by Ryan Burnett

Let me start this off by saying I really don’t think this is going to be a good tourney for the conference. I think that top to bottom we were one of the better, more competitive leagues this season. I just absolutely hate our tournament match-ups. Of the five teams we managed a spot in the group of 64 , I think only two make it to the 2nd week. On the flip side I think the Big 12 was a solid but less than spectacular conference for much of the regular season, but I like their match-ups so much I’m predicting that three of them will make it to the Final Four in Indianapolis.

Michigan State: I think MSU gets past New Mexico State pretty easily. NMS defense is terrible, they give up nearly 78 points a game. In fact their scoring margin of +.08 is the lowest of any team in the tourney. But beyond that I want them out because three teams nicknamed the Aggies (Utah State and Texas A&M) is two too many. I even think they manage to slow down Greivis Vasquez enough that they squeak by the Terps in round 2.  But They will run into a brick wall against Kansas. There just isn’t a hole in this team for the Spartans to exploit.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes were fantastic this year, and I am praying that my Detroit Pistons somehow manage to land Evan Turner. But I think this team is a lot weaker than its record would lead you to believe. Beyond that, I think that they will run into a TERRIBLE matchup in the second round against Georgia Tech. The Buckeyes only have one integral player over 6-7, and thats Dallas Lauderdale who, at 6′8, barely fits the bill. GT on the other hand features two NBA caliber big men in Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors who should be able to punish OSU down low. I think the only way OSU manages to get to the second round is for another OSU, Oklahoma State, to do them a solid and knock off the Yellow Jackets before the Buckeyes have to face them.

Minnesota: Most people are picking the Gophers to get knocked off by Xavier in the 1st round, but I’m not buying it. The closest thing the Musketeers have to a signature win is a 4 point win at Cincinnati, who’s playing in the NIT right now (I think).  Meanwhile, Minnesota managed to beat Ohio State, Wisconsin, and won at Illinois. I kinda want to pick the Gophers to go on and knock off Pitt too, but Pitt finished 2nd in the Big East, have a ton of impressive signature wins, and are a MUCH better team away from home than the Gophers. Hey one win isn’t bad for an 11 seed.

Wisconsin: The Badgers will get past Wofford no problem. I think they even manage to ruff Temple up in what will be a truly ugly slugfest of a game (seriously a five point win should be considered a blowout). But when it comes down to it I think that Kentucky is just too talented  for the Badgers to hold to less than 70. And the Badgers only won one game this year in which they allowed an opponent to score more than 70 points. Its a shame to, because it would be a nice story if this experienced, cohesive squad could manage to slay the Wildcats uber-talented, semi-dysfunctional group of youngsters.

Purdue: I know the Boilermakers are limping into the tourney after getting shellacked by Minnesota last week, but whatever, they had a bad game, and the Gophers were hungrier that night. I don’t think Purdue can make it past the first weekend without their best player (forward Robbie Hummel). But with everyone picking them to be the first high seed to get bounced, I think they manage to pull it together for one win. Beyond that Siena has yet to play a team of Purdue’s caliber all season, let alone beat one. The closest they came was a 13 point loss at Georgia Tech. Not impressed. Texas A&M though probably has the momentum, grit, and confidence to keep the Boilermakers from making it to the second weekend.

Ry’s Final Four: Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, and Kentucky.

Nico Perrino

Men’s Basketball

Jeremiah Rivers has been cursing Nico Perrino and the basketball Gods ever since Perrino's January 24th blog post.

So, all you out there in the blogosphere may have noticed (or not—whatever…) my lack of commentary on IU basketball lately. My last article on the team was on the 24th of last month, and since then I have been punishing myself for the things I said.
I feel like I jinxed the team: Since I wrote that article, in which I noted the tremendous effort the team was demonstrating every time they stepped on the court (I think the word I used was “heart”—shame on me), they have lost 8 straight games (maybe even 9 if they lose again tonight), and have demonstrated a complete lack of effort in every game without exception.
The team sucks and I suck. The team sucks, well, because they just suck… and I suck because I supported them at one point, and even (the case can be made) argued that they could compete in the Big Ten.
I couldn’t have been further from the truth. After many hours of forcing myself to watch Olympic ice skating (or dancing—I don’t even know what to call it… Is it even really a sport? Seems more like a performance art to me) as a form of penance for my sins I have now moved onto the final step in my self-prescribed recovery plan: Write a blog about how much I suck.

Yes, I suck.

Since that article was published last month a few things have happened to me that I can only imagine have come about because of what I wrote.
For one: I got a parking ticket. I know, I know, everyone gets parking tickets in college, but this was my first one and it came about because of… you guessed it… a men’s basketball game. Yup, I wrote that blog and I got a parking ticket because of it—a very logical conclusion. I have parked my car outside of Assembly Hall everyday for practice the past two years –even on days of men’s basketball games—and have been ticket free, but low and behold I write that article and a couple weeks later I get a parking ticket because I parked in the lot outside of Assembly Hall on the day of a men’s basketball game. FML.

