SB Nation - Purdue Boilermakers

Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings: Creed Style (again)

BoilerTMill — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:22:26 -0000

I can't believe I have made it almost to the end of December without doing a themed Power Rankings. That's just not right, especially since we had the epic works of Keanu on the last rankings done for football. Never fear though. The power rankings have now returned with the Big Ten season officially getting under way. Most teams have wrapped up their non-conference schedules, so it means we have an idea of who is good and who is not. That leads me into the theme.

I think you can agree that the Big Ten as a whole is a little bit off from what we expected. Michigan has underperformed. Iowa and Indiana are worse than we expected. Even Northwestern is off from its usual norms as the Wildcats threaten to get their first ever NCAA bid without their best player. We don't know what to think as we head into conference play, but we do know it will be entertaining. You know who else is a little off, but entertaining as hell? Creed Bratton.

That's right, the lovable, nutty old guy from the office. Creed is probably my favorite character on The Office, simply because he is so out there. Even though he usually only has a handful of lines in each episode, they are often memorable. That is especially true of his talking head interviews. What follows is my ranking of the Big Ten with each team given a great Creed Bratton line to describe its personality.

Michael: Someone complained that the men's room is "whites only." Stanley, you know that's not true.
Stanley: I didn't say that.
Creed: Then why is there a picture of a white man on the door?

Purdue (11-0) - I've been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower. But you make more money as a leader. - I had to give us this quote because we are the leaders of the cult that insists defense is an integral part of the college game and can win you championships. For being such an ugly league last season, it is amazing that we had seven NCAA berths and two more teams (Northwestern and Penn State) that were in the discussion. That's making money as a leader. When you think about it, isn't following the Big Ten in football or basketball like a cult anyway? You dress in certain colors. You all attend the largest gatherings en masse. You fiercely defend your beliefs. You give them money in terms of donations. The question for the conference as a whole is: Are we leaders or followers?
Ohio State (10-2) - The only difference between me and a homeless man is this job. I will do whatever it takes to survive. Like I did... when I was a homeless man. - This fits Ohio State because they are starting to come along without Evan Turner, thereby doing whatever it takes to survive. I saw them in person against Butler and this is a very good team even without Turner. Losing a close game to North Carolina and at Butler are not bad losses. They have enough talent to stay afloat in what should be a fun race until Turner comes back too. Dallas Lauderdale, if he can ever develop a move aside from the open thunderdunk, is dangerous.
Michigan State (9-3) - A lot of jazz cats are blind. But they can play the piano like nobody's business. I'd like to put the piano in front of Pam, without her glasses, and see what happens. I'd also like to see her topless. - Okay, Michigan State, I want to see you put it all together. You are the only team with the conference with enough talent to compete with the above two. In fact, you might be better. The fact remains, you are 0-3 in your real tests this season. As Florida drops more and more games that loss looks even worse. Yes, I am aware that the Texas and North Carolina losses were on the road, but you looked good in neither. Michigan State playing like it can play is like seeing Pam topless.
Northwestern (10-1) - Did one of you tell Stanley that I have asthma. 'Cause I don't. If this gets out, they won't let me scuba. And if I can't scuba, what am I working toward? - That is what Northwestern is saying right now with 10 wins in late December without Kevin Coble. Someone saying they can't win without Kevin Coble is like Creed having asthma and not being able to scuba. The only thing Northwestern is working for this year is that elusive NCAA berth. They won't win the Big Ten or be a Final Four threat and they are fine with that. With 10 wins in conference play (looking more possible, by the way) they can finally scuba. The idea of a nerdy kid with asthma trying to be athletic is also a solid parallel.
Wisconsin (8-2) - Every week, I'm supposed to take four hours and do a quality spot-check at the paper mill. And of course the one year I blow it off, this happens. - This explains Wisconsin's loss to Wisconsin-Green Bay, which is what keeps them behind Northwestern because it is a worse loss than Butler beating Northwestern. As the flagship institution in the state of Wisconsin, the Badgers have an unspoken responsibility to visit or at least play their in-state teams every now and then. It is like us playing Ball State, Indiana State, etc. Instead of having them come to Madison, they blew it off and went to Green Bay. Bad decision. Wisconsin does get bonus points for having the only other top 10 win for the Big Ten in beating Duke.
Minnesota (8-3) - Michael: This is Creed, and he is in charge of... something... right?
Creed: That is correct. - That is how I feel about Minnesota at the moment, but they do get a slight nod over Illinois because the three losses (Portland, Texas A&M, Miami) aren't as bad as Illinois' (Bradley, Georgia, Utah). Minnesota is kind of blah because they haven't really beaten anyone of note. This is the first of the Big Ten bubble teams right here. They haven't really screwed up, but they haven't asserted themselves. They're in charge of... something...right?
Illinois (8-3) - Michael: Okay. Okay, sold! Have fun, you guys. Well, this next item is sure to spring steam from your ears if you don't win it. It just says "Creed."
Creed: Yeah, that's all-inclusive. - Another vague explanation from Creed for another vague team. They have a better win than Minnesota with the amazing come from behind W at Clemson, but losing at Georgia? Seriously? Bradley is a middling MVC team as well. We don't really know what to think of Illinois yet, either. Still, they are a bubble team with plenty of room to improve.
Michigan (6-5) - Angela: I am proud to announce that there is a new addition to the Martin family. She's hypoallergenic. She doesn't struggle when you try to dress her. She's a third-generation show cat. Her father was in 'Meet the Parents.' Needless to say, she was very, very expensive.
Meredith: How much?
Angela: Seven thousand dollars.
Creed: For a cat? I could get you a kid for that. - That is what Michigan has to feel like with a disappointing beginning to what was supposed to be a promising season. Having a pair of players like DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris is like having $7,000 for something, but getting just 6 wins so far is like getting a cat instead of a kid. Sure, they have played a tough schedule, but they should have at least gotten wins over Utah, Boston College, and Marquette.
Penn State (8-4) - I'm not offended by homosexuality. In the 60's I made love to many, many women - often outdoors, in the mud and the rain... and it's possible a man slipped in. There'd be no way of knowing. - Was this JoePa in the 60's? Kidding! Seriously though. This is like Penn State bragging about their NIT title and early season conquests. We're not sure if the NIT championship and 8-4 record is good or not, just like Creed doesn't know if he slept with a man. There is no way of knowing. What we do know is they have lost games to UNC Wilmington, Tulane, Virginia Tech, and Temple. Are those good teams? Maybe? They should at least be NIT bound again.
Indiana (5-6) - I'm a pretty normal guy. I do one weird thing. I like to go in women's room for number 2. I've been caught several times, and I have paid dearly. - Indiana gets a very slight nod, even with the awful loss to Loyola (MD) above Iowa. The reason: most of Indiana's losses have been to (mostly) good teams and they did get one win over a possible tournament team in Pittsburgh. The quote sums them up perfectly because they are paying dearly still for the Mistake of Sampson.
Iowa (5-7) - What is wrong with this woman? She's asking about stuff that's nobody's business. "What do I do?"... Really, what do I do here? I should've written it down. "Qua" something, uh... qua... quar... quibo, qual... quir-quabity. Quabity assuance! No. No, no, no, no, but I'm getting close. - Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009-10 Iowa Hawkeyes! That is essentially what watching them play basketball is like. I almost went with the quote of "Just pretend like we're talking until the cops leave," because of the Anthony Tucker suspension, but I resisted. Iowa has lost so far to Texas-San Antonio, Wichita State, and in-state games to Northern Iowa and Iowa State for good measure. The Indiana-Iowa games should be relagated to ESPN8, The Ocho.

