WBB: B1G Congerence Games 2015-16

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Ignatius L Hoops

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The no one asked, pre-conference, guide to the B1G:


THE CONTENDERS:

Maryland (11-1): Despite losing their best player (Lexie Brown) to Duke, the Terps remain the favorites. Their best non-conference opponents were South Dakota State, Syracuse and UConn (an 83-73 loss).

Ohio State (8-3): If Georgetown transfer Shayla Cooper can provide an inside presence (and keep from being suspended) for the dynamic guard combo of Ameryst Alston and Kelsey Mitchell, the Buckeyes can chase down Maryland. Ohio State’s three non-conference losses were to NCAA championship contenders (UConn, Norter Dame and South Carolina).


HEY! WE’RE STILL AROIUND:

Northwestern (11-1): The Wildcats, led by Nia Coffey, looked like they could match Maryland and OSU until that inexplicable loss to Loyola. The Wildcats tend to revert to bad habits (Coffey running over defenders and Ashley Deary getting out of control, etc).

Michigan State (9-2): Suzy Merchant, who Jerry Kill convinced to become a head coach at Saginaw State, has Aerial Powers who, like a long line of successful MSU star players, plays how and where she wants to play. And it works.

Rutgers (9-3): To no one’s surprise, Rutgers ended the B1G non-conference season last in scoring average (61.2) and first in scoring defense (52.1). No one enjoys ugly basketball more than C Vivian Stringer. Missing 22 shots in a row is not out of place in Piscataway.

Iowa (10-2): The Hawkeyes are as close to a plug and play team as you can get. Lisa Bluder recruits to a system and piles up regular season wins. Yes, it annoys me.

Nebraska (9-2): The Corn Huskers mystery- it’s not clear that Rachel Theriot is close to 100% recovered and whether Freshman Jessica Shepard can dominate the paint. Nebraska’s best non-conference win was a two point victory over a depleted Creighton.


A LOT TO PROVE:

Purdue (9-2): As usual, the Boilers are expected to contend. Also, as usual I’ll wait until they prove it. Once again, the Boilermakers have height; but are led by their guards-one of whom is the 6’2” Bridgitt Perry.

Michigan (8-3): I remain a Kim Barnes-Arico sceptic. The Wolverines always seem one player short.

Minnesota (8-3): Okay, I don’t want to list my favorite club with the dregs. So there you go. Minnesota doesn’t face Ohio State and Maryland until the last two games of the season. Last year’s Maryland/Gopher tilt was simply one of the best.


THE DREGS:

Illinois (7-4): Most of Illinois’ best players bailed and filed suit after the season. “Buzz” defense guru, assistant coach Mike Divilbiss, took the fall. They do have Chatrice White and the knowledge that the Gophers appear to be the only team consistently baffled by the Illini press.

Indiana (8-4): Most of Indiana’s best players bailed after the season. New head coach Teri Moren’s defense was a lot less fun to play than old head coach Curt Miller’s offense. Following Curt Miller’s mysterious exit from IU, he became an assistant coach for the LA Sparks and recently took the head coaching position with the Connecticut Sun.

Wisconsin (4-6): Bobby Kelsey’s last year in Badger Red-or so the betting trends. I still loved her “coaching is hard” presser.

Penn State (8-6): Not that long ago multiple champion Penn State was the toast of the B1G. Then Coquese Washington very publicly turned down the Michigan job and the Lady Lions have become toast.
 

The Ring in the New Year B1G Openers:

(24) Michigan State @ (9) Ohio State
Purdue @ Michigan
Minnesota @ Rutgers
Iowa @ Nebraska
(14) Northwestern @ Penn State
(6) Maryland @ Illinois
Indiana @ Wisconsin

Keep a close eye on Michigan State/OSU and Iowa/Nebraska.
 

Around the B1G on opening day:

Upset in Happy Valley; once again Northwestern loses to the Lady Lions 79-72. PSU’s guards Brianna Banks (25 points) and Teniya Page (27 points) led the scoring. Northwestern’s Maggie Lyon fouled out with 14 points. Penn State stormed back to lead by two at the end of the 3rd; but the Lady Lions got back in control. Northwestern was 26-78 from the field.

Purdue defeated Michigan in Ann Arbor 65-63 in a terrific battle I caught after the Gopher game. Purdue’s Ashley Morisette nailed a three with 7 seconds remaining giving the Boilers the lead. Michigan’s Boogie Brozoski was fouled on a three point attempt with .3 remaining. Boogie hit one and that was that.

