still has the dynamic duo and Michigan has balance and Maryland has Miller and Sellers so this is why I purchased the Big10 tv package this year. I can't recall the Big10 ever being this deep in talented teams in all my years of watching or even researching WCBB.
Expand ...

Michigan and the word "balance" shouldn't be in the same sentence. They give off the impression they have balance, however the stats indicate weak spots. They also have a great knack at letting teams that shouldn't be able to stick around do so.

Today's game versus Penn State is another example. I was listening online and was flummoxed that they weren't able to put them away, considering their roster compared to PSU. It wasn't until the last 3 minutes of today's game where they were able to pull away, winning by 10 points. They were outscored both in bench points (17-5 for PSU) and points in the paint (30-26 for PSU). If it weren't for PSU lack of discipline and putting Michigan into the bonus early every quarter, they wouldn't have won in my opinion. The free throw differential is what saved them.
 
I would call Kiser, Brown, Nolan and Phelia a balanced squad as any of those could lead UM in scoring for any one game. So yes, they are in one sentence and the season stats back me up. Kiser 17.3, Phelia 16.6, Brown 15.3 and Nolan 8.6 (but 17 today). If that's not balance, then I don't know what is.

Look, close games happen in certain league games as based on the tendencies and matchups. Heck SC lost to Mizzou last year, so one game is not a harbinger of things to come. Bottom line is UM won the game.

Check every top teams' results, close games against lower teams happen and blowouts among two good teams happen especially as the coaching gets better among all teams and the talent pool deepens.
 
.-.
DefenseBB said:
I would call Kiser, Brown, Nolan and Phelia a balanced squad as any of those could lead UM in scoring for any one game. So yes, they are in one sentence and the season stats back me up. Kiser 17.3, Phelia 16.6, Brown 15.3 and Nolan 8.6 (but 17 today). If that's not balance, then I don't know what is.

Look, close games happen in certain league games as based on the tendencies and matchups. Heck SC lost to Mizzou last year, so one game is not a harbinger of things to come. Bottom line is UM won the game.

Check every top teams' results, close games against lower teams happen and blowouts among two good teams happen especially as the coaching gets better among all teams and the talent pool deepens.
Expand ...
Balance to me is more than just the starters averaging double digits. The bench has to provide some support, especially when teams get into situations where they can't rely on their starters for some reason. Michigan is going to need more of their bench to come through as they continue through conference play. This has been a problem for a while, not just this season.

Brown is prone to foul trouble and turnovers. Phelia is still getting comfortable playing the PG position as that wasn't her role last season. When Brown was out due to foul trouble versus Ohio State, the offence was stagnant, making it easier for OSU to crank up the pressure. With the way conference play in the BIG10 is shaking out so far, they're going to need their bench to score more to support the starters over the long haul.
 
DefenseBB said:
So the Big 10 is the most interesting of all the conferences to me. They have a plethora of top teams (for once!) with tOSU, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Illinois and to a lesser degree Nebraska, Purdue and even Mich State. This is a wide open title up for grabs and any of the 3 or 4 of the top 6 teams could be in the top 10. Compared to the other conferences with either a truly elite team (Stanford, SC, UConn) or a group of lower top 10 to low teens ranked teams (ACC-ND, NC State, VPI, NC, Duke, FSU; Big12-Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor, Iowa St), these teams could make noise come March. And yes, I know ND is currently #4 in the country but let's see how the ACC Road games treats them before assailing them elite.

I am still suspect on tOSU as while Mikesell has been other worldly, Mikulasikova is "meh" as the 3rd option. she doesn't really rebound (5.5) or block shots (0) so her 14.3 pts per game is nice but....They need Jacy Sheldon back especially now with Madison Greene out for the year.

If Indiana can get Grace Berger back, that helps their case for #1 but heck, Illinois has put the league on notice with a great game against Iowa yesterday. They could surprise. Iowa still has the dynamic duo and Michigan has balance and Maryland has Miller and Sellers so this is why I purchased the Big10 tv package this year. I can't recall the Big10 ever being this deep in talented teams in all my years of watching or even researching WCBB.
Expand ...
IMO, the Terps are not a top 10 team. Yes, they have Diamond Miller who is a top 4 WNBA draft pick but the rest of the team is meh. Plus, when Miller is in foul trouble, the team don't play that well. Against last place Rutgers, they got dominated in the 2nd quarter. Myers is a solid player but after great first halves, she tends to slow down in the 2nd half. (see South Carolina, UConn, Rutgers). Sellers have made the great freshman to sophomore jump. The rest of the team are just role players. Big difference from the great 2019-20 and 2020-21 teams.
 
Not sure if this was posted. Unfortunate for Nebraska.

norfolkdailynews.com

Weidner suffers season-ending injury

LINCOLN — During the Christmas break, the Huskers got some bad news when it was confirmed that Allison Weidner had suffered a season-ending knee injury during Nebraska’s most recent game,
norfolkdailynews.com norfolkdailynews.com
 
We got the Super Six (Ohio State, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, and Iowa) at the top of the Big Ten with Illinois being that surprise team. Then we got the middle three (Michigan State, Purdue, and Nebraska). Then we have the rest of the Big Ten group Minnesota, Penn State, Northwestern, Rutgers, and Wisconsin. Illinois is that good folks.
 
