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Time to pile on the coaches
by Adam Hoge on Mar 9, 2010 12:09 PM CST
in UW Men's Basketball
11 comments
Coaches in every sport and every level love to take shots at the media and most of the time, it's probably justified.
Now it's time to turn the tables.
I have a number of problems with the Big Ten honors that came out Monday, but before we get to that, can someone please explain to me how the Badgers killed a bad Iowa team at home Wednesday and then dominated a desperate Illinois team on the road Sunday and fell in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll?
Badger fans often criticize the media for disrespecting Bo Ryan's teams, but I'd love to talk to one of the coaches that dropped UW on their poll. Forget the results of the games, did Jon Leuer not do enough to convince you that Wisconsin is a much better team it was just a week before?
OK, on to the All-Big Ten Men's Basketball Team that was released Monday (for reference you might want to review my choices). In the words of Bud Light's ridiculously confusing new slogan, here we go:
How in the world was Evan Turner not a unanimous selection for Player of the Year by the coaches?
Please tell me one of the coaches was not playing favorites when they filled out their ballot. Shall we go over the stats?
Turner finished No. 1 in points per game, No. 1 in rebounding, No. 2 in assists, and No. 2 in steals. How can you be a more complete player?
At the least the media got it right, voting him the UNANIMOUS player of the year. It was the easiest award on the ballot and somehow at least one of the coaches messed it up.
How did Bo Ryan not win Big Ten Coach of the Year?
This one is on both the coaches and the media. And actually, I already know the answer to this question. It's because of the anti-Bo Ryan sentiment that is out there among both the media and other Big Ten coaches.
They can deny it all they want, but I've heard from many credible sources behind the scenes that there are specifically two coaches -- I'm sure you can guess who they are -- that don't really care for Ryan too much. When the mic is on, they praise him, but the truth is that they can't stand playing against Ryan and they certainly can't stand losing to him.
11 comments | 0 recs |
B5Q's All-Big Ten Teams & Awards
by Adam Hoge on Mar 8, 2010 5:14 PM CST
in UW Men's Basketball
20 comments
First Team
Evan Turner, Ohio State
Talor Battle, Penn State
E'Twaun Moore, Purdue
John Shurna, Northwestern
Robbie Hummel, Purdue
Second Team
Kalin Lucas, Michigan State
Demetri McCamey, Illinois
Manny Harris, Michigan
DeShawn Sims, Michigan
JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
Third Team
Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin
Jon Leuer, Wisconsin
Michael Thompson, Northwestern
Draymond Green, Michigan State
Jon Diebler, Ohio State
20 comments | 0 recs |
Leuering them in
by Adam Hoge on Mar 7, 2010 5:45 PM CST
in UW Men's Basketball
6 comments
Badgers continue to improve as they deal Illini major blow
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Message sent.
The NCAA selection committee might have been watching Wisconsin's 72-57 win over Illinois Sunday wondering whether or not it should put the Illini in the tournament, but now the committee members have another dilemma: Should they bump the Badgers up a seed or two?
Wisconsin soundly beat a very desperate Illinois team that has now lost five of six games since winning in Madison Feb. 9 and with Jon Leuer playing some of the best basketball in the country, the Badgers are a very tough team to beat these days.
It's never been more evident than Sunday that Wisconsin is a completely different team with Leuer in the lineup. Just ask Illinois, which beat a Leuer-less Badgers team at the Kohl Center last month, but looked lost on their own floor this afternoon.
Just five games removed from returning to the lineup after a wrist injury, Leuer scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting despite battling foul trouble and his confidence appears to be at an all-time high. He routinely caught passes in the post Sunday and quickly beat any and every Illinois defender that tried to slow him down. Whether it was a jumper, hook shot, layup or dunk, the Illini had no answer for UW's big man.
6 comments | 0 recs |
LIVE GAME THREAD: No. 15 Wisconsin at Illinois
by Adam Hoge on Mar 7, 2010 11:55 AM CST
in UW Men's Basketball
222 comments
LIVE COVERAGE FROM ASSEMBLY HALL
|
Big Ten Basketball No. 17 Wisconsin at Illinois |
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|---|---|---|
 |
at |
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| 22-7 (12-5 Big Ten) | 18-12 (10-7 Big Ten) | |
|
March 7, 2010 1:00 PM CT Assembly Hall, Champaign, Ill. |
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TV: ESPN (Dave O'Brien and Steve Lavin) Radio: Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas) Opponent Blog: Hail to the Orange Coverage: Our Wisconsin-Illinois Game Page |
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All-time Series: Illinois leads 108-74 Last Meeting: Illinois won 63-56 (Feb. 9, 2010) |
||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Trevon Hughes | G | Demitri McCamey |
| Jordan Taylor | G | D.J. Richardson |
| Jason Bohannon | G/F | Bill Cole |
| Tim Jarmusz | F | Mike Davis |
| Keaton Nankivil | F | Mike Tisdale |
Welcome into our live game thread from Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill. It's Senior Day for the Illini and it also happens to be Unofficial St. Patrick's weekend on campus so the students here will either be extremely hungover or still drunk. Either way, the Orange Krush will likely muster up enough energy to make this a tough environment for the Badgers this afternoon.
