SB Nation - Virginia Tech Hokies

Penn State: The Nittany Lions have won four of their last five after losing two games to open the Charleston Classic in Mid-November ... the only loss in that stretch was a three-point loss to Temple Dec. 5 ... Temple is the only team to beat Virginia Tech this season ... junior guard Talor Battle leads the team in scoring with 17.3 ppg ... he is the only player to average double figures in ppg ... Penn State's leading rebounder is junior forward Andrew Jones, who averages 6.2 rpg ... the Lions are 4-0 at home this season ... their best win of the year came Nov. 30 when they knocked off UVa, 69-66 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

History Lesson: Virginia Tech is 4-1 all time against Penn State ... the lone loss came in the teams' last meeting in the 2007 ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Happy Valley ... their previous meeting came in 1979.

What to Watch: I think this one will be close and four of Penn State's last six games have been decided by three points or fewer with the Nittany Lions winning two of those games ... expect it to be low-scoring as well as both teams have fairly efficient defenses according to Ken Pomeroy's efficiency ratings ... both teams do a good job taking care of the ball so points off turnovers will be at a premium ... the battle will come when the Hokies miss shots ... they're one of the better offensive rebounding teams, but Penn State is one of the best at not allowing offensive rebounds ... the key for the Hokies will be getting those second-chance points.

Score Prediction: Virginia Tech 59, Penn State 57

Game Thread: Use the comments section of this post to discuss tonight's game. That is if you're not attending Tech Hoops' watch party in Arlington, Va., tonight. The Lions are having a white-out for the game tonight so expect to hear a lot of Zombie Nation over the PA system.

Friday Nitt Picks

BSD — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:52:34 -0000

More photos » by Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

9 days ago: Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, left, raises his fists as if to spar with LSU head coach Les Miles during a news conference for the NCAA Capital One Bowl football game in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009. Penn State takes on LSU on Jan. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

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Starting next week I'll try to get into full blown LSU preview mode, but for now go read David Jones's article. He gives a pretty good recap of the Tigers and suggests their fans really aren't into this game.

But try as they might to raise their “Geaux, Tigers!” banners and smile, LSU fans do so this postseason with gritted teeth. A 9-3 ledger isn’t cutting it for two main reasons.

First, they are spoiled rotten. By two BCS national titles in the prior six seasons — the first under Nick Saban in 2003, the second just two years ago under current coach Les Miles. By nine straight bowls, six of the New Year’s Day variety, since Saban resurrected the program in 2000. It’s easy now for purple people to forget what a mess this operation was through the late 1980s and all of the ’90s excepting a brief mid-decade resurgence under Gerry DiNardo.

Second, and most acute, they are driven batty by the way their Tigers and their coach gave away the third loss to Mississippi. The abysmal management of that game by Miles in the final minute squandered a chance to win it.

Hooray Post Season Awards

Joe Paterno has been named a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno has been selected as one of 10 Football Bowl Subdivision finalists for the 2009 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award. The award, now in its fourth year, celebrates college football coaches who demonstrate sportsmanship, integrity and responsibility on and off the field.

I'm happy for the coach and all, but I'm not sure he's really deserving of such an award THIS year. Penn State actually regressed from 2008 when they won the conference with only one loss. I think it's pretty obvious he was put on the list as a lifetime achievement-type thing. In my opinion there are much more deserving coaches this year like Paul Johnson, Kirk Ferentz, or Al Golden.

Basketball

Keep in mind that Saturday night is perhaps Penn State's biggest out of conference game of the year when the Virginia Tech Hokies come to the Jordan Center. The game will be televised at 7 PM on ESPN2. We'll have an open thread for you here.

Early Season All-ACC Team

MRickman84 — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:30:14 -0000

More photos » by Ricardo Arduengo - AP

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I thought it would be fun to take a look at who is really shining in the ACC so far. And what better way than through a list, right? I'm not going to do second teams right now--I'll save that until a few games into ACC play. But I will give you who I think is on the first team as well as who is the front runner for ROY.