With that, I wanted to thank everyone for a wonderful first year here at SBNation and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Too young for these Cougars?

BoilerTMill — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:01:18 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Hit your free throws! (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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What more could you really ask about last night? In seeing some of the numbers flying around the GBI board it was almost a negative to play the Cougars. Their Pomeroy ranking was somewhere around 350. As a result, our strength of schedule allegedly dropped 100 points simply by playing them. I knew something like that would happen. SIU-Edwardsville is not going to get better or get much needed cash for their program unless they play games like this.

There can be positives for us though. We got to develop the bench guys some more with quality minutes. I am a firm believer in having everyone ready because you never know when an injury is going to strike. We didn't know LewJack was going to be gone, but we have now had 11 games to get used to life without him. Before the season Sandi Marcius was projected as playing more than Patrick Bade. Now Bade has 11 games of experience, and I think we saw that beginning to pay off last night. We can only take so much from games like this, but it was nice to see that we did take something from it.

Patrick Bade - Once again, I will reluctantly take credit on this one. I have now attended two games as an official member of the press. After Wake Forest, I asked one question about Purdue being a second half team. We immediately began starting games better. After the Ball State game, I asked one question as well, this time about Patrick Bade being more aggressive in the game and his development as a player. We saw the result last night as Patrick played maybe his best collegiate game.

Thank you, again.

We got a career high of 10 points and 8 rebounds. Yes, it was against SIU-Edwardsville, but it is a still a step forward. It shows the versatility that makes us so dangerous. We now have nine different players that have at least one double-digit scoring game this season (JJ, E'Twaun, Robbie, Kramer, Grant, D.J. Byrd, Mark Wohlford, Ryne Smith, and now Bade). Kelsey Barlow has also shown he is a threat to join that club. It is one thing to have a 10 man rotation for purposes of depth. It is something else to have ten players that are legitimate threats to score if they have the basketball. We didn't have either of these last year. If you think about it, both of these numbers jump to 12 once LewJack and Marcius return, though Marcius has yet to prove he is a threat to join the double-figure scoring club.

I have long said that the Marcius injury is much bigger than the LewJack injury simply because of the depth issue at the respective positions. Keaton Grant, Chris Kramer, E'Twaun Moore, and Kelsey Barlow can serve as a guy to bring the ball up the floor. We're averaging 16 assists and 79 points per game (as a sidebar, I thought we were a slow, boring, all defense no offense team?) without LewJack. He is a good player that makes a very good team even better if healthy because of what he brings to the table (quickness on defense, added pressure, the ability to slash and score or kick the ball out). Losing a guy like Marcius, who was supposed to provide depth at a position where we have really on JaJuan Johnson established, is a big blow. We saw it against Alabama and Tennessee. If JJ is in foul trouble, we can quickly become ordinary. To beat the good teams on our schedule we are going to need players like Bade and Marcius to step up and both compliment JJ as well as step in if he gets in foul trouble.

Other teams watch film. They know they can get JJ in foul trouble and they will work to do so. I have already seen it by noticing he isn't as aggressive on defense in going after blocked shots because he is fearing the whistle a little. It is almost like seeing how Kramer wasn't as aggressive going to the basket after knocking himself against Clemson two years ago. If they get JJ in foul trouble they know it is our one major weakness. That is why seeing Bade develop into a guy that can solidly "run, rebound, and defend" as Matt Painter described him after the Ball State game is so important. Getting Marcius to the level will help too. Getting guys like Donnie Hale and Travis Carroll with JJ staying next year, plus Bade and Marcius, plus LewJack/Byrd becoming Kramer clones on defense to replace his loss? Holy Crap!

I think I need to sit down. I'm too excited.

Stevie Loveless - Congratulations to the young man for scoring the first points of his career! Now we need to get the ball to Kyle Coleman more. Coleman is the only healthy player on the roster that has not scored. He is 0 for 1 from the field and 0 for 2 from the line this season. For the next Walk-On Whiteout we need to get Coleman the ball and have him shoot.

JaJuan Johnson - You get the sense he could have totally dominated the game if he wanted to last night.

