College Basketball 2011-2012

[homer]

Kind of funny that after all the hoopla over Tokoto that UW ended up with a more highly rated prospect anyway.

 

 

 

 

EDIT: misspelled Tokoto

[jjfanec]

Kind of funny that after all the hoopla over Takoto that UW ended up with a more highly rated prospect anyway.

Interesting how that works sometimes. Although the Badgers wanted both and I would be happy if that would have happened. Looks like the Badgers are very high (if not the top) of the list for another big name recruit - 55th ranked (2013) Kyle Washington from Minnesota. It seems like Bo and his staff are in on a lot more big recruits right now.

[trwi7]

Oh just saw that Northwestern beat Michigan State today. Any time Michigan State basketball loses, it's a good thing. Replay in BTN is coming up in 10 minutes too.

[jjfanec]

Apparently the Badgers offense looks good when they hit shots. Nice win for them tonight. 4-3 in the conference isnt so bad after that start

[dadofandrew]

12-18 on 3's if memory serves. So often, teams just take the chance they'll miss and people wonder why they take so many 3's. If you're open, you almost have to take them, as they are such a huge thing if they fall. It was a close game tonight 'til Taylor and Gasser hit 3's on three consecutive trips. NW never got within single digits again. The whole game changed on those three trips down.

[homer]

UW could have shot like 35% from three and still won. They played much better defense in the second half.

[RockCoCougars]

Credit given where credit is due. They have rebounded nicely since the Michigan debacle. Now the schedule gets very tough for the next month.

[TooLiveBrew]

Are Nebraska or Northwestern teams that we should be excited about beating? I realize the Purdue win is definitely a good one.

[brwrsfan]

Northwestern is likely a tournament team this year I think. It's a decent win. Nebraska...not so much. Though they did just beat Indiana. It's not a team we should be excited to beat, but given how Wisconsin has played at times this year (that game included), they should be happy with every win they get. Wisconsin is pretty solidily in the tournament right now but they need to beat a good team or two just to make sure. They're probably in the 7-9 seed range right now, but go on another skid and that could really put them in a perilous position. Next month or so is tough, so they'll have some chances to get a quality win or two.

[jjfanec]

Are Nebraska or Northwestern teams that we should be excited about beating? I realize the Purdue win is definitely a good one.

Blowing out a team that just beat Michigan State is a positive. Seeing the offense start to click is a positive. Bruiser showing signs of life is a positive. Taylor finding his shoot in the second half is a positive. So yeah I am excited about the Northwestern game

[TooLiveBrew]

Was the offense starting to click (which to me implies that they've been improving & might be expected to continue to improve), or was it simply that three-pointers were falling?

[jjfanec]

Was the offense starting to click (which to me implies that they've been improving & might be expected to continue to improve), or was it simply that three-pointers were falling?

Three pointers falling at an even normal rate would make this offense look much better than it had. Unless you think this is really a team that will shoot 25% from 3 for the year the biggest bounce back this offense needed was shots starting to fall. Also Evans, Gasser and Bruiser were in the lane and down low a lot of the game. They got inside a lot more than normal and that has been a trend. Gasser has been going to the rim a lot more the last 3 games.

[TooLiveBrew]

Also Evans, Gasser and Bruiser were in the lane and down low a lot of the game. They got inside a lot more than normal and that has been a trend. Gasser has been going to the rim a lot more the last 3 games.

 

That's great to hear, glad the coaches & players are getting over that hump. It'd be great to see this team finish strong.

[Baldkin]

They looked totally lost against NW's 1-3-1 half court trap until Bruesewitz got in there and popped to the top of the key and started making good passes. Other than a 5 min stretch in the first half (when they went from up 10 to down 8) they really kicked some Wildcat.

[Glennron]

Northwestern is likely a tournament team this year I think.

Based on what?

[jjfanec]

Northwestern is likely a tournament team this year I think.

Based on what?

Lunardi has them as one of his last four in

Jerry Palm has them as an 8 seed. He even has Minnesota in

Collegehoops.net has them at a 12 (one of the last 4 in)

So I would say right now they are a likely tournament team

 

[RockCoCougars]

Northwestern will never make the tournament. It's written in the stars.

[jjfanec]

Northwestern will never make the tournament. It's written in the stars.

If they make it any year this looks like the year. The major conferences are down - Big East isnt nearly the power it used to be, ACC isnt that great, Pac 10 is terrible, etc. That leaves more spots for weaker teams than normal

Northwestern still has Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Purdue at homes. All games they will likely be favored in except maybe Purdue. They also have Minnesota on the road today and Iowa and Penn State on the road. 8 wins in conference could be enough. They could easily get there.

[brettac1]

Didn't one of those Evan Eschmeyer Northwestern teams make it?

[Glennron]

If 8-10 in the Big Ten with their OOC schedule/results gets them in the tournament, well, I don't know what then.

[Glennron]

Didn't one of those Evan Eschmeyer Northwestern teams make it?

Nope, they've never been in.

[jjfanec]

If 8-10 in the Big Ten with their OOC schedule/results gets them in the tournament, well, I don't know what then.

Very true. I meant if they got to .500. I was thinking they only play 16 conference games for some reason. So, I would say they need 9 wins to get in, but I posted the different brackets. Those are probably the three most respected bracket predictors and they all had Northwestern in when they were 2-3 in conference play. The bubble is as weak as ever. Lunardi had a combined 16 teams from the Big 12, SEC, ACC and Pac 10 combined! That is a lot of openings for mediocre teams to get in this year

[owbc]

Big resume-building road win for Wisconsin @Illinois today. When was the last time they won @Illinois and @Purdue in the same year? Amazingly, if they win the next two (winnable games), the Badgers would be right back in the conference title picture. If only the Michigan State game had turned out slightly different.

[jjfanec]

Big resume-building road win for Wisconsin @Illinois today. When was the last time they won @Illinois and @Purdue in the same year? Amazingly, if they win the next two (winnable games), the Badgers would be right back in the conference title picture. If only the Michigan State game had turned out slightly different.

They already are right back in the title picture. At 5-3 they are half a game behind OSU, MSU, and Michigan. Like you said if they take care of business against Indiana at home and PSU on the road the Badgers vs OSU game would be pretty huge.

It was a big win considering they couldnt hit a FT early and they were turning it over a lot. They held strong on the road and pulled away at thee end. Great game and great bounce back after that horrible game against Michigan

 

[Glennron]

It's huge that Berggren stepped up the way he did. At one point in the second half he had 5 of their 12 made field goals.

 

I thought they did a good job of getting to the rim too. Brust and Evans each had a couple nice dribble drives where they got easy layups. It'd be nice to see that more often.