The All-ACC team after the jump...

G- Jon Scheyer

15.8 ppg, 5.3 apg, 3.3 rpg

There are a few good PG in the ACC this year, but Scheyer is the most complete. He manages the game well, barely turns it over and is perfect for Duke's system. He has come a long way since his freshman year where he was compared to J.J. Redick and since his switch the point has been very good for the Blue Devils.

G- Malcolm Delaney

20.9 ppg, 3.8 apg, 3.8 rpg

I was tempted to go a number of different directions here. Nolan Smith has been playing really well so far, as has Malcolm Grant and Sylvan Landesberg, but Delaney is the reason Virginia Tech wins basketball games. He has the scorer's mentality that so many ACC guards in the past have had and will only get better as the season wears on.

F- Al-Farouq Aminu

16.44 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 1.6 spg, 2 apg

Homer pick, sure, but Aminu is averaging a double-double and has not even played his best basketball yet. His skillset makes him dangerous against any team and when he starts to play more under control, he will be even more effective. Compared to Kyle Singler, Aminu gets the edge.

F- Gani Lawal

14.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 1.3 bpg, .556 FG%

Lawal is one of the most overlooked players in the ACC. He was very impressive last year and again is doing the same kinds of things. Now that GT is receiving a little more attention, people should start to recognize how good Lawal really is.

C- Deon Thompson

16.9 ppg, 1.2 apg, 8.3 rpg, .53 FG%

I really considered putting Ed Davis here (although he technically plays the 4), but when it comes to UNC, when Deon Thompson goes, the Tar Heels go. They play better when they get Thompson involved early and often and he absolutely needs to get his touches. The guy has really improved his face up game out to about 12-15 feet and with his back to the hoop he is always a threat to score.

ROY- Derrick Favors

We knew he was good coming in, but wow. He is still a bit shaky at times and makes the typical rookie mistakes, but 68% from the floor? That's insane for a guy averaging over double digits per game. I also looked at C.J. Harris (13.1 ppg, 1.6 apg, 1.7 rpg, .524 3PT%), who has really come on strong so far, as well as Andre Dawkins, who has really given Duke a lift off the bench with his electriic shooting. Favors' rookie contemporary Mfon Udofia has been very good as well, averaging 13 ppg, 3.3 apg and 3.1 rpg

ACC Power Rankings: 12.8

MRickman84 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:30:14 -0000

So this probably should have been done yesterday, but I really want to get in the habit of doing power rankings throughout the season. UNC occupies the top spot this week, with Duke coming in second, as both are coming off tough losses last week to strong opponents.

Let's take a look at who is where after the jump...

1.) UNC-- [W vs. Michigan State, L vs. Kentucky] UNC is getting better as was expected. The young guys are playing well and Larry Drew II looks a lot more comfortable. I'm still concerned about the Heels' bench, as Strickland looks a little lost out there and Henson just does not know what to do with his body. The Wear twins are eating up a ton of minutes without a lot of productivity. Tyler Zeller is a great player for them though and really makes the perfect sixth man. UNC gets another tough test when they head to Dallas to play Texas at the Cowboys stadium next week.

2.) Duke -- [L vs. Wisconsin, W vs. St. John's] I thought this Duke team was supposed to be able to shoot? Kyle Singler is looking average at best so far this year and is taking a LOT of shots. You know what you're getting out of Jon Scheyer week in and week out and that is a great stabilizer. Andre Dawkins has been spectacular so far and we are going to be seeing a lot more of him as Duke enters ACC play. Duke's big weakness is still down low--Zoubek and Thomas are just bad, but the Plumlees work hard and are good players.

