Big Ten Bracket Challenge Winner!

After a great weekend of basketball it’s time to declare a winner for Mine and Fodor’s bracket challenge. To the surprise to no one who saw Fodor pick Indiana over Northwestern in the championship, I rolled to victory. I double his score and won 12-6.

Here is the break down.


Round 1 2 3 4 Total
Noffke 2 6 4 0 12
Fodor 2 4 0 0 6


Amazingly, there was only 1 time a lower ranked team defeated the higher ranked team which was when Ohio State beat Michigan in the semi-finals. I picked this right and got the lone bonus point for the tourney. According to CBS’ broadcast, this was the first time in Big Ten Tourney history that the 4 top teams all made it to the semi-finals.

Big Ten Tourny Bracket

I am finally making my glorious return to the Website. Why is that? It’s March Madness BABY! March is my 2nd favorite month of the year, mainly for the madness. I have already enjoyed some of the mid major brackets, 2 OT games last night and there’s a W. Kentucky blog sighting on ESPN2 right now. I am looking forward to Valparaiso Detriot tonight and pretty much any other action I can watch.

The main reason for this article though is, BIG TEN TOURNY!

Fodor and I are going head to head (If other ACSS writers want in cough Ryan cough cough Tim) we’d be down too.


Scoring is as follows.

Round 1: 1 Point
Round 2: 2 Points
Semi: 3 Points
Champions: 4 Points

1 Bonus point for correct upset picks.


Game 1.

#8 Iowa vs #9 Illinois

The Pick: Illinois

The Reason: I actually think Iowa will win this game, but I’m making this pick for 3 reasons.

1. The whole Leornard Meyers and his brother’s surprise story (http://deadspin.com/5890234/illinois-sophomore-meyers-leonard-gets-surprise-visit-from-marine-brother
2. Illinois’ campus is actually pretty close to Indy, so they should have a decent showing of support
3. This game is kind of a tossup in my mind, so I’ll take the bonus point for picking the upset.

#5 Indiana vs #12 Penn State

The Pick: Indiana

The Reason: Hoosier biased pick here. Penn State could give the Hoosiers some headaches and it is really hard to beat 1 team in the same season 3 times. Saying that, this is practically a home game and Indiana is way better.

#7 Northwestern vs #10 Minnesota

The Pick: Northwestern

The Reason: Part of me really wants to pick Minnesota, but Northwestern needs a win or two in this tourney to get their first ever ticket punched. What more motivation then that.

#6 Purdue vs #11 Nebraska

The Reason: Practically a home game for Purdue, Hummel will be motivated after fouling out in his last Big Ten regular season game. Also does anyone in Nebraska even know their team is playing? Purdue wins big


Round 2

#1 Michigan State vs #9 Illinois

The Pick: Michigan State

The Reason: Day Day is the best player in this game and won’t let his team lose their opening round game. Izzo excels in the tournaments. Just don’t see how Illinois wins

#4 Wisconsin vs #5 Indiana

The Pick:

The Reason: I actually think Indiana is the better team even though they are the lower ranked team. Wisconsin did better in the Big Ten but Indiana has the better overall resume. Indiana did lose to Wisconsin earlier in the year in Madison. Bo Ryan does get his team to play very smart and make no mistakes, but I don’t see them winning this game.

#2 Michigan vs #7 Northwestern

The Pick: Michigan

The Reason: I do feel Northwestern is a tournament team, but Michigan is the better overall team. I love watching Novak and Hardway Jr play and think they take care of business here.

#3 Ohio State vs #6 Purude

The Pick Ohio State

The Reason: Jared Sullinger. Purdue doesn’t match up well against Ohio State. They have no one who can really guard Sulligner and aren’t nearly as deep as the Buckeyes.


Round 3

#1 Michigan State vs #5 Indiana

The Pick: Indiana

The Reason: I think Indiana is going to play MSU the same way they did the last time they played each other. They will let Day Day get his, but play lock down defense on every other Michigan State player. The Hooisers have been playing with a little bit of swager lately and will use the friend neutral court crowd to advance to the Big Ten Finals

#2 Michigan vs # 3 Ohio State

The Pick: Ohio State

The Reason: Despite the fact Ohio State lost the last game of the season and finished last in the 3 way tie for first, I still think they are the most complete team in the Big Ten and that is why I’m picking them to win this game and…..

#3 Ohio State vs #5 Indiana

The Pick: Ohio Sate

I just read an interesting piece by Andy Staples discussing some potential issues with the Longhorn Network. The major discussion point wasn’t the fact that the Longhorn Network is going to make the school truck loads of cash. or the fact that now with ESPN, ESPN has incentive for the Longhorns to do well and get ratings, blurring the line for unbiased News/Sports reporting on them.

No, the main issue discussed is how the Longhorn Network is going to be showing High School games featuring kids who have verbally committed to Texas. This could be an unfair recruiting tool for Texas. However, it is likely to be deemed ok by the NCAA.

