Big Ten Football & Basketball Blog

I thought the Big Ten was supposed to be down this year… I guess not! The Spartans of Michigan State seem poised to ensure the world knows that the Big Ten is still going strong as they not only made it to the 2009 Final Four, but tonight advanced to the NCAA Tournament Championship game with a 82-73 win over UConn. As if Michigan State basketball apparel & clothing was not flying off the shelves fast enough, the win tonight and appearance in the National Championship Game on Monday night will only boost sales even more and boost the local Detroit economy with local fans flocking from across Michigan.

So who will the Spartans face on Monday night? UNC and Villanova are about to tipp off so we will know more in a couple of hours.

The 2009 Final Four is set and Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans, the Midwest Regional’s #2 seed, is officially a member of the 2009 NCAA Tournament Final Four. While Michigan State was not expected to advance this far, predicted to lose the game they just won against Louisville, the Spartans have had back-to-back extremely impressive wins in order to advance to the Final Four in Detroit. As a member of the 2009 Final Four, Michigan State will face the UConn Huskies on Saturday @ 6:07 pm ET. In the other game on Saturday night, #3 Villanova will face #1 North Carolina @ 8:47 pm ET.

2009 NCAA Tournament - West Region - University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
No.1 Connecticut (29-4) vs. No. 5 Purdue (27-9)
Time/Day/TV: 7:07 EDT/Thursday/CBS

Connecticut Road to the Final Four: Defeated No. 16 Chattanooga, 103-47 Defeated No. 9 Texas A&M, 92-66

Pudue Road to the Final Four: Defeated No. 12 Northern Iowa 61-56 Defeated No. 4 Washington 76-74

Connecticut Moment of Truth: There really hasn’t been one except when coach Jim Calhoun wasn’t at the first round game.

Connecticut Leading Scorers: A.J. Price 14.6, Jeff Adrien 13.9, Hasheem Thabeet 13.7

Purdue Moment of Truth: The Boilermakers blew a double digit lead in the second half against Washington but held on.

Purdue Leading Scorers: E’Twaun Moore 14.0, JaJuan Johnson 13.4, Robbie Hummel 12.4
Key Matchup: Purdue’s half court vs. Connecticut’s transition. The Boilermakers are going to try and slow this game down to a crawl and keep it into the 60s. If they can, they can be in the game. Purdue is one of the Big Ten’s top offensive teams. But it has to value possessions.

Who Wins and Why: Connecticut. The Huskies just have too many options that the Boilermakers can’t match. And when you add a shot blocker like Thabeet, it makes taking anything to the glass tough. Connecticut is just a vastly better team.

2009 NCAA Tournament - East Region - Boise, ID
No. 12 Wisconsin (20-12) 61, No. 5 Florida State (25-10) 59 - OT
Key Moment: Trevon Hughes’ 3-point play with two seconds to play in overtime enabled the Badgers to knock off the Seminoles
High Point Scorers: Wisconsin — Jason Bohannon 16 Florida State — Toney Douglas 26
Analysis: The Badgers became the third 12 seed to win in the tournament along with Arizona and Western Kentucky. Down 31-19 at the half, the Badgers started quickly in the second half scoring the first 13 points in the first six minutes to take the lead. From there, it was a game. But consider the idea that this program is very seasoned under coach Bo Ryan in the NCAA tournament and can handle the expectations. The Seminoles were making their first appearance in 11 years.
What’s Next: The Badgers advance to Sunday’s second round where it will meet No. 4 Xavier, which knocked off No. 13 Portland State, 77-59. The Badgers are going to want slow down the Musketeers who will play an up-tempo style. Like all Sean Miller teams, Xavier is balanced and handles the ball very well. They committed only seven turnovers. A classic contrast in styles.

By Kevin Lonnquist
DFN Sports Staff Writer

Greensboro
No. 7 Texas (23-11) 76, No. 10 Minnesota (22-11) 62
Key Moment: Texas’ A.J. Abrams hit six straight 3-pointers to help the Longhorns take control in the second half.
High Point Scorers: Texas — Abrams 26 Minnesota — Lawrence Westbrook 19
Analysis: The better team won this game. When Texas mixed up Abrams in order to establish Damion James and Dexter Pittman on the inside it was too much for the Golden Gophers to overcome. And shooting 40 percent from the field didn’t help Minnesota either. Texas, which has problems with the 3 ball, was 11-19 (58 percent).
What’s Next: Texas advances to the second round where it meet No. 2 seed Duke which easily handled Binghamton 86-62. The Longhorns are going to have to get great guard play from Dogus Balbay to have a chance.

Kansas City
No. 10 Michigan (21-13) 62, No. 7 Clemson (23-9) 59
Key Moment: Clemson’s K.C. Rivers’ contested 3-pointer at the end fell short as Michigan nearly blew at 16-point lead
High Point Scorers: Michigan — Manny Harris 23 Clemson — Trevor Booker 18
Analysis: The Tigers shot themselves out of this game because they were 5-of-22 (23%) from 3-point range. Credit Michigan’s zone defense and patient offense for picking up the program’s first tournament win since 1998. They also survived a bad night from DeShawn Sims who scored only 9 points.
What’s Next: Michigan advances to the second round where it will meet No. 2 Oklahoma, which handled No. 15 Morgan State, 82-54. The Wolverine zone is really going to have to clamp down national player of the year candidate Blake Griffin who has 27 double doubles this year.