3.) GT [W vs. Siena, W vs. USC] The Jackets were left out of the Challenge this year because of their finish last season, and that really is a shame as I believe they would have won their matchup and turned the tide for the ACC. Instead, Tech put a whooping on Siena and USC last week. GT is stellar in the frontcourt with Lawal, Peacock and Favors, but losing Iman Shumpert is going to be sidelined for 3-6 weeks with a knee injury.

4.) Clemson [L vs. Illinois, W vs. South Carolina] Clemson is looking like bi-polar Clemson again, surprise! This is a good, solid basketball team. They have 5 players averaging at least 9 points per game and Trevor Booker is almost averaging a double-double (13 and 9). Their problem is that they just lose focus (as seen by the terrible collapse against Illinois). I think they are a better team than Georgia Tech, but they just can't pass them until they show some consistency.

5.) Miami [W vs. Minnesota, L vs. BC] Yes, I know they lost their first conference game. But it was very close and came down to the buzzer. They picked up a great non-con win over Minnesota, but still have not really been challenged other than their last two contests. Dwayne Collins is very good, but there's a lot of pressure on him coming into conference play since two of Miami's three strong guards are newcomers (Malcolm Grant from Villinova and freshman Durand Scott.) James Dews can get it done too, but we will see just how much the 'Canes miss Jack McClinton after the 1st of the year.

6.) Wake Forest [L vs. Purdue, W vs. Gonzaga] After a disappointing loss at home to William & Mary, the Deacs took to the road for two very tough tests. After a hard-fought loss to Purdue, the Deacs looked like they finally clicked in a win over Gonzaga at the Kennel. If the Demon Deacons can use this as a momentum builder, they could enter the new year at 10-2. They will be tested by UNC-W, who has played some good teams tough, as well as Richmond, which received votes in the polls this week. Freshmen C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart are looking like the real deal, but the Deacs absolutely need to get consistency from their bigs and from Al-Farouq Aminu.

7.) Virginia Tech [W vs. Iowa, W vs. Georgia] I like VT. They're better than they look on paper, and their loss to Temple is not a bad one--the Owls almost pulled off the upset against Georgetown a few games ago. They easily could finish anywhere between 6th and 10th, but the combo of Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen should be good for at least 6 conference wins.

8.) Maryland [W vs. Indiana, L vs. Villanova] I've seen Maryland play 4 times now this year and I'm sorry, I just don't think they are very good. Greivis Vasquez takes way too many ill-advised shots and he is shooting 32%. Sean Mosley and Landon Milbourne are the strong points to this team and Eric Hayes keeps them calm sometimes, but they aren't deep and I'm not sold on their front court. The Terps were a hot pick to start the season, but they have to prove something to me before they can move up the board.

9.) Boston College [W vs. Michigan, W vs. Miami] Here we go again. It's the same old story every year. BC looks sparse on paper and then Al Skinner does a great job coaching his team to overachieve. It'll probably happen again this year and their last two wins are a big indicator of this. Reggie Jackson could be a great player, and BC gets bumped up a spot just from his nasty dunk against the 'Canes (on a terrible offensive foul call in the last 30 seconds) and his clutch FTs to seal the win. Raji, Jackson, Trapani is a great combo and they get a good effort out of Josh Southern too.

10.) Florida State [L vs. Ohio State, W vs. FIU] Florida State looked downright ugly against Ohio State. And downright ugly against Florida. But that win against Marquette was big, so they have that in them. Alabi, Singleton and Kitchen are a nice 1-2-3, but the 'Noles need to be getting more out of Xavier Gibson and Ryan Reid.

11.) NC State [L vs. Northwestern, W. vs Marquette] After their loss to Northwestern, I didn't think at all that the Wolfpack would beat Marquette. It was the furthest thing from my mind. State is 6-1, but they are a mess and there is just not much there.

12.) Virginia [L vs. Penn State, L vs. Auburn] Hey, at least Virginia has beaten Cleveland State, something Wake wasn't able to do last year. Sylven Landesberg is a heck of a player, but when your next two leading scorers are Mike Scott and Sammy Zeglinski, there's a problem there. Virginia is not very good.