In a brutal battle in Columbus, Ohio State outlasted Michigan State 85-80. Four Spartans and one Buckeye fouled out. OSU’s all everything, Kelsey Mitchell was 6-22 (0-10 from three) from the field but 13-13 from the line for 23 points. It looked like a difficult game to officiate.

Iowa knocked of Nebraska in Lincoln 74-68. Iowa led by as much as 16. Nebraska got to within four in the fourth but suffered their fourth straight loss to the Hawkeyes. Iowa out rebounded Nebraska and the Huskers 6’4”, 6’5” front line 51-29.
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
OSU’s all everything, Kelsey Mitchell was 6-22 (0-10 from three) from the field but 13-13 from the line for 23 points.
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Wouldn't that add up to 25 pts? Hey, this was the kind of stat line that was typical of this year's WNBA MVP, so she must doing something right.
 

Shades said:
Wouldn't that add up to 25 pts? Hey, this was the kind of stat line that was typical of this year's WNBA MVP, so she must doing something right.
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Yep, it was Kelsey's running mate Alston with 23 points.

Plenty of strange stats: MSU out rebounded OSU 49-31. OSU was 2-20 from three while MSU was 8-19. MSU did have 21 turnovers (11 of those in the first 12 minutes of the game) to OSU's 12. More to the point, Mitchell, Alston and Cooper can really force teams to foul.

Also, I can see why the Hines got called for the technical; but really, she didn't throw Craft to the court. Then I thought maybe Hines said a magic word or three; but two referees Teed her at the same time, one from half-court. Despite it all, Merchant remained fairly calm.
 


I believe BTN+ doesn't show games that are shown on BTN (which is a crock). Did you watch the whole game or find a highlights package somewhere?
 

Shades said:
I believe BTN+ doesn't show games that are shown on BTN (which is a crock). Did you watch the whole game or find a highlights package somewhere?
Click to expand...

I watched the game; although my primary attention was on the first half of the Gopher game which was concurrent with the second half of the MSU/OSU game. With Infinity I can watch BTN games on line or in replay.

Yesterday was Penn State's 10th straight win over Northwestern. The last time the Wildcats beat the Lady Lions was in 2008. I think, Minnesota's longest current B1G losing streak is to Rutgers (two games).
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
I watched the game; although my primary attention was on the first half of the Gopher game which was concurrent with the second half of the MSU/OSU game. With Infinity I can watch BTN games on line or in replay.

Yesterday was Penn State's 10th straight win over Northwestern. The last time the Wildcats beat the Lady Lions was in 2008. I think, Minnesota's longest current B1G losing streak is to Rutgers (two games).
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Your thoughts. Will the ladies make the dance?
 

ruppertflywheel said:
Your thoughts. Will the ladies make the dance?
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Simple answer-no. Optimistic answer-yesterday they looked like an NCAA team for almost three quarters.

One problem is that (compared to last season) it’s really unclear how many B1G teams will be in the tournament. However, we will know the answer pretty quickly because the easiest part of Minnesota's schedule is coming up. These are all beatable, by the Gophers, teams. But, PLEASE! Can we not panic when Illinois presses?

Upcoming games:

PSU, @ Illinois, Michigan, @ Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern, @ Wisconsin, Illinois, @ Michigan

However, even if Minnesota gets seven wins out of that group they’ll need to sneak a couple of more victories before finishing @ Michigan State, Ohio State, and @ Maryland.
 



In a top ten match-up, #9 Ohio State defeated #6 Maryland in College Park 80-71. The Buckeyes, trailing 40-37 at the half, came out energized in the 3rd quarter and quickly assumed the lead. After Ohio State’s Shayla Cooper fouled out in the fourth quarter, All-American Kelsey Mitchell’s game went from outstanding to superb. Mitchell finished with 28 points. It was Maryland’s first B1G loss.
 

It was win at home day in the B1G.

Minnesota’s next opponent, Illinois, lost at Purdue 69-65. The Illini scored 29 points in the 4th quarter to make the Boilers a little nervous. Illini center Chatrice White had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Nebraska was run out of Evanston by Northwestern 85-62. It was never close (43-25 at the half). Wildcat Nia Coffey logged 25 points and 11 rebounds.

Michigan and Indiana both looked terrible (at least in the part I saw before heading to Williams) in a 71-69 Hoosier OT win in Bloomington.

Michigan State brushed aside Wisconsin in East Lansing 77-67.

The first weekend comes to a close tomorrow night with Rutgers visiting Iowa.
 

Besides the Gopher win over Illinois there were other B1G games of note.