Keaton Grant - Grant found his outside shooting touch last night. I feel like he has a huge breakout game in his future when we will need it most. I can't wait to see it.

Negatives from the SIU-Edwardsville game:

Kelsey Barlow on free throws - Maybe he is a great free throw shooter in practice that clams up during a game. I don't know. I do know that if he is going to be handling the basketball in late pressure situations we need him to knock down free throws. It nearly cost us the Tennessee game. There is nothing worse than a point guard who barely shoots 50% from the line.

Defending Mark Yelovich - Helluva night for the young man. 23 points on 5 of 5 3-pointers. We didn't defend him and he showed why he is a solid building block for the Cougars.

Up next:

We have about as easy of a road trip as we can have to open conference play with Iowa coming up. The Hawkeyes have shown that they may be the worst team in the conference this year, so it absolutely has to be a win. It counts no more in the standings than beating Michigan State, but a lot more people will beat Iowa in conference play than the Spartans. Once again, we have to stay focused, not look ahead to a huge West Virginia game, and take care of business. I'll have more on the Hawkeyes next week, as well as a Big Ten Power Rankings tomorrow.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas, gentlemen. At 11-0 and one of just six teams in the country to make it to December 25^th perfect, you have earned it.

What is the top Purdue moment of 2009?

BoilerTMill — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:31:37 -0000

This poll will close at noon on New Year's Eve.

Defend That, Digger! Week 3

BoilerTMill — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:19:40 -0000

I admit that the Big Ten has not done much to helps its case against the glorious Big East. Aside from winning the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the conference as a whole has been a tad disappointing. Illinois and Michigan look to be struggling with at large status. Wisconsin got upset at Wisconsin-Green bay. Michigan State has not looked as strong as thought. Iowa is bad and Indiana isn't much better. You could argue that only Purdue has held serve and Northwestern has performed above expectations. That still won't stop me from ripping on the Big East and Digger Phelps' other annointed for another week with Defend That, Digger!

Defense? Defense is awful! Why do we need Defense?

Exhibit A:

Old Dominion 61, #11 Georgetown 57

Another Big East offensive juggernaut goes down. The Hoyas lost at home in this one. It wasn't even at the much larger Verizon Center in DC. No, this loss happened at their much smaller (and rowdier) on campus gym. I know Old Dominion is a good Colonial teams (one of the most competitive mid-major conferences) but still. Georgetown was undefeated, playing at home, and they are supposed to be a juggernaut from the greatest conference ever. Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit B:

Temple 71, Seton Hall 65

Another undefeated Big East team goes down at home. Seton Hall wasn't a threat to go undefeated for the whole season, but they have to be better at defending their home court. Temple, meanwhile, gets its second undefeated Big East scalp after taking out Villanova last week. The Owls are a pretty good ballclub, but they are a dreadful mid-major from a mid-major conference. Nevermind that the Atlantic 10 has some damn good teams. They get one bid so we can have 12 Big East teams! Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit C:

#6 West Virginia 80, Cleveland State 78

I will give credit to the Mountaineers for going to Cleveland State. That takes balls, but they struggled with a 4-8 Horizon league team. They needed a last second shot to win the game when Cleveland State's press broke down, resulting in an easy layup for the winner. If West Virginia is truly the #6 team in the country they should have taken care of business with ease. Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit D:

#2 Texas 103, #10 North Carolina 90

Switching to the ACC for a moment, I thought defense wasn't important. This is pathetic. There is no excuse for a defending national champion and top 10 team to ever give up 100 points to anyone. Ever. I don't care that it was Texas playing in front of the entire state of Texas at Jerryworld. Maybe you should <gasp> think about playing a little defense there, Roy. It might have helped. But who wants to play some of that ugly Big Ten basketball, even if it results in, you know, wins. Who wants wins when you can look cool giving up 103. Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit E:

USC 77, #8 Tennessee 55

Gee, we were sure lucky to get by that great Tennessee team down in the Virgin Islands. Looks like their flash and lack of substance really paid off at USC. This is the same USC team that lost to DTD veteran Loyola Marymount at home. Now I know the 5-7 Lions are an unstoppable force, but come on Tennessee! High flying dunks and fast paced offense is supposed to be the greatest thing in the world. Who cares about wins. Defend That, Digger! (and thanks, Tennessee, for ruining our profile a little)

Exhibit F:

#4 Purdue 69, Ball State 49

Hmmmm, interesting. Purdue is a top 5 team, yet easily took care of business against an overmatched opponent. They were the only top 15 team (other than Duke) to hold its opponent under 50 this weekend. That includes Kentucky over Austin Peay (90-69), Villanova over daunting Fordham, and Florida losing to the fearsome Richmond Spiders (56-53). Here is a tip, Digger. It is easier to beat teams when you hold them to fewer points. But again, defense is boring. I mean, who wants wins when you can look good?

RPI WATCH: 12/20/09

BracketCat — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:00:18 -0000

Well, the Cats did what they needed to do, and survived to fight another day as Upset Saturday claimed numerous other victims.

In a fair world, the AP Top 15 that comes out tomorrow would look something like this:

Texas (10-0)
Kansas (10-0)
Kentucky (11-0)
Purdue (10-0)
Syracuse (11-0)
West Virginia (8-0)
Duke (9-1)
Villanova (10-1)
Michigan State (9-2)
Connecticut (7-2)
Kansas State (10-1)
Georgetown (8-1)
Ohio State (9-2)
New Mexico (12-0)
Ole Miss (10-1)

It will be interesting to see what the pollsters, in all their wisdom, come up with.

P.S. Did I call that Wichita State upset or what? Booyah!

