Big Ten Breakdown

Now that the Big Ten season is half way done, I am going to look forward and predict what each team will do for the rest of the season. As of now, Lunardi in his infinite wisdom has 4 teams in from the Big Ten. Let me start of by saying that Bracketology is a crock of shit. Every year, people are astounded by how accurate Lunardi is when he picks his bracket. By the time the bracket is released, there are really only about 5 teams that are on the bubble, and it is usually for 3 spots. How hard is this?? A person who knows nothing about basketball can get this correct. It would be really impressive if he was ever correct on his seeding, but he never is. Anyway, I bet that the Big Ten gets at least 5 teams, if not 6. The 6th team will be determined on how Northwestern finishes.

Big Ten Teams:

MSU - 19-3 (9-0)

Izzo is the best coach in college basketball, hands down. He doesn't get nearly the talent that teams like UNC, Duke, Texas, and Kansas get, yet every year Michigan State is awesome. This season is no different, MSU has won 14 out of their last 15 games, and I guarentee that if they played UNC, Texas or Florida (their 3 losses) today they would beat them easily. Here is a look at their upcoming schedule
@ Wisconsin
@ Illinois
Purdue
@ Penn State
@ Indiana
Ohio State
@ Purdue
Penn State
Michigan
I don't think that MSU will run the table in the Big Ten. They should win tonight against Wisconsin because without Luerer they are not the same team. I think that they will lose one road game against Purdue or Illinois, not because I think that either team is better, but those games will mean more to Purdue and UI. MSU is pretty much a lock for a #2 seed in the NCAA's and they probably can't make a run at a #1 seed. They also might get shocked at home once.
Final Big Ten Record (16-2)

Purdue 18-3 (6-3)

If Purdue can get Lewis Jackson back up to speed in the next 3 games, then they will be scary for the rest of the season. The only thing that they were missing this season was the playmaking that Jackson brings at the point. Moore and Grant have done a great job handling the guard position while he has been out, but with him back, it allows those two to move back to the 2 guard spot without having to rely on Freshman handling the point. JaJuan Johnson had his "Mike Davis" moment for 3 games, but he found his game again. It is a funny coincidence that he found his game against Mike Davis and the Illini. Since playing only 17 minutes and scoring only 8 points in a loss to Northwestern, Johnson has averaged 18 points over his last 4 games. Purdue's remaining games:
@ Indiana
@ MSU
Iowa
@ OSU
Illinois
@ Minnesota
MSU
Indiana
@ Penn State
The two games that I think Purdue loses in @ MSU and @ OSU, both of those teams match up really well against Purdue, and they both have strong big men that will give Johnson problems. Also they each have guards that can match up with E'Twuan Moore and a SF that can match up with Robbie Hummel. Their home game against MSU will be an awesome game, other than that, they shouldn't lose a game unless they completely lay an egg on the road at Minnesota.
Final Record 13-5

Wisconsin 16-5 (6-3)

Every year I think Wisconsin will be crap, and every year I am shocked when they are good. It's like being surprised that it gets cold in Chicago during winter. How well they play the rest of the season depends on how long Jon Leuer is out. Hughes is a stud, and Bohannon is the typical Bo Ryan slappy white guard who can shoot from anywhere, but beyond that the scoring is very inconsistant. Jordan Taylor will be another great guard for them in the next 2 years but he is only shooting 36% from the field in Big Ten play, and he is not shy about jacking shitty shots up. Keaton Nankivil has gone off in his last 2 games, but he needs to do it for the rest of the year for Wisconsin to have a shot at the second spot in the Big Ten. Wisco's remaining Schedule:
MSU
@ Michigan
Illinois
Indiana
@ Minnesota
Northwestern
@ Indiana
Iowa
@ Illinois

