Comments on: Big Ten Conference Preview

By: Spartans Weblog » Big Ten Conference Season Preview, Tempo-Free-Aerial-Style

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:30:23 +0000

[...] can establish traditions simply by doing exactly what we did the previous year. And, last year, I previewed the Big Ten conference season by producing a tempo-free aerial based on the 11 Big Ten teams’ nonconference efficiency [...]

By: 2007-08 Season in Review « Spartans Weblog

2007-08 Season in Review « Spartans Weblog — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:14:40 +0000

[...] MSU was too inconsistent both from a game-to-game perspective and within a number of key games. Going into the conference season, I had hoped that MSU’s offensive balance would make them more consistent than the other [...]

By: MSU alum

MSU alum — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:46:31 +0000

Nice analysis..I do agree..putting too much on Gordon’s shoulders is not going to help Indiana….look what happened to them at Iowa last night…the game was tied at halftime and hoosiers just squeezed by… should have been a blowout after Iowa lost to teams like Drake.
Well, it has been a long time since MSU won the big ten title..that Izzo and company will be more hungry for the big 10 than Wisconsin.I really do not see Wisonsin winning 16 games..but kenpom disagrees with my thought.I guess MSU wins with 15-3 record and Indiana with 13-5 and tied with Wisconsin for second.

By: ray

ray — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:57:31 +0000

one more thing, i hope the big ten teams under all these new coaches adjust well in the coming years. it’s time again for big ten dominance…don’t you think?

By: ray

ray — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:47:40 +0000

as an iu fan, let me first say that the chances of iu having big ten success relies on much more than eric gordon. dj white is playing like a beast as the conference season is about to begin (similar to his domination in the pan am games), and he’s not really playing all that many minutes…yet. and as the other iu fan mentioned, iu is loaded in the guard spot. the only true drawback on this team is lack of experience in league play. iu is new to one another, perhaps the reason for a very unusually weak iu preconference schedule (much easier than all those years playing among the nation’s toughest schedules). they have youngsters, transfers, and returning players have been missing from the line-up in a number of games…but they are certainly not going to let any of the big ten fans down this year. they are back as a contender, and i’m not at all surprised to see them competing against wisconsin and michigan state for the crown. i believe that the schedule will play out quite nicely in favor of wisconsin, but i think that very few teams have the depth and athleticism of michigan state and indiana to take over the conference. i think that michigan state and indiana are on their way to memorable seasons. i would love to see a michigan state vs. indiana final four game, but then again i would like to see all four teams come from the big ten to silence the critics. i love iu, i love the big ten, and i loved reading your thoughts and predictions spartanblogger. let the games begin!
by the way, contrary to popular belief i think the most important newcomer wearing the cream and crimson this year is jamarcus ellis (national juco player of the year). he does everything. as sampson and his teammates put it, “jamarcus isn’t great at any one thing, but he is really, really good at everything.” eric gordon can be replaced by the hot hands of crawford, ratliff, and bassett.
the most important player on the team is certainly dj white. iu can compete without one or two of their guards and not miss a beat, but dj makes the hot-shooting guards all the better.
however, we sure like the fact that mr. gordon is calling bloomington his home!

By: spartanblogger

spartanblogger — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:49:41 +0000

Well, I won’t recant. But I’ll take it under advisement. I’m relying mainly on the stats here, which say that Gordon has taken nearly twice as many shooting opportunities (including FT opportunities) as any other guard on the IU team. He’s been extremely efficient with them (PPWS=1.35). It’ll be tough to keep that up in conference play, though.

Didn’t realize Ratliff was coming back for conference play.

It’s definitely a three-way race. And I’m not as sold on MSU being head and shoulders above IU and UW as many prognosticators are.

By: The Other 4 Four Guards on IU

The Other 4 Four Guards on IU — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:15:35 +0000

This post is dedicated to the depth of IU’s guards. Tonight @ Iowa will be the first time all five guards are available and in action. No team in the nation, let along the Big Ten, can come at you in waves like that of:

1) EJ (no description necessary)
2) Bassett (more of a combo point guard, but improved 3-point stroke)
3) Ellis (jumper needs work, but slashes, rebounds and distributes at a very high level)
4) Ratliff (solid perimter defender and 40% on 3’s last year) 5) Crawford (great at attacking the hoop, streaky shooter, long and athletic)

You’re sorely mistaken if you think the Hoosiers rely to heavily on EJ. Did you see what happened when he missed the game against Kentucky? One man goes down, another (Jordan Crawford) steps up. Granted Kentucky isn’t top-tier right now, but it was a dominant win w/o EJ’s services (and Armon Bassett’s as well). The bottom line is we played the entire non-conference schedule without all 5 of these guys in uniform, and in handful of instances only had 3 of them.

Care to recant your prediction? The Hoosier Nation will only give you one chance to redeem yourself.

By: JT

JT — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:40:38 +0000

just glad to see 4 of the first 5 conference games at home this year!

I was at the bowl game last week and I will say the MSU fans outnumbered the Eagle fans 5 to 1. I did hear some fans shouting “Matt Ryan goes to gay bars” that was pretty funny.

/sorry if only bball talk allowed here

By: spartanblogger

spartanblogger — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:29:38 +0000

Hubert, the games at IU and UW are clearly the two games MSU will go into as underdogs. Playing at Williams Arena is never easy–particularly with a scrappy Minnesota team to contend with this year. And finishing on the road vs. Illinois and Ohio State will be tough. Both teams will probably be fighting for NCAA tournament bids. MSU will do well to win 2 of those 5 games–while holding court 9 times at Breslin.

Spartalytical, I agree that Illinois could have a tough time staying in the upper tier of the conference. It’s just hard to see where the scoring will come from.

Be sure to check out UncleLar’s charts at happyvalleyhoops.com. Much slicker than the Spartans Weblog print-screen-from-Excel charts.

By: Spartalytical

Spartalytical — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 19:04:45 +0000

Great illustration of the offensive and defensive efficiencies. I’m anxious for conference play to start as I think some teams will rise up a bit while others equivalently drop off.

Indiana makes me nervous. Yes, they’re relying hugely on EG, but so far he’s been performing just as hugely. He is a freshman, and he will definitely be tested as the top half of the conference will provide stiffer competition than most of what IU’s seen so far this season. And they’re not entirely a one-man team, with the likes of White, Stemler, and others. But they hadn’t better look past Illinois, with the bad blood over Gordon. Should be fun to watch.

Wisconsin winning at Texas surprised me, and I’m not quite ready to believe they should be lumped in with MSU and IU, although I think they’ve got a better melded team than does Indiana. I’ve seen some of a couple of their games, and have just not been impressed. Maybe I need to see more. I think they’ll be tough to beat at home, but that didn’t seem to bother Marquette.

Below that, I’d bump Purdue a bit higher and drop Illinois a bit lower. Their numbers look okay, but I’m not sure what they’ve proved so far this year, eyeing their schedule.

I very much agree that Michigan State is the conference favorite. They’ve fielded good teams since their last conference crown, but league tournament hasn’t been friendly to them in the least. I look for that to change this year, as they look to have the best combination of talent and cohesiveness in the Big Ten.

Have fun down in the sun. Don’t put any strychnine in the guacamole.