Soxbadger

Wisconsin is good against big teams, they have big players. Their starting line up only has 1 player under 6'6 (Taylor) and Tucker is the next smallest player. Wisconsin has gotten a lot of bad press because of 1 bad losing streak after a few players were suspended. Now that they have had time to work it out, they have been playing much better.

I think it would be a pretty disapointing ending if Wisconsin does not make it to the sweet 16. I know everyone is still on them about the ND State loss, but 1 bad shooting game (maybe the worst shooting performance ive ever heard of at less than 25%) does not make a season. Luckily they got their slump out of the way, and it seems like Nixon and Butch are ready to step up. They will give many teams problems because of their size and game style. Their pace usually plays well in the NCAA tournament, especially against smaller less physical teams. Outside of an early match up against a UConn etc, Wisconsin should be able to hang with any team that they match against, especially if they get a bracket regionally close to Wisconsin where fans can travel. If I had to bet, I would say OSU and Wisconsin go the farthest of the Big 10. Illinois is right there but if Brown or Augie got into foul trouble it could be over quick. MSU has not done much for me this year over all, but Izzo seems to get his guys up for the tournament so they shouldnt be counted out either. Over all I think this will be a pretty good year for the Big 10, they are under rated as usual. I mean in another thread some one said the bottom half of the Big East would be Big 10 title contenders. (edit) I also think the last week and Big 10 tourney will really show which teams are going to have a legitimate shot and which teams will not. If Wisconsin can split the Iowa and MSU away games and get to the finals of the Big 10 tourney, I can see big things.

Just hope Harris doesnt get hot. Thats what killed Wisconsin, he scored 20 points.

There is really no way to compare teams, every game one player may have the game of his life, or may have the worst game. Looking at Wisconsin, against ND State they shot 22% which is basically the lowest percentage Ive ever seen a team shoot. It also was coming off 2 of their players being suspended. It just is very hard for me to believe that Wisconsin who beat: OSU, MSU, Indiana, and Iowa Are not in the same category as: MSU, Iowa, Illinois, and OSU Especially if you consider the past few years. (edit) Also most teams rely on 1 or 2 great players and if those players dont do well they dont succeed. Not sure how many teams have 3 All conference players on their teams, but Kam Taylor and Tucker are pretty good compliments, especially with Bush and Nixon.

I dont know. Personally I think the Big East and other East coast conferences get really over rated. Marquette beat Uconn, Wisconsin thrashed Marquette. WVU lost to Marshall at home Georgetown lost to Illinois, Marquette, and Vanderbilt (at home) Pitt beat Wisconsin at home, and all of its losses have been away at conference opponents (kind of like Big 10 great at home). I just dont see how these teams are definitely better than Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin (I dont get how Wisconsin is not in the top group as outside of the Purdue loss they have won every game that they should have). Wisconsin only lost to Pitt, the best of the 3, at their home court by less than 10. Wisconsin's away losses to the Big 10, Michigan, Purdue, and OSU were all by almost the exact same figure. I know Im only using Wisconsin, but that is the team Im most familiar with. I guess people fail to mention MSU beat BC, Illinois beat Georgetown.

How many Big East teams were in the Elite 8 last year? How many in the Final 4? And how many in the Championship game? To say that the bottom half of the league would be Big 10 title contenders is just a statement to incite the masses. As for bias, I would say that each individual has their own bias, and that it does not necessarily mean that are biased towards the whole Big 10. Since you didnt bring any stats here are some games played between the conferences: Marquette: 12/10 at Wisconsin L 77-63 Pitt: 12/31 #22 Wisconsin W 73-64 Now Im just going to go out on a limb and say if Pitt plays at Wisconsin, its a Wisconsin win. The top 2 Big Eat teams, Nova and Uconn are more talented than the top Big 10 teams. After that I have a hard time believing, WV, Pitt, or Georgetown would have a significantly better record in the Big 10 than MSU, Illinois, Wisconsin, OSU, or Iowa. In the tournament though I think that the Big 10 can do just as well as the Big East really.

Thanks Rock, I actually didnt get to see the game because Illinois was on. Unfortunately for OSU they caught Wisconsin when they are actually playing well. Wisconsin just needs to play 1 game at a time, and basically win every game. I dont know if that is possible, but I guess Bo Ryan has a really good record against Izzo, and if some how they could make so the final game against Iowa decides the champ who knows what can happen. Losing to Purdue really hurt more than the Illinois loss. And the difference is Iowa hasnt lost to a PSU or Purdue, so hopefully Minnesota can beat them. That Minnesota press can be tricky and maybe Grier will be unstoppable. Pretty unlikely but at one point Wisconsin looked like a team that was close to being out of the tournament, so maybe its just that optimism.