Current Kansas State AP Ranking = 17

Current Kansas State Record = 10-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 1

Current Kansas State SOS = 3

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Loyola, Dayton, IUPUI, Xavier, UNLV

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = Washington State, Alabama

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

Loyola (7-2, 1-1) | RPI = 45
Western Illinois (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 320
Boston (4-6) | RPI = 146
No. 20 Ole Miss (10-1) | RPI = 24: Win over Centenary (108-64)
Dayton (8-2) | RPI = 31: Win over Presbyterian (71-52)
IUPUI (9-3, 2-0) | RPI = 50: Win over Duquesne (73-64)
No. 14* FHSU (8-1)
Washington State (9-2) | RPI = 83: Win over Portland State (93-69)
Xavier (6-4) | RPI = 47: Loss at No. 21 Butler (69-68)
UNLV (10-1) | RPI = 34: Win over SCUU (88-58)
Alabama (7-4) | RPI = 92: Loss to No. 17 Kansas State (87-74)
UAPB (0-9) | RPI = 260: Loss at Missouri (88-70)
Cleveland State (4-8, 0-2) | RPI = 247: Loss to No. 6 West Virginia (80-78)
South Dakota (6-4) | RPI = 139
Missouri (7-3) | RPI = 179: Win over UAPB (88-70)
No. 23 Texas A&M (9-2) | RPI = 15: Win over The Citadel (71-50)
Colorado (6-4) | RPI = 229
No. 2 Texas (10-0) | RPI = 6: Win over No. 10 North Carolina (103-90)
Oklahoma State (9-1) | RPI = 42
Baylor (8-1) | RPI = 72
No. 1 Kansas (10-0) | RPI = 20: Win over Michigan (75-64)
Nebraska (8-2) | RPI = 163: Win over Jackson State (57-41)
Iowa State (7-3) | RPI = 155
Oklahoma (8-3) | RPI = 117: Win over Northern Colorado (80-79)
No. 16 Texas Tech (9-1) | RPI = 33: Loss at Wichita State (85-83)

*Division II Top 25

Wooden Champs, Again

BoilerTMill — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:13:35 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

This was probably the most challenging part of the day. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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You have to think the organizers of today's event do not want a repeat next year. The combination of just one game, a mediocre matchup, and poor weather combined for a rather dull game at Conseco Fieldhouse today. The upper balcony was curtained off like a Fever game (by comparison, I sat up there last year for the Davidson game) and a good portion of the LiveBlog talked about Chris Kramer's football ambitions or Drew Brees' MVP candidacy. Even in the postgame presser there was more buzz about the controversial Butler-Xavier ending.

I really want this event to be a good one, and so does Purdue. I know Purdue looks at it as a good opportunity to get a game in Indianapolis for its fans down here and to have a little more national exposure. I can see the other side of the coin too. What major conference team wants to come for a virtual Purdue home game (with no return guaranteed) against a pretty good team? Since Notre Dame is a bunch of pansies and won't play us there either we're left with what we have today. Don't get me wrong, Ball State is a promising young team, but you know everyone involved wants a bigger name for this event. At least we get the trophy for another year.

It was a win though. Purdue didn't look fantastic, but they were still clearly better than their opponents today. This is especially true on a day when West Virginia struggled with a major (winning by two at Cleveland State), Tennessee got pounded by USC, Georgetown lost to Old Dominion, and Florida lost to Richmond. I'll pick apart dull 20 point wins all day as opposed to the alternative.

Positives from the Ball State game:

Kevin Messenger and the Conseco Fieldhouse staff - Just a big thank you for the media access today and for hosting the event. It was first class all around.

Patrick Bade - In a game that was fairly dull bade stood out a little to me. I noticed that he was a little more confident and more aggressive in going after the ball. It wasn't a lot, but it was a step forward. Two points and two rebounds in eight rebounds may not seem like much, but it was the intangible things that matter. I asked coach Painter about this with my one question in the press conference. Here is what he had to say:

"He's doing a better job. It's a hard role to play 10 minutes and get subbed in four times. By the time you get lathered up and loose coach pulls you out. It's very difficult to get in a rhythm.I like to tell guys like that, ‘I'm not taking you out, I am putting JaJuan Johnson back in.' He's doing a great job. It's just hard to be consistent. He's not established yet while JaJuan Johnson is. Pat does a great job. He played 18 minutes against Tennessee and really laid it out there. He's staying aggressive and we need him to just run, rebound, and defend. He's going to develop into a great player for us."

That just about sums it up for Bade. He is kind of getting thrown to the wolves at the moment with no proven depth behind JJ, but that will pay dividends in the end. I was kind of hoping to see Sandi Marcius play today but he still wasn't quite ready. Until he is, Patrick is going to get some key minutes that will help in the future.In that regard, I'd rather have three options down low as opposed to two. last year's game at Michigan showed how bad that can be.

And yes, there was a big laugh when JJ was asked about playing 31 minutes without getting a single foul.

Defense - It is easy to look good when you hold your opponent to 18 points in the first half. Purdue allowed one 3-point attempt on the day and forced 19 turnovers. There wasn't anything overly special, either. It is nice to have a pedestrian effort yield these results. It also becomes very easy to win if you hold a team under 50.

Robbie Hummel - Again, this was a rather pedestrian effort and he gave us 19 and 9. If you look solely at the box score you'll see exactly what this game was. It was a statistical domination in which our three big guns did most of the heavy listing. It fits in almost exactly with the season averages through ten games.

Jarrod Jones - It is not often that I compliment players on the opposing team, but Jones is an impressive young player. If Ball State has a successful season in MAC play he will have a large role in that success.

The crowd - It was a smaller crowd than last year, but Purdue did a very good job of trying to fill the lower two levels of the Fieldhouse. It got a little loud in some moments (notably Keaton Grant's breakaway dunk), but otherwise Purdue fans simply enjoy a workmanlike win. There wasn't a whole lot to get overly excited about, but there was a bigger crowd than I expected at least.

The Walk-on WhiteOut - Credit to reader dbaltman for the term. This is like seeing Mariano Rivera in the ninth. When they come in, you know it is over. You can also tell Matt Painter has total control of this team. He said no shots in the final minute and he meant it. I wouldn't have the same discipline in such a small amount of playing time.