JellyBean said:
We got the Super Six (Ohio State, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, and Iowa) at the top of the Big Ten with Illinois being that surprise team. Then we got the middle three (Michigan State, Purdue, and Nebraska). Then we have the rest of the Big Ten group Minnesota, Penn State, Northwestern, Rutgers, and Wisconsin. Illinois is that good folks.
Expand ...
I don't know if I'd put Illinois into that upper echelon just yet. Yes they're good, but we haven't seen them go up against the likes of Ohio State or Indiana for example.

Iowa's weak spots have been obvious during non-conference competition and are getting exposed further now. I'd put them in a second tier on their own just ahead of Michigan State, Purdue and Nebraska.
 
cancontent said:
I don't know if I'd put Illinois into that upper echelon just yet. Yes they're good, but we haven't seen them go up against the likes of Ohio State or Indiana for example.

Iowa's weak spots have been obvious during non-conference competition and are getting exposed further now. I'd put them in a second tier on their own just ahead of Michigan State, Purdue and Nebraska.
Expand ...
Illinois lost to Indiana by only 4 in their first game of the Big Ten schedule. The led 61-60 with :49 left in the fourth quarter. So, I think they are fair to be considered in that upper level of the Big Ten. They will play OSU @ OSU Sunday, and it's really anyone's game at this point.
 
.-.
JellyBean said:
We got the Super Six (Ohio State, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, and Iowa) at the top of the Big Ten with Illinois being that surprise team. Then we got the middle three (Michigan State, Purdue, and Nebraska). Then we have the rest of the Big Ten group Minnesota, Penn State, Northwestern, Rutgers, and Wisconsin. Illinois is that good folks.
Expand ...
Illinois and Super Six just doesn't sound normal to me. The Ohio State game will be a huge test for them.
 
CBus13 said:
Illinois lost to Indiana by only 4 in their first game of the Big Ten schedule. The led 61-60 with :49 left in the fourth quarter. So, I think they are fair to be considered in that upper level of the Big Ten. They will play OSU @ OSU Sunday, and it's really anyone's game at this point.
Expand ...
That's why I'm suggesting a second tier for them alone until they get into the meat of their conference schedule. They're much improved, but to put them in the same grouping as the others, I'm not sure just yet.

For comparison, Michigan State beat Indiana by 5 and lost to Ohio State by 6 points. Illinois has yet to face Ohio State and lost to Indiana as you noted. Michigan State have their losses, including being blasted Iowa State, however the rest of their losses have been by single digits. In conference play, they could have had a 3-1 or 4-0 record had they shot better from the free throw line if you look at the box scores of the Purdue and Ohio State games.

Michigan is perplexing to me. Lost to Ohio State by 8, lost to Toledo and barely hung on to beat UNC by 6 when they had a 20 point lead at one point during the game. They had their challenges with Penn State until late in the 4th quarter to win by 10. Should they be in the top 5? Maybe, maybe not. Their upcoming games against Iowa, Purdue and Michigan State should help clarify things.
 
As an Illinois alum I am, of course, happy to see that the Illini are no longer a
conference doormat. However, after watching their game last night against a
not very good Northwestern team I suspect that by the end of the season
Illinois will end up somewhere in the middle with the Purdues and Michigan
States of the conference.
 
ed4ourgirls said:
As an Illinois alum I am, of course, happy to see that the Illini are no longer a
conference doormat. However, after watching their game last night against a
not very good Northwestern team I suspect that by the end of the season
Illinois will end up somewhere in the middle with the Purdues and Michigan
States of the conference.
Expand ...
A win is a win. The loss to Indiana was not unexpected, but the loss to Delaware was alarming.

I followed Adalia MacKenzie in high school where she was a scoring machine, and have been waiting for great things from her in college. She's one of those kids whose doesn't have great quickness or height, but just has a great shooting touch and a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
 
Nebraska loses to Rutgers on the road. Nebraska is the team that defeated the Terps by 20 points on the road.
 
TerpWomenFan said:
Nebraska loses to Rutgers on the road. Nebraska is the team that defeated the Terps by 20 points on the road.
Expand ...

And the wheel of confusing conference play in the BIG10 continues. We're not even halfway through yet!
 
.-.
TerpWomenFan said:
Nebraska loses to Rutgers on the road. Nebraska is the team that defeated the Terps by 20 points on the road.
Expand ...
Very proud of how Rutgers played. Gotta take the bright spots where we can find them this year.

I am just so impressed with Kaylene Smikle's game for a freshmen.
 
Illinois vs OSU will be an interesting game. Illinois is well-coached. If they can control the pace of the game and limit TOS they have a shot. They are also up against a home crowd.
 
Coler said:
Very proud of how Rutgers played. Gotta take the bright spots where we can find them this year.

I am just so impressed with Kaylene Smikle's game for a freshmen.
Expand ...
The Terps couldn't defend Smikle in the game last weekend. She's good.
 
Caught the 2nd half of the Iowa at Michigan game. Important win for Iowa's title hopes. Pretty good watch while riding the exercise bike. Great crowd for the Wolverines, announced at 10,700 which is like over 2X their usual. Was fun to see how excited Hawk teammates were for Gabbie Marshall hitting a big three. She was in and out for defense the last minutes and shooting 20% for the year (prior to this years she was a plus 40%er). Seems she's been off since she hurt her shoulder.
 
TerpWomenFan said:
Nebraska loses to Rutgers on the road. Nebraska is the team that defeated the Terps by 20 points on the road.
Expand ...
Just more proof that if you are not on your "A" game anything can happen. Props to Rutgers and Coach Washington on getting a huge win.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,263
Messages
4,560,485
Members
10,452
Latest member
WashingtonH


Top Bottom