This got me thinking, if the Longhorn Network is going to show two dozen high school football games a year, why doesn’t the Big Ten Network do the same thing? Instead of watching Friday Night Tailgate (which in 4 years went from (yr 1)mildly entertaining, (Yr2) Hey! They figured it out, this is a good show, (Yr3) This is awful, (Yr4) I can’t believe this should could get worse, but it did.) why not show Gunner Kiel’s game so the IU fans can get a look at their future QB, as well as 3 other players. You don’t think Ohio State fans would have loved watching Terrelle Pryor his last year in High School?

The advantage of the BTN showing High School games over the Longhorn Network is they can show a game the features players that are going to multiple schools. If there was a matchup that featured players going to 4 different Big Ten schools, it would bring in 4 times the amount of viewers.

I say if Texas is going to do it, why not the Big Ten. They already have the Network in place, let’s use it to our advantage.

Big Ten Logo and Division Names

I am sure you guys have heard the names now and the new logo, but if you haven't here they are (sigh).

Leaders

Illinois
Indiana
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue
Wisconsin

Legends

Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnestoa
Northwestern
Nebraska

Yup those are the names. Yup they paid someone to come up with them. This ESPN clip basically sums up my feelings.




I like the old logo better. What are the 4 stages I should be feeling, denial, anger something like that.

OK, Hoosiers Fans, The Season Has Now Started

Indiana coasted through its first six home games, mostly allowing lesser teams to test their mettle in the first half before pulling away down the stretch. An undefeated (and untested) 6-0, the Hoosiers proceeded to let Boston College dictate the tone of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge game on the road this Wednesday, mounting a desperate second half comeback that fell short.

No, I'm not writing for Bleacher Report this year. So, now that I think about it, screw the formalities.

What do y'all think about this IU team? Okay, not this one exactly, but the 2011 edition.

I've got a couple of thoughts, which I will now obligingly share with you, in classic Peter Kingian Style:

1. Tom Crean and staff (and team!) have done a fantastic job on the recruiting trail. It's not just Cody Zeller and Yogi Ferrell, either. Ron Patterson and Hanner Perea are big-time signings. Austin Etherington is no joke. I'm not even going to talk about the Class of 2014, because hopefully I will have escaped this black hole of a college town by then.

1a. However, if the big-time recruits become the only positive of this season, I will not be pleased. If IU keeps losing and waiting on saviors, we're screwed. This sophomore class was ranked No. 5 nationally when they came in, and it's time for some results.

2. Speaking of which, Christian Watford has been an absolute beast so far. If he can stay healthy and maintain this intensity, he's in the running for some kind of All-Big Ten honors, even in a ridiculously stacked year.

3. Maurice Creek is not all the way back yet. The rust from a year of rehabbing really shows.

4. Don Fischer is still the best in the business. So far I've listened to almost every game on the radio while delivery driving - the addition of Coach Rory (and subtraction of Todd Leary) as the color man lets The Fish relax and have some fun with his job while Rory plays straight man - plus, considering he was coaching middle school ball this time last year, Rory knows his stuff.

5. I expect Jordan Hulls to stay in the starting lineup all year, along with Verdell and Watford. At some point, unless Creek starts to heat up, Oladipo is going to take his job. Same goes for Derek Elston with Tom Pritchard.

6. Ken Pomeroy's rankings are still the most valuable resource for college basketball fans on the interwebs. You can find them at www.kenpom.com. Presently, Pomeroy (who, yes, I have emailed back and forth with - does that count as name dropping? If so, I'm an ass.) has the Hoosiers at a shockingly decent No. 62 in the nation, with a projected final record of 16-14 (6-12). These projections are constantly being adjusted by algorithmical (HOW is that not a word, blogspot??) magic, so check back often.

6a. That No. 62 puts us ahead of Iowa, Penn State, and Michigan in the Big Ten. Frankly, we should be better than all of those teams this year.

6b. Our next true road game is against Kentucky, and I want to go. Pom has them at No. 6, and I believe the pollsters mostly agree, yes? Anyone up for a li'l Lexington road trip next Saturday?

6c. Ohio State at 3, Wisconsin at 5, Illinois at 11, Michigan State at 12. Ladies and gentlemen, the Big Ten's torchbearers for 2011. (Purdue is 18th, Minnesota 35th, Northwestern 52nd, then comes the Hoosiers. Eight bids? Hey, we can dream, right?)

7. I will be buying my tickets for this year's Big Ten Tournament as soon as they come out. Last year was a blast, so anybody that wants to join in on the quarter-betting tailgating action at Conseco in March, let me know! (Below: Devoe Joseph, probably my favorite guy to watch at the tourney last season.)

8. Yeah, yeah, I know, King does ten. But I'm not giving you any BS-y travel complaints! Okay, just one. I have travelled up and down I-65 six times in the last week and a half. The good exits? 140 (Starbucks, Taco Bell, Burger King), 168 (clean restrooms), 201 (subway at Pilot), 240 (Great big clean gas stations, and, umm, the Lion's Den, not that I've ever been there.). Also ate at the Chili's at 172, the Lafayette exit.