By Kevin Lonnquist
DFN Sports Staff Writer

No. 2 Michigan State (26-6) vs. No. 15 Robert Morris (24-10)
Time/Site: 9:50 DT/Minneapolis
The winner gets: The winner of Boston College-USC
Summary: The Spartans won their fifth regular season Big Ten title under coach Tom Izzo but lost to Ohio State in the conference tournament semifinals. Robert Morris won the Northeast Conference regular season and tournament titles and is appearing in the tournament for the first time in 17 years.
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Key Players: Michigan State – Kalin Lucas (14.8 ppg, 4.4 apg), G; Raymar Morgan (10.8 ppg), F Robert Morris – Jeremy Chappell (16.9 ppg)
Key stat: Michigan State – The Spartans need 4 wins to get to the Final Four held at Ford Field in Detroit. Robert Morris – The Colonials have 3 players – Chappell, Jimmy Langhurst and Gary Wallace – who are shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range.
Michigan State will win: Because the Spartans have a great point guard in Lucas, Morgan is healthy and center Goran Suton is as physical as anyone in the country that you have not heard about.
Robert Morris will win: If it can get past the butterflies and hope Michigan State has an out-of-body experience. The Colonials just don’t have the roster to really stay on the floor with the Spartans.
Prediction: Michigan State 81, Robert Morris 58

No. 8 Ohio State (22-10) vs. No. 9 Siena (26-7)
Time/Site: 9:40 EDT/Dayton, Ohio
The winner gets: The winner of Louisville-Morehead State
Summary: The Buckeyes finished in a three-way tie for third in the Big Ten and lost in the tournament finals to Purdue. Siena won the MAAC regular season and conference tournament titles.
Key Players: Ohio State – Evan Turner (17.1 ppg), F; Jon Diebler (11.4 ppg) Siena – Joe Habrouck (14.8 ppg), G; Edwin Ubiles (14.6 ppg)
Key stat: Ohio State – Turner is averaging seven rebounds. Siena – Point guard Ronald Moore is averaging 6.2 assists per game.
Ohio State will win: If Turner, co-Big Ten player of the year, plays his usual game, it will create difficult matchups for the Saints. Also, is freshman guard William Buford continues to grow like he has all season, the Buckeyes will win. It doesn’t hurt that the game is in Ohio.
Siena will win: If the Saints can take Ohio State’s Turner out of his game and Moore feeds Hasbrouck and Ubiles like has all season.
Prediction: Ohio State 64, Siena 59

By Kevin Lonnquist

The 2009 Big Ten Tournament tips off on Thursday and the pairings for the event have been announced. Thursday’s games feature the #8 seed Northwestern Wildcats facing the #9 Minnesota Golden Gophers at noon on the Big Ten Network with #7 Michigan facing #10 Iowa at 2:30 on ESPN2 and finally #6 Penn State facing #11 Indiana at 5 pm on ESPN2. On Friday, #1 Michigan State faces the Northwestern/Minnesota winner at noon and #4 Wisconsin takes on #5 Ohio State at 2:30 pm, both on ESPN, and the final two games of the night will be televised on the Big Ten Network as #2 Illinois faces the Michigan/Iowa winner and #3 Purdue faces the Penn State/Indiana winner. Games continue at 1:40 and 4 pm on Saturday with the semifinals of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament on CBS and finally the Big Ten Championship on Sunday at 3:30 pm on CBS as well.

For more details on the 2009 Big Ten Tournament including scores, schedules and results, look to our friends at Big Ten Fans.

The 2009 Big Ten Basketball Tournament is just around the corner, and with each game played in the Big Ten, the seeding and overall picture becomes a bit more clear. Michigan State remains in control with a 2-game lead in the loss column at 12-3 with only Illinois and Purdue, both 11-5 in Big Ten play, in striking distance. Penn State and Wisconsin are both 8-7 with Minnesota, Michigan & Ohio State at 8-8 and Northwestern at 7-9 nipping at their heels. The #10 seed will go to Iowa which is now 4-12 in Big Ten play and Indiana will take the #11 seed at 1-14 in the conference.

It’s halftime of the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and the Ohio State Buckeyes lead the #3 Texas Longhorns 6-3. Despite controlling the game with a dominating running game in the 1st half, the Buckeyes lead by just a field goal. The Buckeyes have two major monkeys on their back today; one for the Big Ten which is 1-5 in bowl games this season and the other for themselves after consecutive BCS bowl game blowout losses. An interception of Colt McCoy with just 3 seconds left in the half preserved the Buckeye lead as Texas was driving and looking to take the lead just before the end of the half.