The Illini have lost four of their last five games and as a result, today's game turns out to be the biggest game of their season. To get into the NCAA Tournament, Illinois will likely have to beat Wisconsin at least once this week as the two will likely meet again Friday in Indianapolis.
For a complete list of what is at stake today, as well as the keys to the game and my prediction, check out our game preview.
For now, feel free to leave your comments and predictions below. We'll have complete coverage all afternoon!
222 comments | 0 recs |
What's at stake in Champaign
by Adam Hoge on Mar 6, 2010 2:43 PM CST
in UW Men's Basketball
7 comments
On the list of games this weekend that are nearly impossible to predict, Sunday's contest between Wisconsin and Illinois in Champaign might be the toughest.
It would be real easy to take a glance at this game and assume Illinois will win because they are at home and appear to have a lot more at stake. The Illini badly need a win to earn an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Meanwhile, the common notion on the Badgers is that they have nothing to play for. Whoever this play-by-play guy is calling the Purdue-Penn State game on the Big Ten Network just said "no matter what happens tomorrow in Champaign the two teams will play as the No. 4 and 5 seeds Friday in the Big Ten Tournament."
OK, chances are that will happen. But technically, if Michigan beats Michigan State tomorrow and the Badgers win, then Wisconsin will get the No. 3 seed. The Spartans will be playing at home, but it’s a rivalry game and crazier things have happened.
But let’s just assume that Wisconsin will be the No. 4 seed in Indianapolis. Does that mean Bo Ryan should be pulling Peyton Manning with a second-half lead? Absolutely not.
7 comments | 0 recs |
Sunday's game bumped to 1 PM
For Immediate Release
March 4, 2010
Tip-off for Wisconsin’s regular-season finale at Illinois on Sunday, March 7 has been changed. The game will now begin at 1 p.m. (CT) with Dave O’Brien and Steve Lavin calling the action on ESPN.
No. 15 Wisconsin (22-7, 12-5) is looking to win its fourth-consecutive regular-season finale when the Badgers visit Assembly Hall. With a win at Illinois (18-12, 12-7), UW would reach 13 Big Ten wins for just the third time in school history, having also won 13 in 2007 and claiming 16 conference wins in 2008.
Be sure to join to Bucky's 5th Quarter Sunday for live coverage from Champaign!
6 days ago
Adam Hoge
5 comments
0 recs
Taking Center Stage
by Jbharris87 on Mar 3, 2010 11:27 PM CST
in UW Men's Basketball
11 comments
Leuer steals show on Senior Night as Badgers clamp down defensively on Big Ten's ugliest
MADISON, Wis. - This was supposed to be the night of the guards, an occasion to celebrate one of the most productive duos in Badger history. The end result - a Wisconsin victory over a truly awful Iowa squad - was a foregone conclusion. All that remained to be seen was how well the tandem of Jason Bohannon and Trevon Hughes would acquit themselves on a stage that was set for them.
Oh, they did quite well. The pair combined for 26 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Bo Ryan was certainly pleased and in a reflective mood.
"Just think about two guys going over 1,000 points in the same year, playing on NCAA tournament teams, conference championship teams, conference tournament champion teams," Ryan said. "That's pretty exciting. There are a lot of people who would like to be Jason Bohannon and Trevon Hughes."
But it was a junior forward who just couldn't wait until next year to steal the senior spotlight.
Jon Leuer raised eyebrows all night with his most complete performance since his return from a wrist injury. He poured in 18 points, snagged five rebounds, made four assists and recorded three emphatic blocks in 33 minutes on the court.
Leuer's barrage of athletic playmaking and pure shooting came in an efficient 8-of-9 performance from the field. He started early, scoring 12 of his points in the first half, and led the Badgers to their second straight blowout over a woefully overmatched opponent.
A stretch of pure dominance over about a two-and-a-half-minute span in the first half saw Leuer outscore the other nine players on the floor 10-0. These were no ordinary ten points, either.