9. Hey, how 'bout Adam Dunn and AJ Pierzynski? I think Pauly is getting wooed pretty hard right now by a number of teams, but hopefully Kenny "All In" Williams can get the job done and get the Captain back on board.

9a. Bobby Jenks, good luck in middle relief in the NL.

10. According to scuttlebutt from my fellow senior writer Steve 'Snuffles' Noffke, Tommy Bowden is in the mix for the IU Football job. I'd be okay with that, but Mike Leach is still my favorite, if he would be willing to come north.

Big Ten BBall

This is not the epic return most of you probably hoped for, but atleast I'm back. IU football needs to win 2 of the next 3 against Wisconsin, Penn State and Purdue to make a bowl, that's probably not going to happen, so Let's look forward to BBall.

Here is SI.com's preview of Big Ten Basketball.

Weak Four in Big Ten Football

With ten out of the Big Ten's eleven teams in action this weekend, it's time for some exciting Midwestern football action, right?

Actually, not so much. Check out the schedule of B10 opponents this week. Spreads are from here. I'll do something fun with those at the end.

Two of those games could actually be decent. Penn State (-17.5) draws undefeated Temple - the Owls are leading the MAC after a convincing 30-16 win over UConn last week, and an overtime victory against Central Michigan in Week Two.

Speaking of the Chippewas, they are, sadly enough, the second best B10 opponent this week, and should give Northwestern (-9) as much of a challenge as Rice or Illinois State, at least.

The rest of the schedule makes me want to sleep in all day Saturday:

Michigan State vs. Northern Colorado (NL)
Wisconsin vs. Austin Peay (NL)
Ohio State (-42.5) vs. Eastern Michigan
Michigan (-23.5) vs. Bowling Green
Iowa (-28) vs. Ball State
Purdue (-13.5) vs. Toledo
Indiana (-21.5) vs. Akron
Minnesota (-4) vs. Northern Illinois

Meanwhile, the SEC is starting league play, as is the Pac-10. And we can't get a single major-conference opponent, anywhere?

On average (not counting the games without a line) the Big Ten is favored to win by SEVENTEEN AND A HALF POINTS PER GAME THIS WEEK! Can I get a nine-team parlay? (Screw you, Minnesota) Would it even pay me any money if I won it?

Big Ten Power Rankings, Week Three

This is just going to be a quick ranking, since the games start soon. Every Big Ten team is in action this Saturday. The top six teams are all undefeated.

1. No. 2 Ohio State (vs. Ohio) - The Buckeyes are fresh off a big win against Miami at home and get their in-state patsies at the Horseshoe. They'll be 3-0 by the second quarter, unlike two years ago, when they let the Bobcats (I think that's Ohio's mascot) hang in until almost the end of the game. Ohio already got their massive upset of the year when they beat Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament.

2. No. 11 Wisconsin (vs. Arizona State) - Ah, home cookin'. If Bucky Badger had to go to Tempe, this might be a more frightening matchup, but I expect Ball and Clay to run the ball about 66% of the time in this one, put us all to sleep, and leave Wisco undefeated at the end of the day.

3. No. 9 Iowa (at No. 24 Arizona) - The lone Big Ten team with a road game against a decent opponent this week, Iowa looks to prove itself and get a quality win that they can point to down the road.

4. Michigan State (vs. Notre Dame) - I know what the Noffkes will be watching. Prime time, ABC, 8 PM. After Sparty wins this one, I expect to get some offers on firebriankelly.com. Oh wait, I haven't bought it yet? Crap...

5. Northwestern (at Rice) - Dan Persa has looked like the real deal so far, as has the 'Cats defense and the new crew of wide receivers. The lack of a star running back will be NU's only Achilles heel this year. I expect a comfortable win against the Owls, even on the road.



6. No. 20 Michigan (vs. Massachussets) - Shoelace for Heisman? How ironic would it be if Denard Robinson beat out Terrelle Pryor for the trophy this year? Obviously UMass is a patsy, so you can expect the overhyping of Michigan to continue for another week, despite the fact that their defense is terrible and their offense is one-dimensional.

7. No. 22 Penn State (vs. Kent State) - Going from No. 1 Alabama on the road to Kent State at home is about the biggest dropoff in opponent quality I can imagine. This Nittany Lions team is one of the weakest I can remember, but they will look better today.

8. Indiana (at Western Kentucky) - Fred Glass has been so busy rebuilding the IU football culture (and doing a great job, by the way), that he forgot to schedule a Week Two game, and settled for a road date down in bluegrass country today. The Hoosiers had better win this game and stay undefeated.

9. Purdue (vs. Ball State) - They stink less than Illinois.

10. Illinois (vs. Northern Illinois) - Ron Zook gets a look at the type of team he'll probably be coaching next. A directional university, that is.