Negatives from the Ball State game:

D.J. Byrd - He had just come off of maybe his finest game and followed it up with a pretty bad one. His final line: 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 5 fouls, 15 minutes. There will be better days ahead. Kelsey Barlow also fouled out, but he had a nice moment where he attacked the basket for a layup.

3-point shooting - Let's save the 4 for 23 performances from long range for these types of games, okay?

Maintaining composure - Things got a little chippy at times with some hard fouls, but our guys kept their heads. Major positive there. Nothing escalated to shenanigans.

Up Next:

I think we can expect more of the same Tuesday against SIU-Edwardsville. It is yet another game in which we should not be challenged at all. I think you'll see more minutes from the freshmen and maybe even some time from Marcius as this will be the last game before the conference opener.

Another thing that coach Painter said in the presser was that he could only control what Purdue does. Someone brought up the Colin Cowherd statement about how Purdue wasn't a championship team because we don't have a great player. The guy kept baiting coach Painter too. I loved Matt's response:

"I can only control my schedule and what Purdue does. I think we have some great players. Robbie Hummel is a great player. JaJuan Johnson is a great player. These are guys anyone in the country would want. It is hard to judge where these teams are when everyone has still played so few games. I watched Kansas today and that is a very good team, but I would love to have a chance to match up with some of those great teams in March."

Very well said. We can only play who is put in front of us. Each game is about playing that game and that game alone. You play it, you get better, and you move on to the next one. Worrying about how good West Virginia is best left to the fans because the players are more concerned right now with SIU-Edwardsville. After that, it is a key conference opener at Iowa. By my count we have between 21 and 24 games (depending on the Big Ten Tournament) before we can even do anything about getting to the Final Four. Those games matter in regards to our seeding, but other than that they don't effect how we will play when we get there.

As long as we keep focused only on what is in front of us everything will take care of itself. You can win a lot of ballgames when you do that. That is how you beat teams like Ball State by 20 points with probably a C effort. Look at West Virginia today. Their C effort barely got a win at Cleveland State. Others weren't so lucky. This is why I choose to ignore the people that keep trying to tear us down. I know as long as we keep winning, it will speak for itself. In that regard, we still have a lot of talking to do.

The State of the Balls

BoilerTMill — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:15:52 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

How will the balls hang with us?(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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I have a lot of respect for Purdue when it comes to facing the Cardinals. They were not afraid to go to Muncie last season and play on Ball State's home floor. This year's game was supposed to be the third game in a two-for-one deal, but the Cardinals agreed to move the game to Conseco as part of the Wooden Tradition when the organizers could not find an opponent for us.

Some might remember this summer that I campaigned, and even posted an e-mail address for the organizers, to have Notre Dame be our opponent. Since the organizers would do the scheduling and not the schools I saw it as the perfect opportunity to renew a long dormant series. The Boiled Sports guys and I took this a step further in last night's podcast by talking about a dream scenario where Indiana, Purdue, Butler, and Notre Dame would be the four teams every season. They would rotate playing each other, with Indiana and Purdue only playing in years where the Big Ten was too stupid to have us play twice in conference play. This makes too much sense, so it would never happen because the schools wouldn't agree to it. This is especially true with the national brand Notre Dame is developing. Why lose to a quality program like Purdue or Butler when you can develop a national brand by losing to Loyola Marymount.

I'll step down off my soapbox though. We get Ball State this year and I am sure the Cardinals will appreciate the national boost they get for playing in a name event like this. I'll be running a CoverItLive from Conseco thanks to the very good people on the media relations staff at the Fieldhouse, so let's see what we are up against:

2008-09 record: 14-17 (Lost to Buffalo in MAC Tournament 2^nd round)

2009-10 record: 3-4, 0-0 MAC

Blog representation: Over the Pylon (Primarily football)

Series with Purdue: Purdue leads 7-2

Last Purdue win: 68-39 at Ball State on 12/9/08

Last Ball State win: 72-52 at Conseco Fieldhouse on 12/18/99 (Purdue was ranked #24 at game time.)

Common Opponents: Valparaiso (W 88-78), SIU-Edwardsville (W 57-47), Central Michigan (January 17, February 13), Buffalo (January 28).

Ball State is a team that I have always felt should be better than it is. They haven't made the NCAA's since 2000, but their biggest claim to fame was losing 69-67 to a nearly unstoppable UNLV team in the 1990 Sweet 16. That UNLV team won three tournament games by 30 points, but barely survived the 12^th seeded Cardinals. Ball State had already upset Oregon State and Louisville. Had Ball State won, you would have seen the lowest seeded regional final in NCAA Tournament history against 11-seed Loyola Marymount (the famous Bo Kimble led team).

The Cardinals haven't had much national success since then. They made some noise in 2001 by upsetting UCLA and Kansas before falling to Duke in the Maui Invitational, but they were unable to sustain those wins into an NCAA bid. A nasty textbook scandal essentially gutted the team before the 2007-08 season and they are still recovering. They have gotten better each season though. They finished 6-24 with very few scholarship players in 2008. They improved to 14-17 last year, and could be in line to compete in a wide-open MAC this season. So far they have lost to Temple and Butler, while dropping close games to UC Davis and Tennessee Tech. They did grab a nice road win at Indiana State on December 9^th.

Where Ball State will struggle Saturday is the fact they are not a high scoring team. They average less than 63 points per game, which is not enough to beat us. This is without facing our defense, which is among the best in the country. 6'9" sophomore forward Jarrod Jones is a very promising young player from Michigan City, IN. he leads the Cardinals in scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounds (6.6 rpg). He is strictly a post player who shoots better than 50% from the field. 6'2" freshman guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring at 11.4ppg. This is a kid that was a key cog for nearby Muncie Central High for four seasons. As a freshman in high school he played against the great Oden and Conley Lawrence North team in the state championship game. The Bearcats were merely a speedbump against possibly the greatest team in Indiana High School history, but Scaife did play against pretty good competition all four years.

