Big Ten Conference Notebook
The Big Ten enjoyed familiar non-conference success last week, preying mostly on out-matched opponents just happy to be playing on a major conference court. The conference posted an overall record of 20-5, and no team had a losing record for the week.
Illinois led the charge, posting a 4-0 mark, outscoring their opponents by over 30 points per contest. Even more impressive are the circumstances in which they pronounced their superiority. In their opening victory over Austin Peay, the Illini lost starters Brian Randle (groin) and Jamar Smith (ankle) to injuries, and neither of them were able to play in the next three outings. Smith, who played long enough in the opener to drain five 3-pointers, could be out for a month. Picking up the slack was sophomore guard Trent Meacham, who scored an average of seventeen points in the last three games, netting thirteen 3s in those contests. It looks as though the Orange Crush haven’t lost much horsepower from years past.
Several teams notched two wins without defeat, including conference favorites Wisconsin. The Badgers thumped Wisconsin-Green Bay and Southern. Alando Tucker played well in limited minutes, averaging 17 ppg. Badger fans may have reason to worry, however. They were out-rebounded by UW-Green Bay and were 19-34 from the free throw line on the night. Not promising stats considering the grind-it-out style of the Big Ten.
Quite impressive in its two victories, Michigan and center Courtney Sims look to finally live up to expectations. Sims averaged 19 points and 8 rebounds in wins over Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Harvard, and shot 15-19 from the floor. Anything stronger than a detectable pulse from Sims could mean big things for the Wolverines.
Minnesota also went 2-0, handling North Dakota State and Long Island easily. Lawrence McKenzie led the scoring charge, averaging 22 points and four 3-pointers. The Gophers’ opponents shot a combined 30% from the field.
Purdue rounds out the 2-0 list after soundly beating Western Carolina and Northern Colorado. The Boilermakers welcomed back forward Carl Landry, a dominating inside presence they sorely missed.
Ohio State continued to blitz its opponents, trouncing Eastern Kentucky by 30. Daequan Cook scored 22 points off the bench and the Buckeyes used their quickness and depth to garner 15 steals and force 26 turnovers.
Indiana tallied three wins on the week, but dropped a low-scoring affair to Horizon League power Butler. D.J. White, when not in foul trouble, played well, and Kelvin Sampson may have found a reliable 3-point specialist in junior forward Lance Stemler. In the Hoosiers’ last two victories, Stemler was a combined 10-16 from deep.
Steve Alford kicked off his new-contract era with Iowa victories over the Citadel and Toledo, before a difficult road loss to Alabama grounded the Hawkeyes. Senior leader Adam Haluska led the way with 29 points in the opener, and freshman Tyler Smith crashed the scene, averaging 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5 assists in their last two games.
Drew Neitzel led Michigan State to a dramatic win over Texas in the 2K Sports Classic supporting Coaches vs. Cancer, hitting the game-winning shot with 2.4 seconds remaining. Neitzel’s 21 points were not enough, however, to bring the Spartans the tournament title, as they fell to Maryland in the championship game. One stat for Spartan fans to lean on: MSU out-rebounded their opponents by 19 in the two games, rousing memories of Tom Izzo’s most dominant teams.
The conference’s perennial bottom-feeders, Penn State and Northwestern, each went 1-1, with Northwestern losing to Harvard and Penn State falling to Stony Brook. Northwestern’s Tim Doyle continues to do as much of everything as his scrappy body allows him, totaling 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in the Wildcats’ two games. And forget Stony Brook; Penn State’s biggest concern is the health of star Geary Claxton, who is out with a broken finger.