12/1 Game Links

SFBE.NF — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:05:23 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

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Purdue forces 25 turnovers, beats Demon Deacons

Coble-less Northwestern is pretty good, moves to 6-1 in Raleigh

Terps pull-away, Hoosiers earn another measly moral victory

And we're all knotted up...VA Tech shows balanced rotation in win over Hawkeyes

Around the ACC: 12.2

MRickman84 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:36:20 -0000

It was a rocky start to the Challenge with the ACC going 0-3 with the UVA, State and Wake losses, but the conference bounced back a bit in the second slate of games. Today will decide whether the ACC will win its 11th straight ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

NC State 53, Northwestern 65

So what was going on in this game? Two starters for State--Scott Wood and C.J. Williams--both had 0 points in a combined Tossed in with Javi Gonzalez's performance, those three starters combined for 3-21 shooting. Tracy Smith had an inspired game with 23, but Michael Thompsons's 22 points and Northwestern's 49% shooting (43% from 3) were enough to give the Wildcats the W.

Wake Forest 58, Purdue 69

We all know how this turned out. Nothing to see here. Turnovers, Purdue making 14 more FTs and the Boilermakers taking 12 more shots than the Deacs really told the story. E'Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson and Robbie Hummel combined for 54 points in the win.

Maryland 80, Indiana 68

This one was close for a long time, but the Terps pulled away in the last 5 minutes. Greivis Vasquez continued his poor shooting, going 4-14. He's gotta figure this out and fast, although he had 23, 5 rebounds and 8 assists. 13 of his 14 pionts came off FTs. Vasquez's shooting has obviously suffered, but he is becoming a better point guard overall and is making better decisions (1.83 A:TO). Milbourne had 19 and 7, while Eric hayes added 14. Indiana did not shoot well at all, but Maurice Cheek led Indiana with 19 points in the loss.

UNC 89, Michigan State 82

In a rematch of last year's National Championship game, the Tarheels absolutely blitzed Michigan State in the first half, shooting lights out and looking unstoppable. The Spartans settled down in the second half, cutting the lead down, but in the track meet, UNC just had too much firepower. Ed Davis had a career game with 22 points and 6 rebounds. Larry Drew looked really strong, adding 18 points and 6 assists. UNC shot 58% while Michigan State shot 2-20 from beyond the arc.

Virginia Tech 70, Iowa 64

Props to Iowa for hanging tough in this game. Iowa is not a very good basketball team at all, but they played inspired basketball yesterday. It didn't help the Hokies' cause that they shot 4-15 from deep, but they committed only four turnovers and looked under control the whole game. Malcolm Delaney had 18 points and 5 assists. I don't know what to make of this VT team, but 5-1 with a loss against Temple doesn't look terrible. Let's see how they look in the rest of their non-conference schedule.

70-64: Well, Damn It

Oops Pow Surprise — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:05:12 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Neibergall - AP

18 days ago: Iowa coach Todd Lickliter reacts during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Virginia Tech, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009, in Iowa City, Iowa. Virginia Tech won 70-64. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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In some ways, it was Iowa's most admirable game to date: They jumped out to an 8-1 lead, kept their shots falling at a reasonable pace for most of the night, and hustled for at least 80% of the loose balls. And yet it still wasn't enough, not even at home against a team that may not end up being very good this season.

The final was 70-64, a score that's appropriately close in respects to how the game went. Though the Hokies had a moderate lead for most of the second half, Iowa was in striking distance for most and even led for a short while, at 54-53. That didn't last very long.

Iowa's struggles came in two main areas: first was the usual late-first-half power outage, this one manifested in a glacial 15-2 run by the Hokies that turned a 20-15 Iowa lead into a 30-22 Hokie advantage. The second was more discouraging, just because it was as familiar as it was endemic: the talent just isn't there.