Scaife is an accomplished 3-point shooter. He leads the team in made triples, hitting 12 of 27 on the young season. He can also create his own shot and is good at getting to the foul line, hitting 88% from there. 6'4" junior Malik Perry is a reliable third option averaging 8.9 points per game. 5'11" sophomore guard Randy Davis from Plymouth, IN was a great scorer in high school, but he has become a distributor for the Cardinals. He averages 7 points and almost 4 assists per game. Davis is your stereotypical Indiana white boy that can simply shoot the basketball with great accuracy. After being held scoreless against Butler he has been in double figures each of the last two games. Most of his damage has come at the free throw line, where he is 29 of 37.

Ball State is not an overly deep team, and that lack of depth will hurt them in a game like this. Thanks to our freshmen and the emergence of Mark Wohlford we can legitimately play 10 players. That number, like Spinal Tap, goes up to 11 if Sandi Marcius makes his season debut on Saturday. Aside from Jone they don't have much size, either. Terrence Watson (6.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Brawley Chisholm (5.9ppg), Pierre Sneed (3ppg), and Mo Hubbard (0.9ppg) round out the eight man rotation. As you can see, however, Hubbard and Sneed are hardly scoring threats.

Ball State shares the ball fairly well with 11 team assists per game, but they do not rebound well. That is to be expected with their overall lack of size. Only Watson and Jones are serious rebounding threats. If we neutralize them on the glass we should have an easy day. I am very much encouraged by the way we crashed the offensive glass against Alabama. That was a very underrated, but incredibly important part of our comeback.

Ball State is a pretty good 3-point shooting team, hitting a little more than a third of their long range attempts. They only shoot 43% from the field overall.

While Ball State is an improving team, the recipe for an upset just isn't there. They lack a go-to scorer that can take over a game (like Brandon Wood for Valparaiso or Aminu for Wake Forest). They don't shoot well from the field and they don't rebound well. Turnovers are an issue at 15 per game against much worse competition. In truth, we should only be worried if they start bombing away from 3-point land and that opens up the low post for Jones. If he can operate and get JaJuan Johnson in foul trouble (our Achilles heel) they might have a chance. It is still not a good one.

Keys to the game for Purdue:

Defend the three-pointer
Clamp down on Jones inside
Keep Davis off the foul line
Play Purdue-style basketball

Purdue 72, Ball State 52

Non-Conference Opponents Update #2

BoilerTMill — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:36:23 -0000

More photos » by David Smith - AP

We should still be undefeated when West Virginia comes to Mackey Arena.(AP Photo/David Smith)

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With most of the country plugging away through finals there isn't a huge update this week. Only a handful of schools are even playing games. Games like last night's 60+ point drubbing that Texas handed out to Texas-Pan American hardly qualify as games anyway. There is not a top 25 matchup until this weekend, but there are some big ones that could allow Purdue to move up. In the meantime, here is what all of our non-conference opponents have been up to since our last update.

Overall out schedule looks much tougher on paper than it did last year. That will only help with seeding. Yes wins over Tennessee and Wake Forest (as opposed to losses to Oklahoma and Duke) look better, but we're getting small boosts from out other opponents as well. Remember, Eastern Michigan, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Detroit were among the worst teams in Division 1 last year. South Dakota State and SIU-Edwardsville may be our worst opponents, but they are better than them. Every little bit helps.

Cal State Northridge (4-5, 0-0 Big West) - The Matadors have only played once since last Monday's update, and that was an 89-82 loss at Denver. They do have their first home game in two weeks tonight when they host Drexel. Tuesday they have a chance for a major conference win when they travel to Colorado.

South Dakota State (4-7, 1-1 Summit) - SDSU has been busy since last Monday. They grabbed a non-division 1 win over Southwest State (Minnesota) before dropping games at Nevada and at home against Cal Poly. This is a program that is still going through some growing pains with the move up to Division 1. Keep your eyes peeled next Wednesday night when they have a very interesting game in the Barn against Minnesota.

St. Joseph's (3-6, 0-0 Atlantic 10) - The Hawks continue to be in freefall after the 3-0 start. Losses to Villanova and at Minnesota were brutal. St. Joseph's played no defense at all in giving up 97 points to both teams. The 97-89 loss to Villanova was in a tough Big 5 game and would have been a nice comparison to see how well we matched up with the Wildcats. The Hawks are off until Sunday when they face Lehigh.

Tennessee (8-1, 0-0 SEC) - We continue to be the only blemish on the Volunteers' record. Tennessee notched a neutral court win over Middle Tennessee State in Nashville over the weekend then outlasted a pesky Wyoming team last night. The Cowboys trailed by one at the half before Tennessee pulled away for a 19 point win. The Volunteers will continue an impressive non-conference schedule Saturday when they visit USC in Los Angeles.

Central Michigan (4-5, 0-0 MAC) - Somehow, this didn't make it into Defend That, Digger, but the Chips grabbed a win over a Big East team this weekend. They completed the trip by winning 59-56 at South Florida on Sunday. Digger would argue that the Bulls aren't really in the Big East since they are at the bottom, but screw him. This is a step forward for the Chippewas as they look to improve greatly in MAC play. Their next game is Saturday at fellow opponent South Dakota State.

Wake Forest (6-2, 0-0 ACC) - Wake has had just one game since the last update, but it was an easy 90-50 win over Elon College. They head out on the road tonight by going to a dangerous UNC-Wilmington team that has already upset Penn State this year. The Seahawks will certainly be motivated to face an ACC foe in their gym. Credit to the Demon Deacons for not being afraid to play there, either.

Buffalo (5-3, 0-0 MAC) - The Bulls have won their last two games in a pair of regional rivalry contests. They knocked off Niagara 86-80 on the road before beating non-D1 Buffalo State 93-65. They don't play again until Tuesday, when they face an enigmatic Wisconsin-Green Bay team that has upset Wisconsin, but got drilled by Oakland. That game is at Green Bay.