As always, Wisconsin doesn't lose at home. Their only loss at home this year has been against Gonzaga. I think they will lose to MSU tonight, but then after that, they have no home losses left on their schedule. Even without Leuer, their home court advantage will help them take care of the rest of their schedule. I think they will lose to Minnesota and Illinois on the road though, and possibly Michigan. At home Wisconsin is great at controlling the tempo, but on the road, I think Michigan will speed things up.
Final Big Ten Record: 12-6

Ohio State 16-6 (6-3)
OSU is the most talented team in the Big Ten. That is of course when Evan Turner is on the floor. What they don't have is depth. Thad Matta has done a fantastic job of recruiting one and done players who give his program absolutley nothing. I'm not forgetting about the National Championship run that they made a few years ago, they were the exception. Also they had 3 freshman who went pro after one season. This season they finally have a team that has played together for longer than a summer. With Evan Turner this team is more than capable of making the Sweet Sixteen. Here is their schedule

PSU
Iowa
@ Indiana
@ Illinois
Purdue
@ MSU
@ PSU
Michigan
Illinois

Having 4 out of 5 games on the road could break this team. They are going to need much more than a consistent triple double from Evan Turner every game. If they can get out of that strecth with 2 or less losses, they will end up either 2nd or 3rd in the Big Ten. They win on the road at Purdue was a great win for them, and if they can sweep the series, they will be second easily.
Final Big Ten Record: 13-5

Illinois 14-8 (6-3)

Illinois had by far the easiest Big Ten schedule to start conference play. Losing at Northwestern really hurt them, and their inconsistent play is really hindering their chances of getting to the NCAA Tournament. Demitri McCamey has been carrying this team while someone else chips in occasionaly. What the Illini need is for 2 out of Mike Tisdale, Mike Davis, Bill Cole or DJ Richardson to consistently play well. If that happens, then they are as good as anyone in the Big Ten not named Michigan State. The odds of that happening is pretty slim though. Illini remaining schedule:
@ Iowa
MSU
@ Wisconsin
OSU
@ Purdue
@ Michigan
Minnesota
@ OSU
Wisconsin

This schedule is brutal, and really if Illinois can go 3-1 at home it will be a miricle. They need to steal the Michigan road game and hopefully one other game to get into the tournament. Since we talk about the Illini all damn day here, I won't waste any more space on them.
Final Big Ten record: 11-7

Minnesota 13-8 (4-5)

The Fighting Tubby's have had a pretty up and down year. They should have been much better than they are, and in some games they do play up to their potential. Beating OSU in Evan Turner's second game back is their best win of the year besides beating Butler early in the season. OSU got them back in a big way by crushing them by over 20. Tubby Smith played a cake non conference schedule last season, and the same thing happened this season. Once the Big Ten season rolls around Minnesota isn't nearly as ready as they should be. They are 4-5 right now, and they still have some big games coming up. Tubby's remaining schedule:

@ PSU
Michigan
@ Northwestern
Wisconsin
Indiana
Purdue
@ Illinois
@ Michigan
Iowa

Minnesota took a page out of Duke's scheduling playbook and only had one non-conference road game, which they lost to Miami. A 12 point road win at Iowa means absolutley nothing, but an overtime road loss to Indiana means a lot. They MIGHT beat PSU on the road, but I really doubt they beat Northwestern, Illinois or Michigan on the road. They need to win out at home, but they won't beat Purdue, and probably won't beat Wisconsin either, although playing at the Barn is difficult because no one can shoot in that abomination of a sporting venue.