Minnesota's next opponent, Michigan, rallied from 17 points down with 8 minutes remaining to defeat Iowa in Ann Arbor 82-75. That's even better than last season Gopher rally versus Nebraska (making up a 17 point deficit in the last 10 minutes). Michigan is now 1-2 in the B1G and Iowa 2-1.

In Evanston, Purdue ran away from Northwestern 85-71. Purdue is now 3-0 and #16 Northwestern 1-2.
 

Maryland, Michigan State, and Ohio State will finish 1-3, order TBD.
 




Northwestern is 1-3 and in the midst of playing B1G power teams. Yesterday, the Wildcats lost 74-51 at Michigan State. That follows on the heels of a 85-71 home loss to Purdue. Next, Northwestern hosts Ohio State and then travels to Maryland. It’s likely the Wildcats will limp into Williams Arena (their next stop after Maryland) at 1-5 and desperately needing a win.
 

Interesting Games 1/13

#18 Michigan State (3-2) fell to Indiana (2-3), in Bloomington, 81-65. The Spartans trailed by double digits most of the game while being outplayed by the Hoosiers. As teams are discovering, Indiana gets to the line-a lot. Tonight the Hoosiers were 27-34 from the stripe (point guard Tyra Buss was 12-17). The Spartans Jasmine Hines tried to inject some life into the Green and White (24 points) but it was pretty much a solo effort. Aeriel Powers was 4-22 from the field.

In State College, Nebraska (2-3) defeated Penn State (1-4) 83-78 on the strength of a 29-11 first quarter. Penn State cut the lead to two in the second half; but couldn’t break through despite forcing Nebraska into 17 turnovers. For the Huskers, Jessica Shepard dominated inside (29 points and 10 rebounds) and Natalie Romeo dominated outside with 32 points. Shepard is fun to watch when leading an open court break. She's as good as advertised.
 

One more game of interest 1/13:

In Madison, Iowa (3-2) nearly blew another big 4th quarter lead in beating the Badgers (2-3) 57-54. The Hawkeyes led by 16 (51-35) ending the 3rd. Wisconsin’s Avyanna Young missed a tying layup with 19 seconds remaining. After a Hawkeye free throw, the Badgers missed a couple of three pointers as time expired.
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
Northwestern is 1-3 and in the midst of playing B1G power teams. Yesterday, the Wildcats lost 74-51 at Michigan State. That follows on the heels of a 85-71 home loss to Purdue. Next, Northwestern hosts Ohio State and then travels to Maryland. It’s likely the Wildcats will limp into Williams Arena (their next stop after Maryland) at 1-5 and desperately needing a win.
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Here's to the WBB team! May they beat Nortwestern!

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 

Northwestern defeated #5 Ohio State in Evanston 86-82. At the half the Wildcats led 48-30; but the Buckeyes finally got rolling and made it a battle. THE BIGGER NEWS: Nia Coffey who had 23 points twisted her ankle and finished the game on the bench with her leg elevated and ice on the injured ankle.
 

Battle to be above .500 (1/16)

Michigan State (4-2), taking advantage of another second half Iowa (3-3) scoring slump, defeated the Hawkeyes 80-73 in East Lansing. Iowa led 36-23 at the half. Then the Aerial Powers led Spartans, no longer flummoxed by the Hawkeye zone, grabbed control with a 35-11 scoring run. Powers, scored 21 of her 23 points in the second half. Iowa was forced into 18 turnovers while Michigan State committed 7.
 

Odd Night in the B1G (1-20):

I haven't had a chance to check out these games; but in addition to the Gophers defeating the Wildcats there a couple of other scores of interest.

Nebraska (4-3) walked into Purdue (5-2) headed back to Lincoln with a 62-61 victory.
Penn State (2-5) sent Hawkeye (3-4) fans home sad after defeating Iowa 82-69!
 

The Illini Go Cold (1/23):

Illinois (1-7), the Gopher’s next opponent, lost to Penn State (3-6) in Champaign 65-56. Please let this be the Illini we welcome to Williams arena Tuesday night. Illinois shot 27.4% from the field-it looked worse.

Illinois led 26-20 at the half and 40-38 starting the fourth. Then the Lady Lions got organized, tossed in four threes and outscored Illinois 27-16 to end the game and secure their second straight road victory.

Of course we have to check in on the Illini posts: Chatrice White had 10 points, 18 rebounds and 4 fouls. Her running mate at the post position Alex Wittinger was the Illini’s high scorer with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Guard Sarah Hartwell fouled out in 19 minutes with 2 points.

Of Note: The Lady Lions Teniya Page led all scorers with 26.
 