Valparaiso (4-5, 0-1 Horizon) - The Crusaders snapped a two game losing streak by thrashing Toledo at home 81-49 on Saturday. They have a non-Division 1 game against Concordia (Wisconsin) this Saturday night before trips to IPFW and Akron.

Alabama (6-3, 0-0 SEC) - The Crimson Tide should be able to recover tonight with a relatively easy home game against Samford. I still think this is an NCAA caliber team. None of the three losses are horrible (Cornell is a very good team) and they can rack up a lot of wins in SEC play. The Michigan and Baylor wins have the potential for plenty of mileage as well. They also get another shot at a ranked team Saturday when they host a very hot Kansas State team.

Ball State (3-4, 0-0 MAC) - The Cardinals have split a pair of games since we saw them last. They got some in-state bragging rights with a 68-63 win at Indiana State, but they dropped a game at Tennessee Tech 86-81 in overtime. Remember, this team is still coming out from under a pretty hefty scandal a few years ago. I'll have more on them later this week as we get ready to face them at Conseco. As an added note, I have been approved for a press pass for the Wooden Tradition, so I will likely be running a CoverItLive from inside Conseco on Saturday.

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (2-8) - The Cougars continue to struggle with their provisional division status. They recently lost a pair of games in the Nashville area to Middle Tennessee State and Lipscomb. They are playing a lot of road game for paychecks this season as a division one independent. They have 15 road games scheduled. Most of their home games are against fellow independent teams.

West Virginia (7-0, 0-0 Big East) - West Virginia grabbed a pair of relatively easy wins over Duquesne and Coppin State to stay undefeated. Each win was by at least 26 points. They face a potentially tricky road game at Cleveland State this weekend, but they have only really been tested by Texas A&M in the 76 Classic so far. Before coming to Purdue they do have a tricky slate of Mississippi, Seton Hall, and Marquette.

Big Ten Baseball Tournament to stay in Columbus through 2012

BoilerTMill — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:18:30 -0000

As per release from the Big Ten today:

Park Ridge, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference, Huntington Park and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission announced today that Columbus, Ohio, will be home to the Big Ten Baseball Tournament for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons. The Big Ten played its first neutral-site tournament since 1994 at Columbus' Huntington Park in 2009 and will return to the ballpark in 2011 and 2012. Due to a facility conflict, the 2010 tournament will be held at Ohio State's Bill Davis Stadium.

"The Big Ten Conference is excited to return to the city of Columbus for its upcoming baseball tournaments," Big Ten Conference Commissioner James E. Delany said. "Last year's event provided a fantastic experience for our coaches, student-athletes and fans, and we look forward to growing the event in the next three years."

"We are thrilled that Columbus, Bill Davis Stadium and Huntington Park will host the Big Ten Baseball Tournament through 2012," Greater Columbus Sports Commission Executive Director Linda Shetina Logan said. "Our community thanks the Big Ten Conference, its schools and coaches for making this commitment to Columbus, and we will work to build an atmosphere for this tournament similar to the College World Series."

The 2009 Big Ten Baseball Tournament drew more than 12,000 fans, marking the tournament's highest total attendance in the past decade. Indiana took home the program's second tournament title, earning the Big Ten's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.

"We were proud to host the Big Ten Baseball Tournament in 2009 and look forward to its return to Huntington Park in 2011 and 2012," said Columbus Clippers General Manager Ken Schnacke, who also manages Huntington Park. "And we look forward to partnering with the Big Ten and the Columbus Sports Commission to grow the tournament every year."

Prior to 2009, the Big Ten Baseball Tournament had been played at the site of the regular-season champion or the champion from a pre-selected division since its inception in 1981, with the exception of 1993 and 1994, when the tournament was held in Battle Creek, Mich. From 1981-99, the tournament field consisted of the conference's top four teams. In 2000, the field expanded to include six squads. The Big Ten Baseball Tournament is a double-elimination event with the top two seeds earning first-round byes.

In a Perfect World (Conference Realignment)

Evan Pfaff — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:30:13 -0000

by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Could a University of Houston QB be soon hoisting the Big 12 Championship trophy? (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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Today the Big Ten conference issued a statement that they are exploring the possibility of expanding.

Every few years we hear the same rumblings and every few years there are articles published about what realignment would look like. But not since Penn State was admitted into the Big Ten has anything official been released. With that, below is the definitive article on the topic.

And even though this is a basketball blog, I will focus on the BCS aspect of realignment to argue my points. I will discuss basketball, though, and all points held for football can loosely translate over to hoops as well.

Currently there are six BCS conferences and those 6 all get automatic BCS-bowl bids. Those conferences are Big East, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-10, ACC. Of those six, three of the conferences have enough football teams to have a conference championship game (the Big East would have enough if more of their charter schools had D1 football programs).

Part of the BCS issue is that you have some conferences without 12 schools, who don't currently have conference championship games. Adding conference championship games will ultimately help the BCS by crowing, on a field, a true conference champ. This will help with BCS bowl bids, and especially the BCS championship game. (Think of a rule where you have to at least win your division to get a BCS bid.

The other BCS issue is of the non-BCS schools and where they should lie. My realignment program take that into account.

Without further ado, after The Jump is the Big12Hoops.com Realignment plan.

MIZZOU MOVES TO THE BIG 10.

