Big Ten Conference Notebook
Test #2: Aced.
Alando Tucker, welcome to the top of the national player of the year race. Tucker turned in his most dominating performance of the season as Wisconsin cleared its second consecutive Saturday hurdle, downing previously unbeaten Pittsburgh 89-75. Tucker paced the Badgers with 32 points and 10 rebounds – both season highs – and Brian Butch played like Badger fans anticipated, scoring a career-high 27 and grabbing 11 boards. Tucker was the story, though, canning threes, scoring in the post and delivering acrobatics throughout the contest. Wisconsin battered a very physical Panther squad, causing eight Pitt players to commit three or more fouls. The domination reached all across the stat sheet: Wisconsin coughed up the ball only eight times, made 31 free throws compared to Pitt’s 30 attempts and shot 50 percent from three-point territory. The win followed a 68-49 win against a struggling Wisconsin-Milwaukee team in which Wisconsin demonstrated its depth, with 10 players playing more than 10 minutes.
Don’t Forget About Us
Ask Cincinnati how dominating Ohio State can be. The Buckeyes closed the first half of their 72-50 drubbing with a 26-2 run and held the Bearcats scoreless during the final 9:44 of the half. We knew this team can score, but with Greg Oden’s presence in the middle, they are capable of shutting down anyone, evidenced by Cincinnati’s 14 first-half points. Oden finished the game with 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. He did, however, miss a shot after 18 consecutive made field goals during a three-game span. Not much of a consolation for future opponents.
Us Too…
Both Michigan and Illinois cruised to wins against smaller schools in their only contests of the week. The Wolverines handled Northern Illinois 67-52 behind Courtney Sims’ 21 points and 13 rebounds. They dominated virtually every aspect of the game, especially ball control, committing 10 fewer turnovers than the Huskies did. The Illini, who welcomed Brian Randle back into the starting lineup, wiped the floor with Belmont, 77-51. Typical balanced scoring and a 39-21 rebounding margin covered up the Orange Crush’s 22 turnovers. Michigan State escaped with an unimpressive 69-61 victory against Chicago State. Drew Neitzel led all scorers with 32 points, and freshman Isaiah Dahlman, usually a deep reserve, scored 11 points in 38 minutes as a starter. Tom Izzo started walk-on guards Brandon Darnton and DeMarcus Ducre in the second half in an attempt to pump up his regulars. It didn’t work. Chicago State closed the gap, drawing within four points in the final minute. The second-best win of the week belonged to Indiana, which cracked down defensively in the second half to beat Southern Illinois 57-47. The predictably low-scoring affair turned from sloppy to sparkling for the Hoosiers, who used a 12-0 second-half run to break open a tie game. A.J. Ratliff scored 14 of the Indiana bench’s 31 to lead the Hoosiers, who shot only 38 percent from the field.
Did You Notice Our Wins?
No, not really, Minnesota and Northwestern. Yes, the Gophers beat Central Florida 74-63 and Northwestern eked by Division III Wheaton 41-39, but neither team was impressive or inspiring. Minnesota’s Dan Coleman scored a career-high 29 points and appears to be a solid inside-outside scoring option. The Gophers also enjoyed a rare rebounding edge, snatching 42 rebounds to Central Florida’s 30. Northwestern, however, did not enjoy such an edge, claiming 14 less rebounds than its D-III opponent. Freshman Kevin Coble continued his surprising run, leading the Wildcats with 12 points. And while Northwestern continues to win tight games, it’s hard to get excited about a point-a-minute team.
At Least They Got a Win
Iowa would gladly have had either Minnesota’s or Northwestern’s week. The Hawkeyes suffered their first loss to Drake since 1978, ending a 27-game winning streak against the in-state rival and its head coach, former Iowa coach Tom Davis. And it wasn’t that close. The 75-59 loss included a 40-20 rebounding advantage for Drake, which limited Iowa to 39 percent shooting. Purdue lost a much closer game to a much better team, Butler, 68-65 Saturday. Teams may have been given a blueprint to shutting down Carl Landry, who had difficulty getting touches all day and finished the game with 12 points and five turnovers on just 2-of-5 shooting. Gordon Watt led the Boilermakers with 20 points and nine rebounds.
And Then There’s Penn State
Penn State may tease its fans all year. Just three days after a convincing, 21-point win against Long Island, the Nittany Lions fell to Southeastern Louisiana 69-66. Southeastern Louisiana? At home? With healthy Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley playing 40 minutes apiece? It doesn’t add up. Yes, Southeastern Louisiana guard Daryl Cohen made seven three-pointers, including a bomb as time expired. But Penn State shot 55 percent. This does not speak well of their defense. This team will still make some noise in the conference season. Just after losing to Minnesota.
