Six teams from the “overrated” (per Charles Barkley) B1G made it to the round of 32. Four of them will continue onto the Sweet Sixteen. It wasn’t without some serious drama, though.

#3 Michigan 78
#5 VCU  53

I’d expected a good game, but instead it was only considered “good” for fans of Michigan and the B1G. Michigan flexed a little muscle and flat-out dominated the Rams to earn their first trip to the Sweet Sixteen since 1994.

Michigan now moves on to play Kansas on Thursday. I’m not sure this is the best match-up for the Wolverines. They’ve also benefited from what was basically a home crowd and will be in Texas, way closer to the Jayhawk’s neck of the woods. I think it will be a great game, but expect Michigan to come up just a bit short.

Prediction: Kansas

#3 Michigan State 70
#6 Memphis 48

It was a good day for the teams in the State of Michigan. MSU dominated a solid Memphis team to earn Izzo’s 11th trip to the Sweet Sixteen. Gary Harris scored a career high 23 points in the effort.

Like Michigan, Sparty was basically playing in front of a home crowd. They will move on to Indianapolis to take on Duke. They do have the benefit of staying in the Midwest, which is nice. Duke is Duke and won’t be an easy out. MSU has looked pretty good in the tourney and Sparty has a habit of playing their best ball in March. It should be a great game. I think Sparty gets it done in a nailbiter.

Prediction: MSU

#2 Ohio State 78
#10 Iowa State 75

Aaron Craft turned five horrible minutes of play into a distant memory with one shot as he hit a three-pointer with .5 seconds left to take out Iowa State. The Buckeyes held a 13 point lead and appeared to have the game well in hand at one point, but did their best to attempt to lose against a hot shooting Cyclone squad.

The Buckeyes have to leave Ohio and head to L.A. now. Unfortunately for them, they will be playing a PAC 12 team that will have much less distance to cover. Arizona won’t be a cakewalk by any means, but I think Ohio State may have faced their toughest remaining test in the upset heavy West Region.

Prediction: Ohio State

#1 Indiana 58
#9 Temple 52

It was a day of big threes for the B1G as Victor Oladipo hit a huge one with 13 seconds left to boost the Hooisers over the Owls. Temple gave them everything they could handle and held the lead for a good chunk of the game. Indiana was simply clutch when they needed to be.

Indiana moves on to DC to take on Syracuse. Syracuse will be a big test, but I think the close shave against Temple may have been a good thing. If anything, the Hoosiers certainly won’t be sleeping on anyone from here on out.

Prediction: Indiana

#11 Minnesota 64
#3 Florida 78

Minnesota’s clock struck 12 against the Gators. It was almost much, much worse as Florida held a 21 point lead at the half. The Gophers did everything they could to get back into it but, in the end, the deficit was just too much to overcome.

Minnesota ends their season with a 21-13 record.

#7 Illinois  59
#2 Miami 63

In another nailbiter, the Illini took Miami down to the wire, but couldn’t finish them off. Miami’s Shane Larkin hit a go ahead three, the Hurricanes benefited from what later appeared to be a blown call and the Illini couldn’t hit baskets when they needed to. It was a heartbreaker for an Illini team that started the season hot.

Illinois ends their season with a 23-13 record.

Times for all upcoming games are still TBD when the Sweet Sixteen begins on Thursday.

Fitz brought the remains of the “bowl monkey” to the postgame presser.

The Wildcats have finally gotten the monkey off their back.

After going more than 60 years without a bowl game victory, No. 20 Northwestern ended the drought and beat Mississippi State 34-20 in the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl on Tuesday.

The ‘Cats took an early lead when Quentin Williams picked off Bulldogs QB Tyler Russell less than a minute into the game and took the ball 29 yards to the house. NU increased their lead to 13-0 when Jeff Budzien hit a 34-yard field goal later in the first quarter and another from 37 yards out to open the second quarter.