Leuer took a lob from Bohannon and slammed it home for his first points in the spree. On the next possession, he was on the receiving end of a sweet pass from Jordan Taylor and dunked again.
After blocking a shot on the defensive end after an Iowa timeout, Leuer hustled down the court to take another pass from Taylor, this time behind the three-point line, and swish a beautiful trey. Amazingly, Leuer (and Taylor) still weren't finished. Following a missed jumper by Matt Gatens of the Hawkeyes, Leuer took another pass from Taylor in three-point land and notched his second straight triple.
Cue another burnt Iowa timeout in the midst of an 18-0 Wisconsin run.
11 comments | 0 recs |
LIVE GAME THREAD: Iowa at No. 15 Wisconsin
by Jbharris87 on Mar 3, 2010 7:15 PM CST
in UW Men's Basketball
46 comments
LIVE COVERAGE FROM THE KOHL CENTER
|
Big Ten Basketball Iowa at No. 15 Wisconsin |
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|---|---|---|
 |
at |
 |
| 10-19 (4-12 Big Ten) | 21-7 (11-5 Big Ten) | |
|
March 3, 2010 7:30 PM CT Kohl Center, Madison, Wis. |
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|
TV: Big Ten Network (Wayne Larrivee and Tim Doyle) Radio: Badgers Radio Network, Sirius 90/XM 196 (Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas) Opponent Blog: Black Heart Gold Pants Coverage: Our Wisconsin-Iowa Game Page |
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All-time Series: Iowa leads 76-75 Last Meeting: Wisconsin won 69-52 (February 13, 2009) |
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| Probable starters: | ||
| Cully Payne |
G | Trevon Hughes |
| Matt Gatens |
G | Jordan Taylor |
| Eric May |
G | Jason Bohannon |
| Aaron Fuller |
F | Jon Leuer |
| Jarryd Cole |
F | Keaton Nankivil |
Hello from the Kohl Center on one of the most special nights of the season - Senior Night! The game between Wisconsin and Iowa may be of secondary importance tonight. The Badgers were mathematically eliminated from contention for a share of the Big Ten title with Ohio State's win over Illinois last night. At the same time, they are a lock to make the NCAA tournament, so tonight's game will only impact seeding in the Big Dance as well as the Big Ten tourney. It also represents an opportunity to close out a typically successful campaign at the Kohl Center and build momentum for the postseason. This is, after all, when teams want to be playing their "best basketball."
Most significantly, tonight is a chance for the Badger faithful to honor two players who have contributed more than most to the Wisconsin Basketball program, Jason Bohannon and Trevon Hughes. The two guards are two of the top 25 scorers in team history, and both surpassed the 1,000-point mark this season. They each logged substantial minutes in all four of their seasons with Wisconsin. They are four victories away from becoming the winningest duo in program history. They have been to a Sweet 16 and won Big Ten regular season and tournament titles. They were on the only team in school history to hold the number one spot in the AP poll. And they have accomplished all of the above while garnering tremendous respect from their teammates, coaches and fans.
Bo Ryan has integrated a solid tradition of honoring his seniors both before and after the final home game of the season. In addition to the traditional entrance with family members, Hughes and Bohannon will take center court again after the game as the sellout crowd watches a video tribute to their collegiate careers. It is one way in which the program demonstrates its commitment to "four-year" athletes - guys who accept a scholarship at UW to grow, develop and earn a prestigious degree.
But, as Ryan said in his weekly press conference on Monday, the pair is capable of even more. They will get their chance to prove it in the coming weeks.
We'll be here all game long, so follow along in the comments section and feel free to leave a few of your own!
46 comments | 0 recs |
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Big Ten Conference Standings
(updated 3.8.2010 at 1:53 AM CST)
| Conf | Overall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
|
Purdue Boilermakers
|
14 | 4 | 26 | 4 |
|
Ohio St. Buckeyes
|
14 | 4 | 24 | 7 |
|
Michigan St. Spartans
|
14 | 4 | 24 | 7 |
|
Wisconsin Badgers
|
13 | 5 | 23 | 7 |
|
Illinois Fighting Illini
|
10 | 8 | 18 | 13 |
|
Minnesota Golden Gophers
|
9 | 9 | 18 | 12 |
|
Northwestern Wildcats
|
7 | 11 | 19 | 12 |
|
Michigan Wolverines
|
7 | 11 | 14 | 16 |
|
Indiana Hoosiers
|
4 | 14 | 10 | 20 |
|
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
4 | 14 | 10 | 21 |
|
Penn St. Nittany Lions
|
3 | 15 | 11 | 19 |
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