Left, Right, and Centered

Big Ten Tourney Breakdown March 16, 2013

Left after the Arrogant Yellow lost yesterday but watched some of the other games on TV. Altho the best game on last night was the Simeon/Proviso East State Semifinal. Six division 1 players out on the court at once, was like a mid-level college game. Simeon, with Jabari Parker going to Duke, won and is in line for their fourth straight state tournament .

  Back to the Big Ten:

Indiana/ Illinois. Indiana was simply a better team. Illinois can beat them as they showed but Indiana is clearly superior. Indiana is the best team in the Big Ten but they are certainly not unbeatable. Prone to turnovers, some of their players do not have high basketball IQs.  Their guys who can shoot are not quick and their guys who are quick can not shoot.  Zeller might be the league’s best player and he is good, but perhaps a little soft. Think Scott May of the 2010′s (for you blogmate). Well coached and never panic.

Badgers/Arrogant Yellow. I had to sit in the Michigan section. Next to two typical Michigan fans (the word typical there may be superfluous). They could not fathom how their guys could get beat by “a crap team like Wisconsin”. They don’t call them the Arrogant Yellow for nothing. IT is true four of the five Michigan players would start for Wisconsin. What those dopes fail to comprehend is how well disciplined Wisconsin is. They are not quick but they play as a team. They scored 17 points in the first half but they searched for the right matchups and eventually found them, then scored over 50 in the second half. They ground Michigan down with fundamentals and smart play. Michigan devolved to Trey Burke who is a splendid player but tries to do too much sometimes. Glen Robinson Whatever number is not ready for prime-time yet. Michigan still doesn’t have inside game.

Nebraska/ Ohio State- Should have played in football. Game was a mismatch. Ohio State is athletic, agile and Craft is a very savvy player. They are very good. But I remain unconinced about how disciplined they are, especially in late game situations.  

MSU/Hawkeye- Iowa is playing good basketball now. Would be a formidable tournament team if they get there. But MSU is better. MSU does not shoot very well but they win games with defense and an interior game. MSU always rebounds. Izzo is one of the three best coaches in college basketball, maybe #1. 

don’t know if I am going today- my tickets come from my Michigan friend who was disgusted.

But the games:

Indiana/Wisconsin- Indiana is the better team. But A victory is not certain. Wisconsin will find ways to grind Indiana down. Ultimately though I think Indiana has too many weapons for Wisconsin. Zeller is a tough match.  Oladipo is a tough match and Indiana ahs a better defense than Michigan did. Indiana wins (but an upset is certainly possible).

MSU/Ohio State- close game. I think Ohio State is slightly better talent wise, but MSU is better coached. I think Ohio State will win a close game because they can neutralize MSU strengths. But if the game is close with two minutes, one or two possessions, I’d bet MSU.