I got redshirted for the outdoor season. Now this one is going to be a little harder to blame on the basketball team, but I’m going to do my best. So back on December 19th, 2009 I busted my foot pretty bad. It was the last day of practice before I went home for winter break, and I had one workout to go before the season started. Of course I ended up hurting myself and the injury ended up putting me out of commission for the indoor season, so the coach gave me the redshirt tag. No big deal, I figured I’d get healthy and be ready to go for outdoors. Not so fast. So, my foot still sucks and isn’t 100%, but I’ve been trying to run through the pain anyway because I didn’t want to give up on the outdoor season. Well, my coach has noticed that I have been limping and told me; yup… that he’s redshirting me for the outdoor season as well. God dammit. That’s the last thing I wanted to hear; competing is what I do! …Anyway I got to thinking during my bout of self-loathing and misery, and I realized that my coach gave me the news on the 24th! The one-month anniversary of my ill-fated blog post!  Damn you Basketball Gods, ye forsake me in times of personal crisis because of one petty blog? I knew I should have sacrificed a lamb and consulted the Oracle at Delphi before hand. Shame be to me!

In addition I have sucked at math lately. Well, I admit, this isn’t anything new, but I bombed a quiz on matrix multiplication yesterday and I’d like to think that it’s not because I’m full-retard when it comes to anything dealing with numbers, but instead something else’s fault. So… Let’s find something to blame it on. Okay… the IU men’s basketball team…? Yes! That works. It’s the only logical conclusion I can seem to come to right now…
And this is where I knew the Basketball Gods were trying to punish me for what I wrote: The slot where I put discs into my computer broke. No longer can I put DVD’s CD’s or any other D’s (stop that!) into my computer, and if I want it fixed it’s going to cost me a lot of money… I think. Now, my only idea as to why this happened to me goes back to that damned blog post last month. What else could it have been? It can only be that the Basketball God’s wanted to destroy the electronic device (aka my computer) that allowed me to disseminated such garbage. Oh, loathe be to me, what is there that I can do to end my suffering?
I don’t know if there is anything I can do in reality to undo my mistake and end my plight, but I sure hope the Basketball Gods will take pity on me after this blog is published.
Please give me one more chance to not fuck up. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?

Amen.

Hockey

Charlie Healy

Wisconsin hockey -- both the men and the women -- have comfortable homes at the top of this week's Power Rankings.

The sixth edition of the Big Ten Hockey Power Rankings sees no change in order from last week. Every conference team except the Minnesota and Ohio State men split their weekend series. The three women’s teams begin the WCHA Tournament this weekend while the three CCHA men’s teams play their final regular season series. The Wisconsin and Minnesota men have two weekends remaining before the WCHA playoffs begin.

Disagree with my assessment of your favorite team? Post your own rankings in the comment section and explain where I went wrong.

1 (1) – Wisconsin Men (19-8-4)

#3 Wisconsin split their two-game series with #4 St. Cloud State in the final regular-season home series of the year. The Badgers look to have a better weekend as they travel to Michigan Tech this weekend in the second to last series of the season.

2 (2) – Minnesota Women (22-7-5)

Minnesota avoided a third straight sweep with a come-from-behind win over Wisconsin Saturday night after falling in overtime Friday. The #3 Golden Gophers finish the season with 43 points, sharing the WCHA title with Minnesota Duluth. Minnesota hosts Minnesota State this weekend in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

3 (3) – Wisconsin Women (18-13-3)

Wisconsin narrowly pulled off a sweep of WCHA Co-Champion Minnesota. The #9 Badgers won in overtime on Friday before falling late Saturday. Wisconsin hosts Ohio State in the first round of the WCHA Tournament in their final push to make the NCAA Tournament.

4 (4) – Michigan State Men (18-11-5)

Michigan State split a home-and-home series with Ferris State, both teams winning at home. The #10 Spartans have a home-and-home with Bowling Green this weekend in the final series of the year before the CCHA tournament begins, lasting three weekends.

5 (5) – Michigan Men (18-16-1)

The Wolverines split their series with Northern Michigan at home last weekend. Michigan, ranked #25 nationally and virtually out of the NCAA Tournament race has a home-and-home with Notre Dame this weekend before beginning the CCHA Tournament.

6 (6) – Ohio State Women (15-14-5)

The Lady Buckeyes lost and won in a shootout against St Cloud State in the final regular season series of the year. Ohio State, ranked #18 in the country travels to Wisconsin for the first round of the WCHA Women’s Tournament.

