Finally, a wisconsin coach [60 Minutes voice] willing to break his silence [/] about the quality of the refereeing in this conference.

I’m sure this will be a measured and rational discussion on the various merits of Bo Boroski.

Big Ten Basketball Recaps

Saturday, March 6

#4 Illinois Fighting Illini 73, #7 Ohio State Buckeyes 68

MaximumSam: Buckeyes looked the part, but some sloppy play down the stretch gave the Illini the win. A bit frustrating, really: that’s their third loss where they gave up a late lead, and this might have been the most annoying. A team which thrives on moving the ball and finding good shots suddenly saw some hero ball when they least needed it.

#23 Purdue Boilermakers 67, Indiana Hoosiers 58

BoilerBettor: Well, not much to say about this one. The streak extends to 9. Archie may very well be fired. The Boilers locked up the double-bye. Oh, and thanks to the late fouling, my wallet has a fair amount of additional padding. Bask.

Candystripes: I refuse to dignify the existence of this game.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 77, Minnesota Golden Gophers 70 (OT)

WSR: Nope. This is trash and I’ll not acknowledge it. But Gable Steveson is really good.

RU in VA: Yeah... so - I watched like the last 5 minutes of this game and the associated overtime. Despite Rutgers’ best efforts to lose, they were thwarted by remembering “hey, we’re better at this basketball thing”. Two thoughts:

- The last two minutes of a B1G basketball game are like watching someone else cook food on your grill. Agonizing. Patronizing. Embarrassing. Long. But you gotta watch, just in case something screws up. Even when they’re not trying to foul - that whistle shows up.

- Minny’s arena is cute. Probably real enjoyable to watch a game there.

Sunday, March 7

#5 Iowa Hawkeyes 77, #25 Wisconsin Badgers 73

Stew: Fuck wisconsin. Iowa beat wisconsin after wisconsin injured Joe Wieskamp for being better than their whole team in the opening minutes of the game. Iowa lost their 2nd leading scorer and wisconsin stop couldn’t beat them. No excuses for that.

Ah, but therein lies the rub, because we’re going to be inundated with wisconsin fans screaming refs. Imagine that, dear readers. Ingest some leaded gas and imagine sitting there, a wisconsin fan, and complaining about refs. Let’s make no mistake they were horrid, but for wisconsin fans to pin the loss on them is absurd beyond any reasonable person’s belief. But I guess no reasonable person would subject themselves to being a wisconsin fan.

I hope to Heaven that Greg Gard is right and wisconsin basketball is in trouble because refs have decided to call them on their dirty plays. Get the Fuck outta here with that nonsense.
In conclusion, Fuck wisconsin.

Kind Of...: Iowa is having their best season in 30 plus years. You’d think their fans would want to tout their own accomplishments. Granted, the first conference title since Iowa legend “Downtown” Fred Brown was helping lead the Seattle Supersonics to an NBA title over the Washington Bullets (this is all true, youngsters!) eluded the Hawkeyes this year, but, still, there’s plenty to celebrate Hawk fans! [Right?]

That said, I do have an appreciation for irony, and it is Alanis Morissette-level shit to see fans of the team whose coach was suspended for multiple games for assailing the integrity of a referee (not just the competence, which is always fair game) going nuclear when another coach makes complaints. If only Shakespeare had penned a catchy line about the unintentional self-indictment of such adamance. [ed.—He did...methinks.]

[ed. ed. here’s what we’re talking about:]

Wisconsin went 0-2 with two close road losses against top 15 teams (our secret, Purdue). When combined with February, it looks like more of the same: good defense except for good post players, shitty outside shooting, overall competency but disappointing RE: expectations. If you squint—or are an optimist—the team is playing better.

The hour is getting late if the Badgers want to have any accomplishments to look back on this year. A win over PSU would get a rematch with Iowa on Friday (spicy), or else it’s await the NCAA seed, slug out a first-round win, and hope to pull off a huge upset to make the Sweet 16 (hey, it worked Gard’s first two years).