Cully Payne just isn't athletic enough to overcome his total lack of experience on either side of the ball. Anthony Tucker and Devan Bawinkel really can't contribute much on defense. Matt Gatens doesn't make points appear out of nowhere. Jarryd Cole is still just plain frightening on offense. And other newbies like Brennan Cougill and Eric May are still adjusting to the pace of the collegiate game--an adjustment that most major conference teams would let them go through on the bench. No such luxury at Iowa when almost nobody sticks around for their senior season.

And yet, it took the proverbial dagger from Dorenzo Hudson--a roughly 700-foot three pointer as the shot clock expired--late in the game to effectively bury the Hawkeyes. It's not as if the Hokies were sure to lose without the shot--it turned a 4-point game into a 7-point game with under 90 seconds to play--but it made the comeback impossible. The fish was probably staying in the barrel; it was just a matter of shooting it.

So it goes, so it goes. At the very least, Iowa played well enough to beat about 10 of the teams on its schedule this season. Small consolation, to be sure, but we were pondering the implications of a 5-win season just last week. That's probably not going to happen. Oh, 4-14 in the BXI (or worse) might happen and would definitely suck, but I'd take 4-14 over 0-18, y'know?

All that said, this team's young enough that they really ought to show significant improvement over the course of the season. If it's not evident that they're learning anything about The System... then what's the point?

Big Ten / ACC Challenge - can the B10 finally win the challenge?

GopherNation — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:22:32 -0000

We all know that the ACC has dominated this "challenge" going a perfect 10-0 through the challenge's 10 year history. The Big Ten is back to being a heavyweight this year. The question is, are they good enough to finally beat the ACC head-to-head? The strength and depth of each conference is put to the test and each and every year the ACC wins. It becomes harder and harder to come up with appropriate excuses as to why the Big Ten is still better/deeper despite being unable to win more than they lose in this "challenge".

The conventional wisdom (especially in the Midwest) is that the Big Ten is arguably the best conference in the country and could go as deep as getting seven or eight into the NCAA Tournament. But unfortunately that may not translate into a B10/ACC Challenge win. I'll breakdown the match-ups in slightly greater detail below but here is how I see things playing out.

ACC Locks

Duke over Wisconsin
Maryland over Indiana
Virginia Tech over Iowa

Big Ten Locks

Purdue over Wake Forest
Ohio State over Florida State (admittedly this is closer than a lock)
Penn State over Virginia (only because it is over)

The Rest

Michigan State @ North Carolina
Minnesota @ Miami
Northwestern @ NC State
Illinois @ Clemson
Boston College @ Michigan

The Penn State win was huge and makes this much more winable. The Big Ten still needs to snag three of the toss-up five and four of those are on the road so...

Here is a brief look at each match-up with some key tempo-free stats.

Penn State @ Virginia - We kick off the Challenge with Talor Battle vs. Sylven Landesberg. And Battle won the battle, will it be enough for the Big Ten to win the war? (that analogy was awesome) Let's not waste time on this game since it is over.

Wake Forest @ Purdue - Here is a lock for the Big Ten and this may be the biggest lock of the entire challenge. Purdue is at home and so far has been the best looking team in the conference. Wake is 4-1 but has four meaningless wins and then a loss to William & Mary (that is one loss, not two).

	Wake Forest	Purdue
KenPom Rank	90	7
Off Eff	1.034	1.101
Def Eff	0.914	0.792
TO%	21.1%	17.7%
Off Reb %	42.2%	32.6%
Def Reb %	69.3%	71.7%

Wake rebounds on the offensive end of the floor very well but they tend to turn the ball over a bit too much, while Purdue forces turnovers to the tune of 28.3% of their opponents possessions. Wake is lead by Al-Farouq Aminu who is averaging 18.8 ppg and 11.2 rpg, he should be fun to watch but Purue's balance and overall efficiency should carry the Boilermakers to the home win here.