11. Minnesota (vs. No. 18 USC) - Who remembers Minny-Cal last year? Yeah, I'm expecting about the same. If the Gophers win this one, it would be one hell of a turnaround after losing to South Dakota State last week.

Big Ten Division Map

I finally found a good map that breaks out the divisions. If you couldn't tell the division are broken out in the color or thier names, red and blue.

Big Ten Power Rankings (Early Edition)

There's some easy parts and some tricky parts about deciding who the favorites are in Big Ten football this year. The easy? Well, you know Ohio State's gotta be the favorite. And you know who the top also-rans are -- it's Penn State, Iowa, and Wisconsin in some order.

Oh, and Illinois is terrible.

But the tough part? Deciding what to do with rankings number 5 through 10. Here's how I think the Big Ten is looking going into the 2010 season. Just for fun, I'll throw Nebraska in there too.

1. Ohio State - Terrelle Pryor is the conference's best Heisman candidate, although there are several others worth consideration.

With WR Dane Sanzenbacher back (and I didn't even look up that spelling!) as well as Rolle at linebacker, the Buckeyes are what we always expect them to be - a great team with great depth who won't spend any time outside of the Top Ten nationwide.

2. Iowa - Adrian Clayborn was the best defensive player in the Big Ten last year, and proved it with his highlight reel field goal block and TD return against Penn State. He's back this year to make his case as a top five NFL draft pick.

Ricky Stanzi? I'm not quite as sold. But the Hawkeyes are aiming for ten wins and a BCS game.

3. Wisconsin - John Clay is the Big Ten's best running back and a dark horse Heisman candidate - think Toby Gerhart, but Clay does it against better defenses. Wisco is coming off a big bowl win and looking to improve.

4. Penn State - Even though they lost a ton of players, JoePa recruits better than anyone not named Sweater Vest in the conference. Plus, that home field advantage at Happy Valley is awesome.

5. Northwestern - My love for Pat Fitzgerald is well-documented. He's Joe Paterno in diapers. The Wildcats are marketing Chicago hard this year, with hopes of improving attendance at Ryan Field, and I believe there are plenty of wannabe fans in the area that should flock to what is a thoroughly enjoyable gameday experience.

Dan Persa is more than capable at quarterback. The biggest question is whether the 'Cats can rely on Arby Fields to actually gain yardage at RB. Northwestern hasn't really had a good running back since Damien Anderson. Finding one would be a huge plus.

5a. Nebraska - That defense was one of the best in the nation last season, but loses Ndamukong Suh and Barry "Bears Practice Squad" Turner, and their offense is nothing to write home about.

However, cornerback Prince Amukamara (yes, I cheated here) is a superstar in waiting, and I expect the Blackshirts defense to make the Huskers' last season in the Big 12 a memorable one.

6. Michigan State - Kirk Cousins returns at quarterback, and is probably the Big Ten's biggest darkhorse Heisman hopeful as a junior. But Sparty has had a ton of offseason controversy and I just don't see them sneaking up on anyone.

7. Purdue - Miami transfer Robert Marve (QB) is carrying the hopes of Boiler Nation. Danny Hope is a good solid coach, but I don't know that Purdue has the depth or talent to do much more than hope for six wins.

8. Indiana - With Ben Chappell back at QB, and probably the best wide receivers in the entire Big Ten, Indiana figures to score a ton this year. Fred Glass has done a great job getting butts in seats at Memorial Stadium.

But after losing DEs Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton, LB Matt Mayberry, and safeties Austin Thomas and Nick Polk, the Hoosiers will have some serious issues on defense. Can the Replogle Brothers become the faces of a retooled D? They'll put up great stats, but IU looks to be giving up 28+ a game this year in the Big Ten.

However, soft out of conference matchups (Arkansas State is the best of the four) should guarantee at least four wins, or else Bill Lynch is a goner. Is it wrong to say that my heart wouldn't exactly be broken by that?

Whatever, I bought my season tickets.

9. Michigan - I thought Rich Rodriguez was amazing at West Virginia. What happened? It's looking more and more like Carr should have stayed in Ann Arbor, and Rich Rod should have stayed in Morgantown. Capital One Bowl > No Bowl.

10. Minnesota - If you can't win with talent like Eric Decker, you can't win without talent like Eric Decker. Tim Brewster is gone after this year.

11. Illinois - After a train wreck in 2009, Illinois isn't looking a whole lot better in 2010. It may be a long year in Champaign. And, by the way, I do expect Ron Zook to join Brewster on the firing line.

College Football Preview

As I have already stated, I hate pre-season rankings. I think in a sport with such high turnover, it is dumb to try and predict who is going to be good the coming year. The worst part about this, is pre-season rankings can have an impact on the National Title game. I personally don’t think any rankings should be produced until at least week 6. Will this happen? No, because pre-season rankings sell magazines and produce hits on websites. So instead of ranking teams, I am going to discuss teams and players who you should keep an eye on for next season as well as pick my conference champions.



