Big Ten Conference Notebook
The Big Ten in Numbers
With the conference season more than half over, and the column styles a little tired, we take a look at the current happenings in the Big Ten not through words, but numbers.
1: Loss, to Ohio State, in fifteen home games for Purdue this season. The Boilermakers have already won four at home in conference, one more than they won in Lafayette all of last season. Their ability to maintain a home court advantage is keeping them on the fringes of a tournament berth. With home games left against Indiana, Minnesota and Northwestern, Purdue has a good chance of winning at least six home games. If they can steal two more road victories, at Iowa and Northwestern perhaps, they’ll be at nine conference wins and in good shape. If they can win all three of their remaining home games, that may be enough for a 12-seed.
5: Of the top ten individual scoring performances belong to Iowa‘s Adam Haluska. His 34 points against Minnesota on Wednesday marked the highest total by a player in a conference game this season. He owns the second-best mark (33 against Indiana) as well. Haluska has carried the surprising Hawkeyes to a 6-4 conference mark. Their tournament chances aren’t as strong as Purdue, however, because a weak and unimpressive non-conference schedule put them way out of the conversation.
7.3: Points per game for Brian Randle, whose Illinois squad needs his leadership if they have eyes for the tourney. Randle’s points, rebounds, assists and minutes are down from last year, and his turnovers are up. Bruce Weber has found offense from unlikely sources, but Randle needs to be a focal point. At 6-5 in conference, the Illini are still very much alive in the postseason picture. A few more seven-point outings by Randle might doom them, though.
12: Points in the second half of Wednesday’s game at Purdue for Michigan State, setting numerous records for both teams. A tie game at halftime, Purdue outscored the Spartans by 24 in the last 20 minutes for the easy win. This is not a good sign for the Spartans, who have rarely, if ever, laid an egg that big under Tom Izzo. After a 4-2 start, MSU has lost four straight, and has two remaining games against both Michigan and Wisconsin, and a home battle against Indiana.
23: Points scored by Mike Conley, Jr. in Ohio State‘s 76-63 win over Michigan Wednesday. Buckeye fans have to be encouraged by Conley’s newfound aggressive attitude, as he provides them with another scoring option. His new attacking style, coupled with his ability to create and dish, makes him that much more difficult to guard. He’s averaged 17 ppg in the last three games, compared to only 8 a game in the Buckeyes’ first seven conference tilts.
49: Points per game scored by Northwestern in conference games. They’ve yet to hit 60, and managed only 43 in an ugly home loss to Illinois Wednesday. The Wildcats have also only managed 49 made free throws in ten conference games. That’s nothing short of pathetic. In fact, twice in this year’s conference season, Northwestern has made only one free throw in an entire game.
63: Percent shooting by Minnesota in Wednesday’s home loss to Iowa. That’s right; the Gophers made nearly two of every three shots, and lost. By 13. At home. Unfortunately for Minnesota, their best offensive performance of the conference season coincided with their worst defensive effort. The Gophs scored 13 more points (78) than they had in any other conference game, but gave up 21 more (91) than had previously allowed.
73: Points per game given up in conference games by Penn State, the major reason the Nittany Lions are 1-8 this conference season. Nobody has questioned PSU’s ability to score, as they scored an all-time Big Ten record 129 points in a game against VMI, but their inability to stop anyone has doomed them. A lack of quickness on the perimeter and lack of size on the interior does not translate to many wins. In a conference dominated by slow, physical play, it would be difficult for any team to post a desirable record giving up as many points as PSU does.
77: Three-point field goals made by Indiana in nine conference games. They lead the conference in that category, and are shooting over 40% as a team from deep. Guard Roderick Wilmont launched 17 3s by himself in a game against Penn State (he made seven). Those numbers are promising for the Hoosiers, who sit solidly in third place in conference and appear to be headed to the NCAA tournament. With D.J. White packing the paint, Indiana can float several shooters around the arc and strike from all over the court.
199: Career blocks for Courtney Sims, who (did you have any clue?) is the all-time leader in that category at Michigan. Joining him on the career list is Brent Petway, who sits in sixth place with 132. And then there’s Ekpe Udoh, who notched nine swats in one game this season. The Wolverines are second in the conference in blocks, and their interior defense is the best chance they have of making a late run at the tournament. They are still in position to do so, at 4-5 in conference, but need to start immediately.
1,999: Career points for Wisconsin‘s Alando Tucker, who will become the first Big Ten player to reach 2000 points since Indiana’s A.J. Guyton did so in 2000. Wow. He’s also closing in on Michael Finley as the all-time leading scorer in Badger history. One of the most exciting players to watch, Tucker has been consistent all year long, and has boosted his play when needed. His ability to take over games is one of the reasons I feel Wisconsin will win the Big Ten title and earn themselves a No. 1 seed.