Final Big Ten Record: 8-10

Michigan 11-10 (4-5)

Like Minnesota, Michigan has only won one road game so far this season. I still think that DeShawn Simms and Manny Harris are two of the best players in the Big Ten. Considering Manny Harris leads the Big Ten in scoring and Simms is 5th, you would think Michigan would be much better than they are. They reason they suck is because Beilein has surrounded these two with a bunch of great white unathletic outside shooters who can't shoot for shit! This team is going to be garbage next season also when Simms and Harris are gone. They beauty of Michigan is that they can beat anyone when they get hot. The problem is they only shoot well once every 4 games. Their remaining schedule:

@ Northwestern
Wisconsin
@ Minnesota
@ Iowa
PSU
Illinois
@ OSU
Minnesota
@ MSU

I can't even begin to predict what Michigan will do. For all we know, they will lose at Iowa and PSU at home, but they will beat MSU, Wisconsin and OSU. If everything plays out the way it should though, they will beat PSU and Iowa and probably Minnesota. They also will have one other win somewhere, possibly tonight @ Northwestern.
Final Big Ten Record: 8-10

Indiana - 9-11 (3-5)
Indiana sucks! I hate Tom Crean, and don't understand why people think he is such an amazing coach? He went to the NCAA tournament 2 times with Dwayne Wade, who led him to a Final Four. The next 2 years he failed to win 20 games and made the NIT. Then he made the NCAA 3 times in a row winning only one game in 3 years. His career record is 205-132 with 83 of those wins coming with the best shooting guard in the NBA right now.
Indiana is a scrappy team, and they fight. Since they lost their best player though, this season is another complete and total loss for them. I hope Kelvin Sampson and Eric Gordon was worth it scumbags!! Their schedule

Purdue
@ Northwestern
OSU
@ Wisconsin
MSU
@ Minnesota
Wisconsin
@ Purdue
@ Iowa
Northwestern

I will give them 2 wins in this stretch. They might beat Iowa because they got embarrassed by them at home, and they could possibly beat Northwestern at home. I am being very nice here, and I'm not sure why, because realistically they shouldn't win any of these games.
Final Big Ten Record: 5-13

Northwestern 14-7 (3-6)

The stars were aligned for Northwestern as far as getting into the NCAA tournament this season. They had a ridiculously easy non-conference schedule, and they only had to play Purdue and MSU once. Then Kevin Coble (the ugliest man not only in the Big Ten, but all of college basketball) went down and everything looked like hell. They have played really well without him, and the system they run is perfect for the players they have. That being said, they are not a tournament team, and they won't make it. Their remaining schedule:

Michigan
Indiana
@ Iowa
Minnesota
PSU
@ Wisconsin
Iowa
@ PSU
Chicago State???
@ Indiana

They have by far the easiest road the rest of the way in the Big Ten. @ Wisconsin is their only remaining game against a ranked team. Like damn near everyone else in the Big Ten, they have only won one road game, but their road schedule is not that hard. I think they will lose 4-5 more games, and play in the NIT.
Final Big Ten Record: 8-10

Iowa 8-14 (2-7)

Iowa has no talent really at all on this team. They recruited talent, but they all either transferred once they realized that they had to live in Iowa, or they got suspended because they probably were hanging out with the football team. I don't know how Iowa turns things around, and I doubt they will with Lickliter as coach. Remaining Schedule:

Illinois
@OSU
Northwestern
@ Purdue
Michigan
@ Northwestern
Indiana
@ Wisconsin
@Minnesota

I really don't see Iowa winning any of these games although they did crush Indiana on the road, so maybe they can beat them at home. Really, who gives a shit. Maybe one more win.
Final Big Ten Record: 3-15

Penn State 8-13 (0-9)

Penn State is the wildcard in the Big Ten. There is no way that they should be this bad. Talor Battle is a stud, and I have a feeling that he will start to completely take over a couple games late in the season. They did lose a lot in the last 2 seasons, and the young players that they have are not stepping up. I just pray that Illinois does not get Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament because they will beat Illinois. Here is their remaining schedule:

@OSU
Minnesota
MSU
@ Northwestern
@ Michigan
Ohio State
Northwestern
@ MSU
Purdue

If you are any of the top 3 Big Ten teams, you do not want to get Penn State at the end of the season. When a team with this much talent has nothing to play for, they get really dangerous.
I will give them 2 wins.
Final Big Ten Record: 2-16