ACC

I think the ACC, along with the Pac-10, will be the most competitive Automatic Qualifier (AQ, AKA the improper term BCS) conference this season. I could see any team winning the conference and see any number of teams winning either division. Georgia Tech is the defending champion and my pick to win the conference. Paul Johnson has gotten better each season in Atlanta and has one of the toughest offense to prepare for. UNC is a popular pick to win it as Butch Davis has settled in with some great recruiting classes. Miami, Clemson, Va Tech and FSU (needs a D though) should all be better this year. I could see any of these teams winning it. The one thing I expect from the ACC this year is a lot of close entertaining games, so the real winner (get ready for the lameness) will be the fans.

Champ: Georgia Tech

Big XII

The last year of the Big XII before it loses two members should be a good one. Nebraska, on its way out to join the Big Ten, is predicted to win the Big XII north based on the strength of the blackshirts even with the loss of Suh. Bo Pelini needs to find more ways to score then last season as the offense was the reason they didn’t win more. Phil Steele (One of College Football’s best prognosticators) has Oklahoma as his #1 team in the year. Who am I to disagree with him. The biggest weakness from last year’s team was O-Line is now one year better. Landry Jones (hopefully he will still be rocking his awesome mustache) also has a year of experience under him in a Bob Stoops offense that has never struggled to score points. Texas should be good again, but will suffer a drop off after losing the QB with the most wins in NCAA history in Colt McCoy. The team is stacked with Texas talent (all but 3 of the top 2 lines on the depth chart are from Texas) but will have to win the Red River Rivalry game if they want to win the South. Baylor will not be competing for the Big XII title but will be a team to watch because they have my personal favorite player in NCAA this year Robert Griffin.

Champs: Oklahoma

College Football is Coming!

Today we got a dispatch from Iraq (thanks, Alec) reminding us at the Superstar that while it may be 90 degrees outside right now (okay, maybe a bit hotter over there), we're not too far away from September in the grand scheme of things.

And you know what September means, boys and girls.
(that's right... three wins and high hopes for Indiana that will inevitably lead to heartbreak. The annual Bill Lynch tease.)

I digress. Here's a nice article from Hail to Purple regarding Northwestern's preseason rankings in the major magazines and online. Interesting tidbit: Because the big mags (like Athlon) tend to market to bigger audiences, NU almost always gets screwed over.

Also, more evidence that Mark Schlabach is an idiot; he "called NU one of the teams most likely to 'freefall' in 2009 vs. 2008 and predicted no bowl for the 'Cats."

I'm thinking we will have our own college football preview out soon, so let us know what you want to read about.

Thank Goodness IU is in the Big Ten

After all the hype and guess work followed by intense lobbying and jockeying for position it appears that the conference realignment has settled down for now. I for one have enjoyed most of the talk and am glad that the Big Ten landed Nebraska, my number one choice all along. I think what made the experience even more enjoyable was know my alma mater wasn’t going to be moving anywhere. It’s a good thing Indiana is in the Big Ten already, the reason why? Security.

All the major moves or attempted moves by conferences were clearly about 1 thing and 1 thing only. Football. As we all know Indiana is not a football power house. Of the Six Power conferences I’d say Indiana is the third worst football school. Duke is a clear choice for number one followed up by Iowa State who has never won the Big 8 or the Big XII North. I have Indiana at three but would be willing to listen to arguments about Vanderbilt and Baylor.

Secondly, Indiana is not a school with an extremely desirable television market that conferences might ignore whether the school has been successful on the field, like Rutgers. Indiana is in third place in football in the 16th most populated state and doesn’t exactly carry the TV markets of its two closest metropolitan areas which are Indianapolis (25th nationally) or Louisville (50th). No conferences are going out of their way to try to get a school like this.

If there was a bidding war for Big Ten teams, I see Indiana playing out much like Kansas. Yes the school is a huge brand name for basketball, but without the football to back it up, nobody really cares. Kansas was going to be left on the outside looking in, and I fear Indiana would have been in the same situation.

In all honesty, I think that’s the reason I enjoyed the conference realignment talk so much, cause I knew my school was safe. I think if I had been in a situation like Kansas, K-State or any other school that could have been left on the outside looking in, I would have been terrified about every rumor I heard. Needless to say, I’m glad Indiana is already in, because there would be no invitations coming if they weren’t.

IU Football Recruiting Update

A few weeks backed I mentioned the fast start that "Wild" Bill Lynch was having on the 2011 recruiting trail, and while there have been no more commitments since then, there is a bit of news on the recruiting front today:
IU officially has a 4 star and top 250 in the nation recruit committed - At least according to rivals.com. (One important thing to note is that signing day isn't until next February...and IU has seen their fair share of 4 star recruits burn them in the past...but it is still news-worthy today.)
The only info that I have on the kid (his name is Zach Shaw) is that he is a 6'3" 218 pound OLB from Coshocton, OH. According to rivals.com his only offers to date are from MAC teams which would make him an "under the radar" type prospect...but the numbers don't lie.

