Around the Big Ten

Around the Big Ten
Logan Harper

Hello again, and welcome to the second installment of “Around the Big Ten.” On slate for this week is Big Ten hoops. With a busy week in the books for the conference, it is time to reflect. Enjoy.

ILLINOIS
After coming back to Champaign from Seattle where the Illini had an impressive win over Gonzaga, Bruce Weber’s squad welcomed Oakland to the other Assembly Hall. For Demetri McCamey and his Illini teammates, something seemed a bit odd with the basketball. For almost half of the first 20 minutes a women’s ball was used, until the correct ball was found (seven minutes into the contest). Illinois trailed by four at the break, but rallied behind McCamey’s game-high 30 points as the Illini cruised to a 74-63 victory. Sunday night brought Northern Colorado to Illinois, as Mike Tisdale and D.J. Richardson chalked up 14 points each, while Mike Davis added 12. The Illini had control the entire game, but ended up winning by just ten, 86-76. The crowd was small (just over 5,000) due to wintery weather that blasted the Midwest.

INDIANA
One major thing kept the Hoosiers from winning this one. ONE field goal in the last 9:42 of a game that had multiple lead changes and ties. Kentucky’s largest lead in the first half was seven points, and after a run by the Hoosiers, a Will Sheehey layup cut the Wildcat’s lead to 32-31. Hoosier fans felt good about their chances heading into halftime. After possibly the most promising first half of Hoosier basketball in the Tom Crean era, the Hoosiers came out of the break and competed for about ten minutes. Fouls began to pile up, and Kentucky, a poor free throw shooting team hit some big ones down the stretch. Officiating was at times very inconsistent, especially the loose ball fouls that were either called or not called. However you viewed the game, you noticed one thing, and that was the Hoosiers played their butts off in front of 24,000 rival fans and Christian Watford seemingly owned freshman phenom Terrence Jones. Hoosier fans have every right to be proud of this one. The final score of 81-62 doesn’t show how good a game this actually was. Help is on the way for the Hoosiers. The arrival of Mr. Zeller will help minimize the second chance points put up by senior center Josh Harrellson and the Wildcats. IU takes on SIU-Edwardsville in Assembly Hall on Friday. Tip is at 7:00.

IOWA
Seems Iowa just isn’t quite ready to break free from the basement of the conference just yet. The Hawkeyes (5-5) under first-year coach Fran McCaffery faced in-state rival Iowa State and held a nine-point halftime lead. The game was close down the stretch before an Iowa State three pointer down the sealed the deal. Iowa freshman Melsahn Basabe nearly nabbed a triple-double, finishing with 12 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks against the Cyclones. Iowa has the week of for finals and will return to action against Drake on December 18th.

MICHIGAN
The Wolverines took on Utah on Friday night in Ann Arbor, and behind 19 points from Darius Morris and 17 from Tim Hardaway Jr., rolled to a 75-64 victory over the Runnin’ Utes. From what I saw, the coolest thing about this game was the sweet throwback unis the Utes are wearing. The big news in Ann Arbor, however was in the Big House, where the “Big Chill in the Big House” took place on Saturday in front of 113,411 fans, a world record for a hockey game. As to how and why 113,411 people would want to go to a hockey game, do not ask me. The Wolverines shut out Michigan State 5-0 on the ice.

MICHIGAN STATE
What’s up with the Spartans? After coming off a beating at the hands of the Orange of Syracuse, the Spartans returned to their home state to face Oakland at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit. Behind Kalin Lucas’ 25 points, the Spartans barely hung on to defeat Oakland by one point, 77-76. Hey, a win is a win, but boy Michigan State seems to be struggling right now. Although their schedule is incredibly tough (three losses to UConn, Duke, and Syracuse), the Spartans need to get a few things figured out. If we know anything, it is that Tom Izzo will have this team primed for March, regardless of wins and losses. That’s an easy assumption.

MINNESOTA
On December 8, the Minnesota Golden Gophers played in their first true road game of the season against Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia. Devoe Joseph led the Gophers in scoring, dropping 19 points in the win, with the second consecutive 16 rebound performance turned in by Trevor Mbakwe to lead the Gophers to a 83-73 win on the road. After passing their first road test, the Gophers returned to the friendly confines of The Barn in Minneapolis to face the Colonels of Eastern Kentucky. Behind a 17-3 run by the Colonels, the Gophers trailed by as many as nine points in the first half. Led by a 19 point performance by Ralph Sampson III, the Gophers rebounded from a slow first half to defeat the Colonels 71-58 as 20th ranked Minnesota improved to 9-1 on the season.

NORTHWESTERN
Watching the Wildcats play basketball is about as exciting as watching a college hockey game (sorry Michigan), but the way they play seems to give some teams fits. After beating Georgia Tech two weeks ago, Northwestern will host Long Island today. The Blackbirds (6-3) hail from the Northeastern Conference.

OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes, who seem to play every other night are off to a hot start once again. Ranked second in the nation, and boasting an undefeated record, the Buckeyes welcomed the IUPUI Jaguars to Columbus. A close game in the first half, the Buckeyes trailed by as much as nine in the second half, but behind an Ohio State freshman record 40 points by man-child Jared Sullinger, the Buckeyes cruised on to win 75-64 in front of 11,410 fans, which is hard to believe considering the Value City Arena holds 19,500 (talk about a football school). Ohio State had a bit less trouble taking down Western Carolina on Sunday, winning 85-60. Sullinger led the Buckeyes with 17 points, while Dallas Lauderdale, William Buford and Indiana native Deshaun Thomas each chipped in with13 points. The game was played in the smaller St. John’s Arena due to graduation ceremonies taking place in the Value City Arena.

PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions headed to Blacksburg Sunday to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies, who lost to Purdue in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge two weeks ago. Led by Talor Battle’s 26 points, the Nittany Lions fell by ten points, 79-69. The Hokies, led by Malcolm Delaney and his 18 points, shot a scorching 54 percent for the game. Penn State will face Maine after a full week of finals on December 21.

PURDUE
The Boilermakers welcomed North Florida to Mackey Arena on Saturday, cruising to a 77-57 clipping of the Ospreys. Fueled by Jajuan Johnson’s 25 points, Purdue got a tough game from the Ospreys, as they kept close with the Boilermakers early in the second half. The play of E’Twaun Moore sparked the Boilermaker run, who grabbed the largest lead of 26 with just over 12 minutes to play. The Boilermakers return to action against the Sycamores of Indiana State at Conseco Fieldhouse on Saturday.

WISCONSIN
With a Rose Bowl game in Pasadena looming, the Wisconsin faithful were treated to a solid victory over in-state rival Marquette on Saturday. The Badgers were able to go into a large, hostile crowd at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee and walk out with a 69-64 victory over the Golden Eagles, marking their first road win on the young season. Jon Leuer logged 17 points in the victory, including six rebounds, but junior Jordan Taylor led the Badgers with 21 points. Wisconsin shot 78 percent from the foul stripe. Wisconsin will face another in-state opponent tonight against Wisconsin-Green Bay at the Kohl Center in Madison. Tip is 7:00.

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