Northwestern @ NC State - NU is coming of a big win over the overrated Notre Dame Irish and NC State really hasn't played anybody yet. They did beat Auburn but that isn't a terribly impressive win. After the loss of Kevin Coble the Wildcats have turned to a the combo of Michael Thompson and John Shurna who are averaging a combined 32.7 ppg (48% of NU's offense), 9.4 rpg and 6.2 apg.

	Northwestern	NC State
KenPom Rank	87	46
Off Eff	1.086	1.068
Def Eff	0.978	0.895
TO%	18.4%	22.0%
Off Reb %	29.2%	35.2%
Def Reb %	64.1%	67.2%

This is one of the more interesting match-ups. The Wolfpack should be favored but Northwestern is a unique team to defend and could pose some problems for NC State. Northwestern has been pretty bad rebounding the ball this year and NC State has had their turnover problems. Whichever team can minimize their problem area the most will win this game. I'm calling the road upset here for Northwestern. I think they force just enough turnovers and then shoot their way to a win here.

Maryland @ Indiana -A lock for the ACC. Indiana is just too young, inexperienced and unimpressive to beat a decent but not great Maryland team. The Terps are on a two-game losing streak and really have not beaten anybody significant in this short season but I just don't see a way that Indiana pulls this one out. The Terps have four players averaging double-figures, three of whom are seniors. On the flip side Indiana is led by three players averaging 12 points or more per game but they include two freshman and a sophomore.

	Maryland	Indiana
KenPom Rank	51	189
Off Eff	1.028	0.945
Def Eff	0.868	0.966
TO%	15.2%	22.6%
Off Reb %	29.4%	33.6%
Def Reb %	66.3%	65.9%

This one will be a turnover fest for the Hoosiers. Maryland forces turnovers and Indiana loves to give it up. Add that to the fact that IU already struggles to score and you see why I have Maryland winning.

Michigan State @ North Carolina - My initial reaction is that this is another ACC win. The Tar Heels are just not a great match-up for Michigan State and the Spartans are on the road. Neither team has lived up to their preseason hype but the rematch of last year's NCAA final is the marquee match-up nonetheless.

	Michigan St	North Carolina
KenPom Rank	45	75
Off Eff	1.123	1.075
Def Eff	0.933	0.930
TO%	19.9%	22.8%
Off Reb %	43.4%	43.3%
Def Reb %	69.9%	69.2%

UNC has a turnover issue and they are not scoring nearly as efficiently as we are used to seeing Roy Williams team score. But Michigan State doesn't force many turnovers so I really don't expect that to be an issues. All other efficiency stats are virtually even. Both teams hold opponents to about .93 points per possession, both teams score right around 1.1 ppp and both teams rebound at near identical percentages. Whichever teams boxes out and keeps the Michigan State is probably a more experienced team but UNC is home and until the Spartans actually beat the Tar Heals I'm going with UNC.

Virginia Tech @ Iowa - I don't know that I need to spend much time on this one, Iowa is pretty bad this year.

	Virginia Tech	Iowa
KenPom Rank	145	207
Off Eff	0.915	0.955
Def Eff	0.886	0.995
TO%	16.3%	23.0%
Off Reb %	38.4%	32.6%
Def Reb %	69.3%	73.9%

On the surface and looking at the numbers I just don't see how Iowa gets this one done. Virginia Tech is also not very good and they struggle offensively more than Iowa does but I'd be surprised if they were to fall to the Hawkeyes.

Illinois @ Clemson - This might be the game I'm most looking forward to. Both teams are balanced with good inside/outside threats. Illinois is led by Demetri McCamey on the perimeter and Mike Davis on the interior. McCamey is averaging 12.7 ppg and 6.0 apg while Davis is averaging a double-double with 11.8 ppg and 10.0 rpg. For Clemson they are led by their senior forward Trevor Booker who is averaging 13.9 ppg and 8.7 rpg, but he's not alone as Tanner Smith is chipping in 11.6 ppg from the perimeter. These guys may not exactly guard each other but their match-ups should be a lot of fun to watch (especially if you like the color orange).