His profile on Rivals lists him with some remarkable stats as a Junior this past season: 228 tackles (228!) and 8 interceptions - he definitely fits the mold of athletic linebackers with incredible ball skills (4.84 40 yard dash, 4.47 short shuttle).

Mark me down as someone who doesn't completely buy into stars and their translation to college success (part of that stems from being an IU fan and convincing myself that there is reason for optomism each year), but this is still a nice development. Seeing this early recruiting success is good for the program.

Big 10 Coaches

I saw this picture on facebook and it was too good not to share. Here is the south park drawings of the coaches of the big 10 as it stands.

Big Ten Coaches Meet South Park

It was too big to post on here but still worth looking at.

Big Ten to Add 5 Teams? How Would The Conference Be Divided

ACSS reporter Derek Wilson is reporting

"A source in St. Louis familiar with the situation told NewsCenter 16 Thursday afternoon that Missouri will leave the Big XII and soon join the Big 10. Other schools expected to follow the Tigers are Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers and Nebraska."


Now should we believe this or not, is one thing. Instead of debating the merits of whether this is a good thing or this will actually happen, Derek and I debated how the conference should be arranged. Here’s what transpired


DerekWilson
you believe it...?
i'm guessing its not 100% true. 16 would be gigantic

Stephen Noffke
to become the big 16?
so what, for football, you have two 8 team divisions, and they'd play each of the 7 schools in their division and 1 from the other
or would you do 4 4-team divisions
that's a lot of school

DerekWilson
I like the 4 4 team divisions...but how do you pick the champ?
my guess is they move to a 9 or 10 game conference season
I wouldn't mind 10 (for IU)...two crappy non-conf teams to warm up
for OSU and those teams it makes it hard to want to play a good non conf team
...and what happens to IUs agreement to play mizzou in a few years..? haha

Stephen Noffke
well, I guess we are still agreeing to play them

DerekWilson
haha yea
how would you map out a two division conference though...

Stephen Noffke
Here’s a picture of the schools locations


you have to do east/west break up right? for travel purposes

DerekWilson
yea, i was thinking that
i got to Nebraska, Iowa, Mizzou, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin
and Pitt, Penn state, Rutgers, Syracuse, Indiana, Purdue
not sure what to do with OSU/MSU/Mich

Stephen Noffke
I was thinking IU Purdue would be the split
there's that natural gap between MSU/OSU/MU
and NU, PU, and IU

DerekWilson
so we wouldn't play Purdue every year?
I feel like they would have to be in the same division
Stephen Noffke
so you put us both in the east?

DerekWilson
its weird geographically

Stephen Noffke
I feel like we can't split up OSU/MU/MSU. MU has to be in the same conference as MSU and OSU

DerekWilson
yea
it looks like by that map IU would be out east
DerekWilsonCFM 8:51 am
we have no natural rivals in the east

Stephen Noffke
could we send NU out east?

DerekWilson
kinda in the same boat then...

Stephen Noffke
so, are we saying it's 8 team divisions, 10 leauge games, one permanent opponent, and 1 rotating across divisions?

DerekWilson
that i could see
for sure
then you can do IU out east (and i wouldn't go to any games)...I’d day move Purdue out east. good bye
or northwestern

Stephen Noffke I’d go to Columbus, Ann Arbor or East Lansing

DerekWilson
yea
thats true
and we would have a shot at beating Syracuse!

Stephen Noffke
and Rutgers
talent wise, the east would be stronger

DerekWilson
yea
especially basketball I think


(Derek and Steve decided on this split up and the cross division game every year.)


West
Iowa
Minnesota
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Mizzou
Purude
Northwestern
Illinois


East
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Syracuse
Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Indiana

Cross Division
Indiana Purude
Michigan Minnesota
Michigan State Wisconsin
Iowa Pittsburgh
Ohio State Nebraska
Penn State Mizzou
Rutgers Northwestern
Syracuse Illinois


Stephen Noffke crap, I found a flaw with my 4 4-team conferences
how would you get a champ game (Editor’s note: Steve completely missed Derek’s comment earlier)

DerekWilson
yea, that's exactly what i was thinking
you could do a BCS formula....haha
what you could do is big 16 conference...east - west divisions
then sub-divisions
something weird like that

Stephen Noffke
and then whoever had the best confrence record in each division (regaurdless of sub-division) would go to the title game
Here’s how the schedule would break out for each team. 8 Conference games. Of these 8 games 3 would be playing the 3 teams in your region. 3 games would be against teams that finished in the same place as you in the other three divisions. 1 rivalry game across regions (Indiana vs Purdue, Michigan vs Ohio State, Illinois vs Northwestern etc.) and 1 game rotating game.