7 (7) – Minnesota Men (15-15-2)

The Minnesota Men swept Colorado College last weekend at home. The #24 Golden Gophers are on the outside of the NCAA Tournament picture as they travel to Minnesota-Duluth this weekend. A WCHA Tournament title is virtually the only chance Minnesota has of gaining entry into the field of 16.

8 (8) – Ohio State Men (12-15-5)

The Buckeyes swept Western Michigan with a win and shootout win. Ohio State has a home-and-home with #1 Miami this weekend before beginning the CCHA Tournament. Ohio State is the only Big Ten team with a losing record and not ranked nationally.

Charlie Healy

Hockey

Camp Randall will play host to both the Wisconsin Men's and Women's Ice Hockey teams on Saturday

This Saturday another chapter is written in the historic books of Camp Randall Stadium and Wisconsin Hockey. The Big Ten’s oldest football stadium will host two outdoor hockey games featuring the Men and Women Badger Hockey teams.

The puck drops at 2:00 pm as the Wisconsin Women face off against WCHA rival Bemidji State. This will be the second women’s NCAA hockey game played outdoors after Northeastern and New Hampshire skated at Fenway Park in January.

At 5:00 the Wisconsin Men battle under the lights against Big Ten rival Michigan. This will be the second outdoor game for both teams. Michigan played at Michigan State in 2001 in the “Cold War” and Wisconsin hosted Ohio State in the “Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic” at Lambeau Field in 2006.

While hockey outdoors is a concept that dates back to the first days of hockey, playing regulation game outside in an outdoor venue is a new concept. The first outdoor game was held in 1991 in Las Vegas between the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. Michigan State hosted the next game ten years later. In 2003 the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Montreal Canadians followed by Wisconsin in 2006.

Blackhawks vs. Wings, Wrigley Field

In 2008 the National Hockey League started a tradition by hosting the “Winter Classic” on New Year’s Day outdoors. The first contest saw the Buffalo Sabres hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 2009 the Chicago Blackhawks faced their Original Six Rival the Detroit Red Wings at historic Wrigley Field. The famous baseball stadium proved to be a perfect site for hockey as the NHL went to Fenway Park on January 1 2010 when the Boston Bruins hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. The Fenway ice was also used for two college games, the latter featuring Boston U. and Boston College.

While the sightlines might not be great, and it may be cold, the opportunity to see outdoor hockey is something that shouldn’t be missed. There is a special vibe in the air as the players and fans know they are witnessing something special. It is not just another series against a conference rival. It isn’t even at the level of an NCAA tournament game. Even as outdoor hockey is increasing in popularity among NHL and college teams, the event is still something that has a “once in a lifetime” feel. There have been countless football games held at Camp Randall. The ice gets one chance to steal the spotlight, it would be a shame if someone missed it.

Charlie Healy

Hockey

The OSU women's hockey team was the only team to move up the rankings (from 7 to 6) this week.

The second edition of the Big Ten Power Rankings presents very little change from last week. Every team except the Minnesota Men recorded a victory, and the Minnesota Women and Wisconsin Men escaped the weekend without a loss.

Disagree with my assessment of your favorite team? Post your own rankings in the comment section and explain where I went wrong.

1 (Prev: 1) – Minnesota Women (19-3-4)

The Golden Gopher women swept North Dakota at home yet is no longer #1 in the nation after being overtaken by Mercyhurst.

2 (2) – Wisconsin Men (14-6-4)

The #3 Badger Men proved they can skate with any team in the country, taking three of four points at home against #1 Denver with a tie and a win. Mike Eave’s squad faces another tough test this weekend at Minnesota-Duluth.

3 (3) – Wisconsin Women (14-9-3)

The Wisconsin women fell to #9 nationally after splitting their series with St Cloud State. To make the NCAA Tournament the Badgers need to find a way to get back in the top eight.

4 (4) – Michigan State Men (16-8-4)

#13 Michigan State split their series with Ohio State at home. They face CCHA and Big Ten rival Michigan next weekend.

5 (5) – Michigan Men (14-11-1)

The #17 Wolverines split their weekend series and are making a push to make it into the NCAA Tournament field.

6 (7) – Ohio State Women (12-10-4)

The 12^th ranked Buckeye women split their series with Bemidji State, earning a trip up in the Big Ten Power Rankings, jumping the Minnesota Men.

7 (6) – Minnesota Men (12-12-2)

It was a disappointing weekend for the Minnesota Men as they were swept by St. Cloud State. They were the only Big Ten team not to record a win on the weekend.

8 (8) – Ohio State Men (10-13-1)

One of the few bright spots this year for Ohio State occurred last weekend when they split their series with rival Michigan State.

Click Here To Read Last Week’s Rankings

Nico Perrino

Men’s Basketball

Even with the loss of a stud freshman (Maurice Creek), mastermind Tom Crean has IU competing in conference play.

It must boggle Big Ten Coach’s minds.

