Was watching IU-Ohio State last night and saw the Big 10 standings. Purdue in 1st, Northwestern and Rutgers tied for 2nd. Northwestern!
Rainy day here so no golf, watched Mich State/Purdue. Purdue, or should I say Zack Edey, destroyed Michigan State. They seem to clearly be in control of the Big 10 at this point. If they don't have any injuries they should be a #1 seed come tourney time. I guess my question for you Big 10 guys, is this a one of year for Purdue or have they taken charge of the Big 10? For a long time it seemed like MSU was the team everybody was looking at, is that now Purdue. Are they recruiting at a high enough level to sustain it year to year? I guess the surprise is Michigan, they are barely a .500 team and Howard has been killing it in recruiting. What about IU? Are they getting healthy and up to challenging the Boilermakers. Has Izzo lost his fastball?
I can't speak for other teams, but Purdue has a legit very good team. I don't know how they'd do without Zach Edy, but I'm guessing they wouldn't be as dominant as they are with him. IMO he's the X factor in their domination of the Big 10.....so far. Whether it's a sign of things to come when Edy's gone, I have no idea. As far as IU, yes, they're healthy now, but IMO Woodson has them playing much better defensively which enables the offense to thrive. It's hard for me to be objective about either Purdue or IU, but I believe both will show up and advance in the tournament. Of course, I've said that before about other teams, and my record in the tournament brackets is not great, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Re: Izzo. Who knows? Maybe he has Mike Brey-itis.
Purdue is solid, good players, good coaching, and leadership, makes a complete package, MSU, Illinois,Wisconsin an, Indiana & Michigan have struggled at times this season. Rutgers has been solid for the most part. The remainder of the conference has been very poor.
Impressed by Purdue’s freshman guards. They carved up M’s defense last week and played solid defense.
Painter always has been able to pick off the best HS talent in Indiana, especially the past few years, as Woodson at IU has been focusing on 4 & 5 star national-level talent. Painter also seems to find big men who may be raw at the HS level and not heavily recruited, and he develops them into competent college centers. Edy is probably his best "big" recruit in recent memory. I believe a major factor also is Painter's gradual maturation as a head coach.
Yeah, I think they are kind of the "x" factor. Edey was supposed to continue to improve and be good...but nobody expected such good play from the true freshmen Smith and Loyer.
The college game has always been driven by guard play... if you've got two good ones, you can go far.
Last night, Maryland brought IU basketball back down to earth by aggressively and effectively defending TJD, and no one else stepped up. The "super" freshman had a very un-super night.
Watched some of the Maryland/Iowa womens game. Caitlan Clark is just amazing the basket must have looked like a lake for her. She was throwing it in from everywhere on the court. Had a big lead on a good Maryland team when I switched to the Houston/Wichita State game. Purdue/IU this weekend should be good. As Sid noted IU going after nat'l 5 star players and they will have a couple at the game that they supposedly lead in their recruitment.
IU in complete control of Purdue in the 1st half. Thought this would be close. Could still be of course but the Boilermakers need to heat up and IU to cool off.
If anyone watched the Michigan Ohio State basketball game this afternoon, please do not post any scores. I would like to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening. Thanks!
Big game tonight is Texas at KU. Longhorns sit atop the B12 standings and KU is uncharacteristically tied for 3rd with 4 teams, KU has lost 3 of it's last 5 games while Texas has won 4 of its last 5. Jayhawks need a win in a big way. No one is doing any talking or speculating on who will be the next Longhorn coach. Will it be the current "interim" coach Rodney Terry who has done a great job since Chris Beard had a fight with his wife and was fired, or will they say thianks but we want a big name and go out and hire an big name HC.