DerekWilson
yea i guess


Stephen Noffke
The only problem with that, is what Michigan was in the same sub-division as MSU, NU and PU, so they get to play those three every year, while Nebraska has to play Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota every year.
maybe not a great example, but Nebraska plays a harder schedule and MU gets an easy one?
I guess that's just luck of the draw

DerekWilson
I think at this point its MSU #1 in that division
and they have an easy road
Michigan’s defense is going to be REALLY bad this year

Stephen Noffke
yea they are
or, Michigan plays OSU every year, will Purdue gets to beat up on IU every year

DerekWilson
haha, but don't forget that IU is going to go 13-0 this year

Stephen Noffke
of course

DerekWilson
wait, how did you pick sub-divisions? there is almost a natural geographic division that kinda works out...

Penn State Pittsburgh Rutgers Syracuse
Illinois Indiana Mizzou Purude
Michigan Michigan State Northwestern Ohio State
Iowa Minnesota Nebraska Wisconsin



Stephen Noffke
here is what I have

East/Lake Erie: Penn State Pittsburgh Rutgers Syracuse
South/Ohio River: Illinois Indiana Mizzou Ohio State
North/Lake Michigan: Michigan Michigan State Northwestern Purude
West/Mississippi River: Iowa Minnesota Nebraska Wisconsin

Yes I renamed the regions. North/South/East/West are generic, and yes I know, Rutgers/New Jersey Doesn’t touch Lake Erie and Nebraska isn’t on the Mississippi River.



so you went like, far east, near east, near west and far west in the divisions
DerekWilson
haha i guess
yea, i didn't take into account any cross divisional rivalries or anything

Stephen Noffke
yeah I didn't either, the only difference between us in OSU and PU

DerekWilson
yea, true


My Cross Division Games


Illinois Northwestern
Indiana Purude
Ohio State Michigan
Michigan State Penn State
Iowa Pittsburgh
Mizzou Nebraska
Syracuse Minnesota
Rutgers Wisconsin



So that's what Derek and I came up with. Clearly there is a lot to have to happen before this becomes reality. Even if it does happen there is a lot different ways one could break up the confrence. We just through out our ideas, but how would you guys out there break up the confrence? Any other ways besides the 8 and 4 team divisions?


Update:

Here is ESPN.com's Big Ten Blogger Adam Rittenberg's stance on the 4 4-Team Divisions

Chris from Kansas City, Mo., writes: Adam, what are your feeling on the recent report of the 4X4 plan? In this plan you would see the big ten take Missouri/Nebraska/Syracuse/Pittsburgh/Rutgers. Then put all 16 teams into four, four-team divisions?

Adam Rittenberg: The division argument has gained some traction among fans and media members, but I haven't heard much about it from legitimate Big Ten sources. This format likely would require two weeks of playoffs to determine a league champion, unless they had a way of selecting the top two division winners to meet in one championship game. Two weeks of playoffs seems pretty tricky scheduling-wise, especially for a league that saw plenty of resistance to moving the regular season after Thanksgiving. It would be important to create competitive balance within the divisions, and as I've said all along, geography shouldn't be the overriding factor in creating divisions. If putting Penn State with some new schools from the East makes sense, great. But if it screws up the competitive balance in the other three divisions, I'd rather see Penn State in the same division with an Iowa or a Wisconsin.

IU Recruiting Update

Don’t look now…but the IU football Hoosiers are making a strong early recruiting 2011 run. Through today the Hoosiers have reportedly gained commitments from 8 2011 football prospects – second most in the Big Ten (Big Fourteen?) behind Ohio State. Last year the Hoosiers didn’t land their first commit until JUCO CB Andre Kates committed in early May.

Here is a breakdown from ESPN regarding the current 2011 recruiting totals for each school:

The chart above is by no means a ranking of the classes – but you can see from the list that on sheer numbers alone IU is up there with the big boys. While the likes of Texas, Alabama, and Ohio State can point to recent success and hand-pick the kids they want, IU is still in the business of selling the future. It’s good to see the number of kids that are buying into it.

A lot of people will look at IUs commitment list and point to lack of BCS offers for the guys that are committed. While that may be true I think those people are a little short-sighted in there bashing of these kids – They are still in their Jr year of high school!! IU has to go after kids they have a shot at who are BCS caliber…but not 4 and 5 star guys. In my opinion all the kids that have committed would have received quite a few offers if they remained uncommitted and did the camp and combine circuit. (Sidenote – some of the schools that have offered at least one of these guys are Nebraska, Kansas, Purdue, Louisville, Duke, and basically all the MAC).

The other thing to keep in mind is the types of kids that IU is going after. So far the breakdown for the commitments is:

1 QB – A shifty QB who can run the wildcat.

2 OL – Games are won in the trenches…IU is learning that.

1 TE/DE – Looks like a guy who will play DE in the new 3-4 scheme.

4 LBs – All these guys are from Ohio…anybody knows that an Ohio kid knows football. Can’t have enough LBs either, especially in a 3-4.

Additional notes:

-IU already has 3 in-state commitments. Indiana high school football talent is rising and IU should benefit from this.

-Scout.com is the only recruiting service that has begun to rank the 2011 kids – the only IU player evaluated so far is Jake Reed, the TE/DE, who is ranked a 3 star player and the 25th best TE in the country.