	Illinois	Clemson
KenPom Rank	83	10
Off Eff	1.089	1.125
Def Eff	0.967	0.843
TO%	15.6%	21.0%
Off Reb %	35.1%	39.6%
Def Reb %	74.7%	68.6%

Clemson is more efficient on offense but Illinois takes better care of the ball and their defensive rebounding is better. I want to go with Illinois here but after their losses to Bradley and Utah last week they make it really difficult to make that leap. Clemson will likely get the home W here.

Minnesota @ Miami - This is a Gopher blog so I'm going with a Gopher win. Miami is 7-0 but they have not played anybody of even relative significance.

	Minnesota	Miami
KenPom Rank	8	31
Off Eff	1.018	1.042
Def Eff	0.753	0.842
TO%	18.3%	26.5%
Off Reb %	31.2%	43.7%
Def Reb %	71.0%	71.4%

I think the numbers will back me up here. The Gopher offense struggles but this game comes down to defense and turnovers. Miami turns the ball over at an alarming rate and the Gophers offense thrives when the ball is given to them as much as the Hurricanes have been giving it up this year.

Boston College @ Michigan - A couple weeks ago I would have felt this was a lock for Michigan, but the Wolverines have struggled lately and this is going to be another tough match-up for them.

	Boston College	Michigan
KenPom Rank	82	130
Off Eff	1.174	1.034
Def Eff	1.032	0.979
TO%	18.3%	13.8%
Off Reb %	43.4%	29.9%
Def Reb %	70.7%	61.0%

Boston College is pretty efficient offensively but not so much on the defensive end. Michigan has really struggled with rebounding on both ends. The numbers support a BC win but when the lights get bright and when playing at home I expect Manny Harris to lead Michigan to a big win for the Big Ten. He can't do it alone but I think he'll be the catalyst.

Duke @ Wisconsin - I have great respect for Bo Ryan but Duke is just plain too good. I don't need to spend much time on this one. Wisconsin is experienced and it is at the Kohl Center but Duke is just too good.

	Duke	Wisconsin
KenPom Rank	3	50
Off Eff	1.188	1.096
Def Eff	0.809	0.920
TO%	15.5%	18.3%
Off Reb %	41.3%	32.2%
Def Reb %	67.6%	74.8%

The number support a Duke win. They rebound better, they take care of the ball better, they are are more efficient on both ends and they shoot better. This would be a huge shock if the Badgers were to pull this one out.

Florida State @ Ohio State - This also appears to be a really good match-up. Ohio State has been great in the early part of the season largely because Evan Turner has been outstanding. He is leading the Big Ten in rebounds (12.8) and assists (6.7). And also throwing in a decent 19.8 ppg which is third best in the league. He'll be the man the Seminoles should be most concerned about but they can't lose Jon Diebler who is making nearly four three-pointers per game and averaging 15.7 ppg. Florida State is athletic and lead by their own big time forward, Chris Singleton. He is averaging 12.3 ppg and 8.1 rpg. FSU is also big in the middle with Solomon Alabi and Xavier Gibson measuring out at 7-1 and 6-11 respectively.

	Florida St	Ohio St
KenPom Rank	17	25
Off Eff	0.992	1.132
Def Eff	0.758	0.895
TO%	26.4%	15.5%
Off Reb %	40.0%	34.1%
Def Reb %	68.4%	72.4%

Looking at the numbers FSU is very good defensively. They hold teams to just .758 points per possession which is third best in the country. They also hold teams to a 37.8 eFG% and block 22.9% of their opponents shots; both of which are also third best in the nation. This team will defend and it will be interesting to see if Turner, Diebler and Lighty can find some offense in this game. The Achilles heal of FSU is their turnover rate. When you give up the ball on 26.4% of your possessions you will allow good teams to stay in the game regardless of how good you are on defense. Ohio State is very good offensively scoring 1.132 pnts per possession and recording an eFG% of 59.5 (6th best in the country). If FSU continues to turn the ball over then I think OSU's offense will roll. Rebounding should be an important stat, but I think the key will be the turnovers. OSU wins this game at home.