How does a team like Indiana, whose talent is so sparse, compete on the court with teams in one of the best basketball conferences in the country? To me, there can really only be one answer:

Heart.

And I hate saying it so much –I can’t emphasize that enough. It’s so cliché and sounds like a line straight out of a bad Disney made-for-TV sports movie, but it’s true. How else can you explain it? With a starting five that is more reminiscent of a good high school basketball team than a powerhouse Div-I team, the Hoosiers manage to hang in there, and beat, some of the best college basketball teams in the country; teams that have more talent sitting on the bench than Indiana has in it’s starting lineup.

Pitt, Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State- all respectable basketball teams- have fallen to Indiana’s mop squad this year, while teams like Kentucky, Illinois and George Mason would have, had it not been for late second-half collapses by the Hoosiers.

If you look at the history, and the numbers, it’s unexplainable.

After Sampson was fired for being a douche bag the program went down the shitter. Eric Gordon left (but then again, who didn’t see that coming), and along with him, the rest of the scholarship players; the Athletic Department was forced to pay an enormous buyout; word started leaking that the team, under Sampson’s tutelage, had a whole array of drug problems (thanks Gordon); fans started hearing that for years players weren’t going to class –something coach Tom Crean called, “an abomination;” And the Hoosier faithful wondered how the team might ever recover…

But then something happened.

The Athletic Department hired Marquette head coach Tom Crean –an apprentice of Tom Izzo- to begin the long arduous process of trying to return the once illustrious Indiana basketball program to it’s glory days of the Bob Knight era.

He started from scratch. No players, but a ton of support. He fielded a first year team that was up to it’s neck in Div-1 rejects: He had a walk-on from Carmel, Indiana at starting point guard –an Indiana first; a slew of guards who left obscure teams all over the country to jump at the opportunity of playing for one of the most prestigious programs in the country; and a lanky, uncoordinated, 7-footer who couldn’t bend over to tie his shoe when he first got to Bloomington, let along dribble a basketball.

And he had a full Big Ten schedule that would show no mercy.

The team, as you could very well guess, finished with a pretty abominable record that included only a single Big Ten conference win. It was the worst single season in Indiana basketball history. But for some reason you could sense that Indiana basketball fans weren’t worried. They had trust in their coach. They understood his predicament and knew that one day the talent would come and with it the wins would start pilling up. They also knew, however, that no matter the talent on the floor Crean was going to milk it for all it’s worth – allowing no player to leave anything left on the court.

He made that promise to all fans.

It was the only way to play basketball when you’re so overtly outmatched: When you lack in talent you have to make up for it with hard work and spirited play.

And with hearts the size of Watermelons, they played.

Continuing their effort into the 2009-10 season they finally got some help. Creek, Watford, Elston, Hulls and Capobianco came to Bloomington, and with them came a collective sigh of relief from Hoosier nation.

“Finally some talent.”

Creek and Watford were some of the best players in their class, while Hulls –making the long trek from Bloomington South High School to Assembly Hall- came after just being anointed, “Mr. Basketball.”

Even with the extra help, things remained the same for the Hoosiers at the start of their second rebuilding season. Three straight losses to Mississippi, Boston and George Mason had many fans fearing a repeat of the 6-win season the year before. And things weren’t made much better with a loss to Loyola right before Christmas and the loss of their best player, and Big Ten Freshman leading scorer, Maurice Creek, the week after in a gimme game against Bryant.

Those who didn’t write Indiana off before the Creek injury definitely wrote them off after.

But that was a mistake. The Creek injury had the counterintuitive effect of actually improving the team – at least in the Big Ten wins and losses column.

They opened up with a huge Big Ten victory over Michigan – a very unexpected win after Creek went out: A win I bet you Michigan fans didn’t expect from the Hoosiers.

But Michigan exacted revenge a few weeks later, capping a three game losing streak for coach Crean and Indiana with a 69-45 home victory.

Then Indiana won a thriller against Minnesota that ended with an incredibly embarrassing court storming that ESPN anointed the worst court storming in the history of court storming. Non-the-less it was a win over a Big Ten team that started off the season ranked –a win many saw as a huge step forward.

Next was a win over Penn State at Penn State, and the obvious question from most sports writers, “how?” How can Indiana, now on a two game winning-streak in the Big Ten (Woo hoo!) be .500 in Big Ten play and right in the middle of the conference in the Standings?

They were a white-wash squad: A team assembled from the wreckage of hurricane Sampson, meant to wash the slate clear and erase the memories of an era gone astray.

The answer to the question, which can’t be found in the statistics because, quite frankly, they aren’t good, has to come from somewhere else. From somewhere -from something- that can’t be found on the stat sheet, but can only be seen when you watch the scrappy team move up and down the court in Assembly Hall.

From respect for tradition, from respect for their coach, from respect for the fans, from a commitment to the pursuit of excellence: From the heart.