-Each commit so far has commented on the new IU facilities in the North End Zone facility – IU finally has the facilities to compete with the best in the Big Ten and kids are taking notice.

-IU is going to beat Penn State and Iowa this year (couldn’t help myself)

My Big Ten All-Tournament Team and Awards

FIRST TEAM

G: Devoe Joseph, Minnesota - Biggest Surprise

G: Demetri McCamey, Illinois - Best Leadership

G: Evan Turner, Ohio State - Most Valuable Player

F: JaJuan Johnson, Purdue - The Go-To Guy

F: Colton Iverson, Minnesota - Can't Miss

SECOND TEAM

G: William Buford, Ohio State - Quietest Stat Stuffer

G: Manny Harris, Michigan - Toe-to-Toe with Turner

G: David Lighty, Ohio State - Glue Guy

F: Damian Johnson, Minnesota - Defensive Playmaker

F: Mike Tisdale, Illinois - Looks Like Bat Boy

HONORABLE MENTION

F: John Shurna, Northwestern - Looks like a Manager, Plays like a Pro

F: Mike Davis, Illinois - Big Rebounder

G: Chris Kramer, Purdue - Mr. Toughness

G: Kalin Lucas, Michigan State - The Little Big Man

G: Cully Payne, Iowa - The Diaper Dandy


Some of the other guys I considered included Ralph Sampson III, E'Twaun Moore, Jon Diebler, Lawrence Westbrook (only on defense), and the guy that won the Dickie V impression contest at the half. Oh, and the trampoline artists, too.

EDIT: Oh my, I almost forgot Manny Harris. Fix is coming.

The Case Against Purdue Fans

Michigan State fans hate Purdue fans.

Wisconsin fans hate Purdue fans.

Indiana fans, obviously, hate Purdue fans. And know how crappy West Lafayette is, too!

Even the best Purdue writer on the web right now, Tim Cary, thinks Purdue fans are rude. Oh and by the way, those fans were Chris Kramer's mom.

Here's the deal, people. I have been to every game of the Big Ten tournament until today. There have been amazing games and awful ones, standout players and choke artists, great random fans and really irritating ones.

But the one constant throughout has been the POOR SPORSTMANSHIP of the Purdue fans infesting the upper deck of Conseco.

They moaned, whined, and cried every single time a whistle went against them on Friday. And that was a lot of whistles - 52 fouls were called that game. Seriously, an incredulous cry went up from Boiler Nation every SINGLE time they lost a ball out of bounds or got a foul. It was unreal.

And then yesterday, as I tried my damnedest to be civil to the angry folks in black and gold sitting next to me, all they had was dirty looks and barely contained rage. No sense of humor. No willingness to talk basketball. Or have fun.

Look, I know losing Robbie Hummel for the season hurts. And I know that it's not fun watching your team get crushed 37-11 in the first half. But, as I pointed out, I have sat through endless awful games this year thanks to the Hoosiers - I have sympathy. My angry West Lafayettian neighbors took this as a personal insult to their "amazing" team, pointing out that "we're number six in the country, where's IU at?" And they were NOT joking.

I need to point out that there are lots of good Purdue fans out there, I'm sure of it. I saw a few stick it out til the bitter, bitter end of the Minnesota debacle yesterday, and I went out of my way to give them props for it.

But when you storm out with 6:30 left in the second, stopping only to flip off the Indiana fans who have bent over backwards not to trash talk, and even to sympathize, during a game that I would have LOVED to spend chortling over "Boiler Doooowwwwwwnnnnn...." - Well, that's not class. That's a way to ensure that every other fan of the Big Ten roots against you next weekend.

Please, good Purdue fans, prove me wrong. Have some class. Enjoy your team as well as you can. And try and ditch the negativity.

Day Three: Must Avoid Stadium Food

Yesterday was unbelievable. From the Evan Turner - Manny Harris duel goin' down right in front of our noses to the stunner that Minnesota, behind frosh Devoe Joseph (16 huge points, carried the Gophers in the 2nd half and OT), pulled on Michigan State, it was a wild-a** day of basketball action.

This is just a quickie because we have to leave B-Town again and get on up to Conseco (home away from home) Fieldhouse, but I'll just leave you all with this.

STADIUM FOOD EATEN:
(3) Donatos pepperoni pizzas
(1) Loaded baked potato (butter, cheddar, broccoli, bacon, southwestern corn salsa, sour cream, pretty sure I put some other stuff on there too but it was a long day, and that thing gave me the -itis real bad, it was just about naptime a few minutes after finishing.)
(2) Popcorn tubs
(1) Brat (AVOID - they're much better in Chicago)
(1) Giant twisty pretzel
(1) two-scoop Ritters waffle cone

I suspect there's more that I'm forgetting.... but you get the idea.

Today I'm rooting hard for Minnesota and against Purdue's horrible, whiny fan base. And (why not) for Illinois too. I will have much more on the fans and teams of the Big Ten Tournament 2010 later.

What a great baked potato.