I've been thinking about this a lot this year, and I'm glad someone finally posted about it. Although, in the aggregate, the team is right on pace for where many people thought they'd finish, the tough part to digest is how they've gotten here. They've been both way better and way worse than most thought they'd be. Everyone focuses on the Indiana game, but this team also had Illinois beat at Assembly Hall when the Illini were looking good, and they were in position to knock off Michigan at Crisler - and looked like they were every bit the team the Wolverines were. Then they go and lose to Iowa at home and look like cadavers in getting blown out by Purdue at home. Yes, most Big Ten teams have been up and down, but I struggle still to understand just who this team is and how good they are. My eyes tell me that the effort and intensity come and go.
You know, I might have been quoted about mid-way through the non-conference schedule saying that this was a team that didn't do a whole lot of things very well. After the Mbakwe injury, they exceeded my expectations, even though they failed to close the deal on a couple of potential wins. I didn't know they had that high a level of play in them. More lately they've disappointed me, only because of the flashes they showed earlier. This is going to be a tough season to evaluate when all is said and done.