Why is this good for the Big 10? By admitting Mizzou into the Big 10, the Big 10 would secure a coveted TV market, namely St Louis. They would also get a share of the Kansas City TV market. By expanding westward, revenues from the Big 10 Network and apparel sales would grow. The Big 10 would also secure a 12^th team and legitimize a conference championship game. The divisions would be as follow:

Big 10 East: Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, Penn State

Big 10 West: Mizzou, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa

Under this scenario all regional rivalries remain in tact

Why is this good for Mizzou? The Big 12 seems to forget about schools not named Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas (basketball). There is no television network, so Mizzou's games are generally only regionally shown. There is Big Monday for basketball, but that is mainly reserved for Texas and KU. Under this, Mizzou's football games could be carried on the Big 10 Network and basketball games will be tied into the Big 10 ESPN deal. All this leads to a major recruiting advantage in both revenue generating sports.

Mizzou also has a rival in Illinois that would heat up instantly and the heated rivalry with Kansas will replace the Illinois basketball and football games on the schedules. Instead of St Louis, though, the KU games will be played at the Sprint Center and Arrowhead in KC.

But what about... Iowa State? The Cyclones seem to also be a natural fit and could easily add fuel to the rivalry with in-state foe Iowa Hawkeyes. The problem is that the Big 10 gains little from that arrangement. They are already pretty entrenched in the Hawkeye State and the addition of ISU wouldn't help their regional or national reputation.

THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON JOINS THE BIG XII

Why is this good for the Big 12? The University of Houston is a large campus, in a region of Texas that is currently underdeveloped with college sports. Houston is the 4^th largest city in the country, and by planting a team there, the Big 12 will get even more Texas viewership.

The big question would be on alignment, since there will now be 5 Texas schools. My proposal is for

Big 12 "North": Nebraska, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

Big 12 "South": Texas, Houston, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Baylor, Colorado

The division names will have to be rebranded, but adding Colorado to the South is acceptable because Coloradoans joke that there are more Texans in the state than natives.

Why is this good for Houston? Historically, the Cougars have had a good football team, and have won a basketball national championship. Having a Big XII logo on their court will increase their recruiting presence in the city and state and potentially turn them into powerhouse.

But what about... TCU? TCU would be a good choice, if they were bigger. Their 8000 student just wouldn't cut it if the conference wishes to remain the BIG 12. Houston's enrollment is approximately 30,000 students. Commuter school or not, Houston would help retain the "Big" in Big 12.

BYU AND UTAH GO TO THE PAC-10

Why is this good for the Pac-10? By including Utah and BYU into the Pac-10, the conference will have the 12 schools needed for an automatic conference championship games. Both programs have historically legitimate football and basketball programs, and they will bring their rivalry with them. Geographically, they are far enough West to warrant admission into the conference.

The division would be as follows

Pac-10 North: Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, BYU, Utah

Pac-10 South: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Stanford, UCLA, USC

Why is this good for BYU and Utah? Both recruit well from the West, and inclusion into the conference will aid that. And by coming over as a pair (and as rivals) they bring legitimacy to the expansion eastward.

But what about... geography? The state of Utah doesn't border any states of current Pac-10 members, and that may cause some issues, but distance isn't really something the conference has ever regarded. Consider that Tucson, AZ to Seattle, WA is 1100 miles, or 400 miles farther than Tucson to Provo, UT.

ADD MORE TEAMS TO THE MOUNTAIN WEST

Why is this good for the Mountain West? As it stands under this scenario, the Mountain West is down to 7 members (the current 9, minus BYU and Utah). To get up with the big boys, the MWC needs to add 5 schools. The 5 that should move to the MWC should be: Boise State, Nevada, New Mexico State, Rice, SMU.

There is already talk of Boise coming over to the MWC, so that is a no brainer. The others are coming over as "rivals" to existing MWC schools. Nevada will face UNLV, New Mexico State will pair with New Mexico, Rice and SMU will pit against TCU is a three-way battle for Texas.

Having 12 schools will allow the conference to host a championship game, matching the winners of each division, which would be as follows:

MWC North: UNLV, Nevada, Air Force, Wyoming, Colorado State, Boise State

MWC South: San Diego State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, TCU, Rice, SMU

Why is this good for the 5 programs? The shift from either the C-USA or WAC will legitimize the programs (see the next point). All will also enter the new MWC with a foe. Everyone wins.

But what about... the MWC still remaining relatively minute as compared to their BCS brethren? Why would these schools shift from one conference to another, just for shits and giggles? See next point.

ADMIT THE MOUNTAIN WEST INTO THE BCS

Why is this good for the BCS? Controversy will mainly be avoided. By admitting the redesigned MWC into the BCS you are accepting the current BCS gate crashers. You are bringing in the current at-large schools causing heartache and giving yourself another conference champion that the country can latch onto.

Why is this good for the MWC? Why isn't it good for the MWC?

But what about... the C-USA and WAC? These two conferences are now in shambles. What to do? See next item.

MERGE THE C-USA AND WAC

Why is this good for the two conferences? Because of the success of some of their schools, and regional ability to move, the Conference USA and WAC are currently left in shambles (under this proposal). Essentially afterthoughts as they are, now they are left with 15 schools between them. They could either split them up 8 and 7 or combine forces and form a 15 league mega conference. In terms of basketball, as we have seen with the Big East, and their 16 school hoops conference, too many schools doesn't water down the pool.

But what about... regionality? The C-USA is currently a conglomerate of throw-ins from around the country. Under this plan, that would just increase to a truly national conference. The members of it would be: Fresno St, Hawaii, Idaho, La Tech, San Jose St, Utah St, UTEP, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, Cent Florida, ECU, Marshall, Memphis, Southern Miss

Using the scenario outlined above, 18 schools will change conferences. This sounds like a lot, but as you can see many will be moving as groups and either with or to a rival.

But what about the Big East? Well, the Big East is the one conference I am leaving alone. In their football world, they are lacking the 12 members to create a championship game. But when you include their basketball members, they are a 16-team powerhouse.

One final thought. I reserve the right to claim this entire scenario null and void if Notre Dame ever decides to join the Big 10. If that were to happen, I would still endorse some shifting, but nothing to the extent of this proposal. More on that if a Notre Dame to the Big 10 rumor starts getting some legitimate traction.