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Tonight marks the start of #B1Gsqueakyfouls, and that means it's time for America's Favorite Game, #BOLDPREDICTIONS!
How it works: I ask all the OTE "writers" to give us their freshest, hottest, Baja Blastiest #taeks on the upcoming Big Ten basketball season. They oblige. YOU, humble reader, do two things: (1) try to match the #BOLDPREDICTIONS to the "writer," and (2) give us your own #BOLDPREDICTIONS in the comments.
A note: These #BOLDPREDICTIONS don't necessarily mean that, in their heart of hearts, the "writer" is wagering his/her life on them. They do, however, represent a hot, fresh #taek that writer thinks is somehow possible in 2015-16.
I'm talking too much. Shut up and enjoy #BOLDPREDICTIONS. And then un-shut up and (1) match, (2) #BOLDLYPREDICT.
Your answer bank: Aaron Yorke, Andrew K, babaoreally, Candystripes for Breakfast, DJ Carver, Jesse Collins, MNWildcat, Stewmonkey13, Thomas Speth
#1
Nigel Hayes wins POY
Bold prediction- DePaul is at worst 5th best program in Chicago
Maryland loses 4 conference games
OTE writers actually watch games
#2
TV Teddy is going to be doing some Iowa games again this year after two years of being banned. My bold prediction is that there will be no drama with Fran and TV Teddy.
Rutgers doesn't go winless in conference.
Izzo gets more techs than Fran
Before WI's program folds, a WI player gets called for a charge
Tom Crean doesn't embarrass himself
Jared Uthoff actually disembowels Fuck Bo
Woodbury doesn't poke anyone in the eye
Woodbury kidney punches Melo Trimble
Matt Painter rolls out the 5 center lineup.
Crean infuriates every fanbase, including his own.
IN loses to one of Buttgers, UNL, jNW, or PSU.
MD basketball fans become the new #FSUTwitter
#3
Maryland finishes with 5 conference losses.
All-Conference team: Melo Trimble, Denzel Valentine, Malcolm Hill, Nigel Hayes, Adam Woodbury
NCAA bids: 7
#4
Wisconsin does not finish in the Top 4 of the conference
Neither does Michigan
A B1G team breaks the century mark this year
Maryland and Indiana finish tied at the top of the Big Ten
#5
Indiana finishes top 3 in conference
Yogi Ferrell wins B1G POY
A large vocal minority of IU fans still call for Tom Crean to be fired when Indiana fails to reach the Final Four.
Thomas Bryant as the unanimous Frosh of the Year
#6
Maryland finishes outside the top four in the Big Ten standings
Ohio State misses the NCAA Tournament
Indiana leads the country in points per possession
Wisconsin captures the regular season crown for the second year in a row
Denzel Valentine is B1G Player of the Year and a First Team All-American
Northwestern finally makes the big dance
#7
Bold stuff: Richard Pitino, in order to distance himself from his father and the Louisville stripper/hooker scandal, changes his hairstyle.
Woodbury goes on a rampage against Wisconsin in an upset win for the Hawkeyes. Final stats: 17 points, 15 rebounds, 6 eyes poked.
Tom Izzo somehow makes a face on national television that looks even weirder than that Tom Crean one.
#8
Northwestern goes under-.500 again.
Maryland gets upset in the Sweet Sixteen.
Fran McCaffery gets escorted off the court after trying to suplex TV Teddy.
Little Richard, Pat Chambers, and John Groce get fired at the end of the season. Or at least two of those three. That ain't bad.
Wisconsin gets an 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament, Bo retires again.
Tom Crean and the Hoosiers rip off 6 straight B1G wins after rumors emerge that he's on the hot seat.
Purdue gets an undeserved 3-seed.
Rutgers exists.
#9
1) The Big Ten goes another year without a coaching change in basketball, signalling both the white flag of, "Hey, our team exists and is terrible but whatever," in Rutgers and the depth of talent in coaching most everywhere else.
2) Nebraska makes the NCAA tournament in one of those, "OMG you just went on a ridiculous run, but will fizzle out in the tournament because LOL you just don't get nice things Nebrasketball."
3) Northwestern gets screwed out of a NCAA bid when the committee thinks it's cool to put a .500 UCLA in over them. That UCLA team makes the Sweet 16, but nobody cares because they shouldn't have been there in the first place.
4) Maryland does not win the conference but makes the Final Four.
5) Wisconsin randomly wins the conference, Bo - in his "I'm not really retiring" press conference announces that he has eaten the souls of four people and couldn't feel better.
6) In earnest, the B1G lands 8 NCAA berths, leading to outrage everywhere. In the Midwest the anger is over Iowa getting passed over but that early season loss to a 200+ RPI team really hurt. Everybody else can't believe Nebraska is in. Oh, and the aforementioned anger over Northwestern.
7) Those teams that are in are: Maryland, Wisconsin, OSU, MSU, Purdue, Michigan, Indiana, and Nebraska.
8) Penn State wins the CBI
9) The B1G will have the collective best RPI, most teams in the tournament, best resume at the top, and will not win the National Championship because of course they won't win the National Championship. It's just a thing that happens.
10) Everyone continues to hate Duke and Kentucky. That's not so much a hot take as it is something I needed to reiterate.
Bonus #BOLDPREDICTIONS!
(These were the people that didn't give me enough #BOLDPREDICTIONS to merit making you guess them. Enjoy anyways!)
LincolnPark Wildcat: DePaul basketball will make me drink
Ray Ransom: Rutgers wins the roundball #trivalry
3 teams from New Jersey make the big dance
WhiteSpeedReceiver: Richard Pitino doesn't get fired.
GF3: Ohio State wins the B1G and it isn't even close. [ed. note: This isn't football #BOLDPREDICTIONS, GF3!]
87townie: My only contribution to this will be the Bold Prediction that Penn State has a winning record this year AND wins a conference game. /mic drop
Graham Filler: Michigan shoots 45% from three and contends for the B1G title.
Thumpasaurus: Alright. I've made my picks. Here's my bold prediction: Jaylon Tate makes a three pointer against a big ten team at some point.
InsertName: The Hoosiers hang a banner and cut down nets.
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Remember, match the #BOLDPREDICTIONS, 1-9 in the comments, and don't you dare forget to give us your #BOLDPREDICTIONS!