After all of that (and one game in the books) I am seeing a Big Ten win, finally.

Big Ten -6 (PSU, Pur, Minn, OSU, Mich, NU)

ACC - 5 (Mary, Duke, UNC, VTech, Clem)

ACC/Big Ten Challenge Preview

Adam Hoge — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:50:04 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

22 days ago: Duke's Jon Scheyer drives to the basket against Connecticut's Kemba Walker during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Nov. 27, 2009, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Duke won 68-59. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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There’s been a lot of discussion that this might finally be the Big Ten’s year in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

I hate to break it to you, but keep dreaming.

Is the Big Ten even better than the stacked conference that sent seven teams to the NCAA Tournament and narrowly lost the Challenge 6-5 to the ACC last year? Yes. Will the ACC still win it again this year? Yes.

The Big Ten catches a break with Georgia Tech being the one ACC team that doesn’t play in the challenge this year, but the matchups were actually better suited for the conference to pull off the upset last season. Michigan State hosted North Carolina in Detroit and Purdue got Duke at home. The ACC won both of those matchups. Now the Spartans head to UNC and it will be up to Wisconsin to top the Blue Devils at home. That’s just one example, but as you take a look at the matchups, you will see that they aren’t exactly pointing towards a Big Ten win:

Monday
Penn State at Virginia
Two mediocre 4-2 teams go head-to-head to tip-off the challenge. Tie goes to the home team.
Pick: Virginia

Tuesday
Maryland at Indiana
The Terps had a rough week in Maui, but they are still better than the Hoosiers who are improving but not quite there.
Pick: Maryland

Michigan State at North Carolina
This is the biggest example of why the matchups favored the Big Ten more last season. MSU now has more experience, but instead of playing in Detroit, the Spartans have to play in Chapel Hill.
Pick: North Carolina

Northwestern at North Carolina State
Tough call because we don’t have a good gauge on how much better Sidney Lowe’s squad is after five relatively easy wins. NU looks good, but this is the kind of game the Cats typically drop on the road.
Pick: North Carolina State

Virginia Tech at Iowa
The Hokies are down, but Iowa is awful. Don’t let that first half against Texas fool you.
Pick: Virginia Tech

Wake Forest at Purdue
Wake has some good talent, but it lost Jeff Teague and now has to go to West Lafayette, where the Boilermakers look very good.
Pick: Purdue

Wednesday
Boston College at Michigan
This is one of three games that looked a lot better for the Big Ten last week. But despite coming off two losses in Orlando, I like the Wolverines at home in a close one.
Pick: Michigan

Duke at Wisconsin
This could be the swing game and no team is better at home than the Badgers who are 61-5 against non-conference foes at the Kohl Center. Still, despite shooting less than 30 percent, the Blue Devils crushed a good UConn team and they should beat the young Badgers.
Pick: Duke

Florida State at Ohio State
The Seminoles have the talent to push the Buckeyes but this is a game the Big Ten can’t afford to lose. Evan Turner will have another huge game.
Pick: Ohio State

Illinois at Clemson
This is another game that looked a lot better for the Big Ten a week ago. The Illini lost two straight to Utah and Bradley, while Clemson is ranked No. 19 after a tough loss to Texas A&M and good win over Butler.
Pick: Clemson

Minnesota at Miami
Yet another game that looked better for the Big Ten a week ago. The Gophers beat Butler, but then lost to Portland and Texas A&M. Meanwhile, Miami is 7-0. I still like the Gophers though and the Hurricanes haven’t faced any tough competition yet.
Pick: Minnesota

ACC wins challenge 7-4.