– Wisconsin, barring a total choke job, wrapped up at least a tie for the Big Ten title with a 57-42 beat down of Michigan State at the Kohl Center. A couple of observations: Brian Butch should be a first team All-Big Ten selection. Second, is there a more disappointing team than Michigan State? A lot of talent on that team, but something just isn’t right. I’m shocked at how bad of a season Drew Neitzel is having. And finally, Wisconsin only had one turnover in the entire game. That’s a pretty amazing statistic.
– Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star wrote a column today which provided his two cents on the impending coaching search for IU. It was a decent piece, but there were a couple of names included that I don’t want anywhere near the program: 1) John Calipari: do we really want Worldwide Wes hanging around IU? 2) Kevin Stallings: He’s a nice guy I’m sure, but his Purdue background and personality (or lack thereof) don’t thrill me. Surely we can do better than Stallings. The sizzle just isn’t there, but maybe I’m missing something.
– Our old friend Coach Knight has joined forces with ESPN for “championship week” and the NCAA Tournament. As you would expect, Knight appeared on “Mike and Mike” this morning and side stepped all questions about Indiana and the Kelvin Sampson situation. It’ll be interesting to see how well Knight does in this new role. He’s always had disdain for the media so it’s somewhat ironic to see him as a member of it.
It’s crunch time in the race for the Big Ten regular season title and three teams have separated themselves from the pack. Based on difficulty of schedule, Bo Ryan and Wisconsin appear to be the favorite. Purdue has a road game at Ohio State, who is hungry for a marquee win to boost their NCAA resume and Indiana plays at Michigan State.
According to Rick Bozich of the Louisville Courier-Journal it’s looking like a distinct possibility. Remember, it’s been reported that Devin Ebanks, IU’s top recruit next year via New York, has an out clause in his LOI that states he can be released if a coaching change was to occur.
Ugh. Whatever that was last night, it was not pretty to watch. Eric Gordon’s game was way off, D.J. White had his share of struggles, and the Hoosiers oftentimes looked discombobulated and confused. Also, for whatever reason — partially because the refs didn’t do a particularly good job of reffing the game — IU complained about the refs all game. It got to be a little repetitive.
It certainly wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing 40 minutes of basketball, but the Hoosiers held off a surging Ohio State in the second half and won in Dan Dakich’s home debut, 72-69.