#12* Northwestern Wildcats 79, Nebraska Cornhuskers 78

MNW: Northwestern led this game for about 35 minutes, and then Kobe Webster decided to just go off. In a dizzying array of drives and threes, the WIU transfer shot the Huskers not just back into the game after trailing by 16, but into the lead.

And then Northwestern remembered they had two playmakers over 6’10”.

Center, patchy scruff-wearer, spare-tire-carrier, and MNW cosplay enthusiast Ryan Young, with the shot clock at 5 and the ball above the arc, waved off Miller Kopp and began a dribble-drive, finding Pete Nance on a backdoor cut for a reverse layup connection that would’ve made Bill Carmody spit out his ‘75 Lafite (the ‘74 is absolute piss).

Still trailing, Nance hit the buttery-smoothest skyhook you’ll ever see to take the lead.

And then, after Miller Kopp and Robbie Beran left Boo Buie on an island and allowed Nebraska to take the lead on an and-1, Nance drove, drew three defenders on a towering runner off the glass...and left the aforementioned Young alllll alone under the basket.

It’s heartbreaking for Nebraska, about the only team in Big Ten hoops I don’t actively root against. Webster had a helluva game, and I’d tip the Huskers—if they can avoid turning the ball over 23498 times in the first 10 minutes like they did in this one—to beat Penn State in the opening game of the Big Ten Tournament.

Michigan State Spartans 70, #4 Michigan Wolverines 64

Green Akers: LOLOLOLOLOL well, now that it’s definitively established that these teams are exactly as good each other, complete equals, let’s see how we got to this result. First, it completely sucks that Eli Brooks had what looked like a pretty nasty ankle injury - ideally, it’s not as bad as it looked and he’ll be good for the Big Dance. Michigan definitely missed him, but MSU also finally got its hypothetical troika of playmakers - Henry, Hauser, and Watts - all rolling on the same day. Only took until the last game of the season. Coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool. This win moves MSU definitively off the bubble, and might even boost them off the 11 line if coupled with a win or two in the BTT.

RockyMtnBlue: Didn’t watch this game. Not gonna watch this game. Had a hundred bucks on Sparty at +295, though. Good job, MSU. You singlehandedly got me into the black for the entire basketball season. Michigan played one other game this year without Brooks: the 18pt loss to Minnesota. Turns out he’s important to us. Or maybe we just didn’t give a shit. Sure. I’ll go with that.

Penn State Nittany Lions 66, Maryland Terrapins 61

larry31: MD led for the first 38-1/2 minutes of this game...and lost.

MD choked like [fill in the blank, OTE posters].

Is this what it feels like to be a NW basketball fan? losing all the time in excruciating ways?

Side note: I have afeeling MNW his going to hit me hard when football season comes along.

In more important news: MD, playing the official MD state sport, lacrosse, beat fellow B1G member, Johns Hopkins, in the 113th installment of”The Rivalry,” 18-10. It was tied 7-7, until MD when on an 11-0 run that spanned the end of the 2nd quarter through the third quarter to put the game away.

For those of you who look at lacrosse with utter bewilderment, [looking at you UNL and toothy birds], it is the fastest growing sport in America, and damn near a religion in MD.

DJ: Losing in inexplicable ways is just what Mark Turgeon does. His coaching was good this year, I’ll admit that, but it is also his worst roster construction that does not have really any primary scorer outside of Aaron Wiggins and virtually no bench to speak of. Results? Either a secondary scorer shows up or they don’t and that’s literally what determines the outcomes of games. I’d like to say I’m surprised that Maryland blew what was a 16 point lead but I’m not. Damon Evans has been shy to discuss Turgeon’s contract situation but with only two years to go on it and no extension...I think the writing is on the wall for him to find employment elsewhere after this season.

Oh, a prediction: After playing with extremely satisfying defensive intensity against their only matchup against MSU this year, Maryland will look lethargic and lose in the first game of the Big Ten Tournament and end up somewhere in the last four in games for the NCAA, where they’ll lose in the play in game.

Big Ten Tournament Final Seedings

We’ll be back with bracketology later today and will preview the whole of the Big Ten Tournament in the coming days. In the meantime, here:

That is your one free REFFFFFFS token for Off Tackle Empire. Use it wisely.