When Indiana was dominant, the Big 10 was different. There is just to much parity these days, and yes you want your program to be what it used to be, but I think that may be a dream that is unattainable at this point. Even Michigan is down, and they are a blue chip program in almost every area. Its easy for Wisconsin coach's, prior to the last decade all the teams sucked, so now that they are even remotely good everyone loves them.

I just always have a problem when a coach gets blamed after one of their best players gets injured. I mean its impossible to say what would have happened, but people need to give the coach a little rope. The biggest knock on Davis should be, Why was he unable to land Oden, etc? That is a major issue, the play of the team this year, thats more debatable.

So if DJ White does not get injured, are we having any of these Davis discussions?

By the end of the year Big 10 RPI could be sadistic. Wisconsin still plays 3 top 10 RPI schools. Also big game tonight, I think Wisconsin will have OSU's number.

Wisconsin at a 7 but a nice bracket for them match up wise, I expect by the end of the season if they play a few more good games they are in the 4-6 range.

Fields was injured in a car accident, had to wear a halo I believe. Also Garnett was going to UNC I believe but couldnt get his ACT scores up even after trying a bunch of times. Would of been interesting with the new rule what he would of done, would a top team find a way to get him academically in, or would he have gone to a team with lesser academic standards.

2002 in college my roomate and I watched a lot of curling instead of going to class. Sweeping the ice makes it so that the stone moves faster as you clear away debris and make the ice nice and smooth. There is a lot of mental aspects to curling, as in the placement of the first 2 stones, and whether or not to knock some one out of the house. And of course the best part of curling is, losers buy beer. According to the 2002 telecast, that is an actual rule of the game.

PSU just does not match up well with Wisconsin. I think the 2nd half is the first time Wisconsin has not gone through a offensive lull for a few minutes. If they can play this way they might actually be able to win one of the tough away games they have coming up. And I was just joking about the statements of Wisconsin might lose from earlier in the game.

I think the Badgers are going to win this one. They actually looked decent in the 2nd half.

The music was just wierd. I wish the US would of come out to YMCA, that would have put the athletes in the strange position of having to decide whether or not to do the accompanying dance. That would of been a olympic moment.

This is not going to become Pete Rose, as Pete Rose originally was not supposed to be banned for life, it just became a complicated series of events, that Pete Rose himself helped to make worse. Gretzky on the other hand is beloved, even if the Feds get some hair brained idea about bringing him to trail they will not get a conviction, and in any case they will most likely just want him to flip on the higher up (mobsters) or will want him to plea bargain to some slap on the wrist. The feds are going to have to be really careful with this thing, because public opinion of gambling is not that it is a sin, and without a jury to convict all the evidence in the world means squat. My guess is they convene a grand jury (formality for felony charges, unless its a notice state) the grand jury indicts on some of the lower charges. The feds then get plea bargains and statements they wont do it again. Unless there is some evidence of either 1) throwing games, point shaving or 2) insider information there really is not much. Gambling is just not the evil it once was in American society. Atleast thats my guess, I mean these guys are going to have slick defense attorneys and most Prosecutors dont want to f*** their batting average by taking on some beloved player. Mav

IMO must win for Wisconsin against Indiana right now.

I like Bud better, but I always thought Cubs beer was Oldstyle? What is even funnier or sadder for the Cubs is that Miller and Bud are primary rivals of the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals respectively.

Comparing Lendale to Dayne is just not a good comparison. I mean you first have to understand the Wisconsin run scheme, and that they run the stretch play which Dayne is a master at (see Denver Broncos game this year). White will be faster and stronger than Dayne, he also hits the hole like a big back not like a shifty Dayne.

White is good, he just doesnt get the love in the press. I would say there is a very good chance White is the best RB in the draft when people look back in 10 years. I also think Deangelo is really good. Most people love Bush, but if I was going to build a running attack I would not start with him.

Wisconsin lost Stietsma and Landry to academic eligibility and since then have just not looked the same. They were not the best players on the team, but I think the drop off between those 2 and Gullickson/ that walk on guy are pretty steep. As for the comment Taylor and Tucker are ball hogs, that is just way off base. If you have watched Wisconsin lose the last few games, it was because the rest of the team shot for s***. They would then throw the ball to Tucker triple teamed and honestly that was their best chance to score. Wisconsin's problem is they are just not shooting well, which is boom and bust. They could come out on fire and just waste a top team, or they could come out ice cold and lose to ND State. There is just no rhyme or reason, and that is the most frustrating. They are missing open looks, missing lay ups, etc. Some times when you get on a bad streak it just keeps building and building.

Wisconsin could be in for a real free fall. You could see it coming the last few games, just not where they need to be to win games. Better get their act together or NIT could be in their future.

Ive been in league 2 the last 2 years, Ive won 1 and I think 3rd last year? Ill be willing to play in either league 1 or 2 again. SB