A nice thing about the Gophers playing Saturday is that attention can be paid to Sunday’s games. And today is filled with fascinating match-ups.

1:00 PM: Nebraska (4-3) @ Michigan (3-4) BTNplus
2:00 PM: Iowa (3-4) @ Purdue (5-2) BTN
2:00 PM: Ohio State (6-1) @ Rutgers (3-4) ESPN2
4:00 PM: Indiana (3-4) @ Northwestern (2-5) BTN
 

Nebraska's Shepard scored 35 with 20 rebounds today. That's a scary thought.
She seems to be getting better every game, and I'm not sure what the Gopher game plan would be for her.
 

Shades said:
Nebraska's Shepard scored 35 with 20 rebounds today. That's a scary thought.
She seems to be getting better every game, and I'm not sure what the Gopher game plan would be for her.
Click to expand...

Today was the best I've seen Shepard and Havers (15 points and 8 rebounds) play together. Thome played well (24 points) but Nebraska's quick start (five three pointers in four minutes) wrong footed Michigan early. Theriot, on the bench wearing a boot, was not missed.
 

Streaks (Games of 1/27)

Home standing Indiana (5-4) sent Rutgers (3-6) to the Scarlet Knights sixth consecutive B1G road loss, 64-48. Hoosier’s point guard, Tyra Buss, had a Tyra Buss night (24 points (4-7 from three and 8-8 from the line)). If anyone still laments the departure of Larryn Brooks they should really get over it. Rutgers made a couple of attempts to get back in the game. The last saw Rutgers cut the lead to 47-40 with seven minutes remaining. Indiana’s McBride and Cahill responded by stroking back to back threes and that was that.

Michigan State (6-2) happily sent visiting Purdue (6-3) to its third straight loss 68-56. Aeriel Powers scored 25 and Tori Jankoska 16 in an easy victory for Sparty.

Nebraska (6-3) won its sixth straight game by defeating Wisconsin (2-7) 75-62 in Lincoln. Wisconsin kept it slightly interesting in the fourth quarter but never totally recovered from the Natalie Romeo onslaught (30 points (8-14 from three). Rachel Theriot returned to action but late in the game was noticeably limping on her injured foot. Of note: the Badger’s Michala Johnson scored 21 points and Jessica Shepard 8.

Maryland (7-1) remained unbeaten on the road by defeating Penn State (3-6) 89-53.
 

Thanks for all of these updates, Iggy. Much appreciated.
 

Wrapping up the first half of the B1G (well almost-there's still that twice postponed Maryland/Michigan State game to play):

Ohio State (8-1) rallied to defeat Northwestern (2-7) in Columbus 76-73. Kelsey Mitchell, who scored 1 point in the first half, tossed in a Banham like 26 points in the second half. 10 of those points came in the last four minutes helping the Buckeyes erase a deficit which had reached nine points late in the third quarter. Nia Coffey finished with 23 points and 9 rebounds; but Coffey and Ashley Deary aided the Buckeye comeback by committing back to back charges late in the fourth quarter.

Iowa (4-5) defeated Minnesota’s next opponent, Michigan (3-6), in Iowa City 85-69. Things looked good for the Wolverines early as Katelynn Flaherty tossed in 24 first half points. Flaherty finished with 31 (12-18 from the field (5-8 from three)). Despite Flaherty’s heroics, Iowa led by one at the half and slowly increased the lead in the second half. Iowa’s leading scorer was Chase Coley with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
 

Michigan a winnable game on the road. Maybe not in the RPI standings, but the tourney officials look at the nu.be of road wins.
 

Weekend Wrap Up (1/31):

On Saturday:

After trailing 42-25 at half, Purdue (7-3) overtook Penn State (3-7) in double overtime, 88-78, in Happy Valley. The main takeaways: Purdue won and Boiler post, Bree Horocks suffered a knee injury when It appeared guard Bridget Perry rolled up her leg. After the game word was an MCL injury for Horocks with further evaluations to come.

Minnesota’s next opponent, Rutgers (4-6), in Piscataway, survived another good start by Nebraska (6-4) to win 66-56. The Scarlet Knights forced 20 turnovers.

Maryland (8-1) defeated Indiana (5-5) in College Park 86-63.


On Sunday:

Iowa (5-5) continued Northwestern’s (2-8) downward spiral (79-64). Chase Coley got a start for the Hawkeyes and scored 19 points on 8-10 shooting.

Michigan State (7-2) defeated Wisconsin (2-8) in Madison 77-54. It was another Aerial Powers day as the Spartan forward scored 30 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Powers was 10-11 from the line.
 

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