Then it was MSU’s turn to score, as Devon Bell got them on the board with a 27-yard field goal of his own. With just over a minute to play in the half, Russell found Arceto Clark for an 18-yard TD pass, which cut Northwestern’s lead to just three points.

The bulldogs tied things up on their first drive of the third quarter, but the Wildcats responded with two touchdowns, one on a 3-yard run from Tyris Jones and another one a 4-yard run by QB Trevor Siemian (a Florida native). That put them up 27-13 with one quarter remaining. Fourth quarters have been tricky for NU all season, but not this time.

After Mississippi State scored on a 14-yard TD pass from Russell to Malcolm Johnson early in the final quarter, the ‘Cats were left clinging to a slim lead. Venric Mark put them back on top by two scores, though, when he took the ball three yards to the house on the next drive. The NU defense held MSU scoreless for the rest of the game and the Cats were able to assume the victory formation in a bowl game for the first time in more than half a century.

» Continue reading “Northwestern Beats Mississippi State, Finally Wins A Bowl Game”

It has been a rough year for the B1G. From an abysmal football season to mocking of their new members to everyone freaking out about the departure of Wisky coach Bret Bielema for Arkansas, they just can’t seem to catch a break.

Now, their Female Athlete of the Year award namesake was apparently a hooker.

Suzy Favor Hamilton, who appears to be your basic All-American girl next door role model type, was outed in this Smoking Gun report as a high-dollar Vegas call girl, who charged 600 bucks an hour.

Beginning last December, Suzy Favor Hamilton, 44, has worked with one of Las Vegas’s premier escort services, booking scores of “dates” in Sin City and other U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston.

Favor Hamilton is a B1G legend. She won four B1G Female Athlete of the Year awards, is the NCAA championships record holder in the 800m and 1500m and was named the B1G athlete of the decade for the 90s. She was also a three time Olympian and held a couple of world records.

She used the assumed name of Kelly Lundy for her call girl career. Apparently, for some reason, she shared her real identity to some of her clients. Because, you know, it makes sense to trust someone who is paying you for a “girlfriend experience” with your innermost secrets.

It’s no doubt quite a shock to not only the B1G, but also Nike and Disney, for whom she has done a bit of endorsing.It’s a shock, for sure, and it will be interesting to see the damage control that is performed in light of these revelations.

The University of Maryland has decided to join the B1G. It’s rumored that Rutgers is following suit tomorrow, but in the interest of not jumping the gun, let’s just roll with some information on the University of Maryland.

Location:
College Park, MD

Driving Distance from current B1G Members (courtesy Google Maps):

Illinois – 712 mi, 12 hours 18 mins
Indiana – 641 mi, 11 hours 11 mins
Iowa – 906 mi, 15 hours 34 mins
Michigan – 523 mi, 9 hours 17 mins
Michigan State – 588 mi, 10 hours 24 mins
Minnesota – 1,104 mi, 19 hours 33 mins
Nebraska – 1,205 mi, 20 hours 25 mins
Northwestern – 713 mi, 12 hours 49 mins
Ohio State – 421 mi, 7 hours 27 mins
Penn State – 200 mi, 3 hours 52 mins
Purdue – 653 mi, 11 hours 26 mins
Wisconsin – 844 mi, 15 hours 9 mins

Founded:

1856 – Maryland is the largest university in the state and in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Much like all but one member of its new conference, Maryland is a member of the Association of American Universities. They were a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference athletic league.

» Continue reading “B1G Fans – Get To Know Maryland”

New Nebraska coach Tim Miles takes our picture!

Aside from losing my computer cord, I would say today’s Big Ten Basketball Media Day was a success. There were a couple of new faces like Illinois’ John Groce and Nebraska’s Tim Miles and some seasoned B1G vets like MSU’s Tom Izzo and Wiscy’s Bo Ryan. Everyone was excited to congregate in the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, and there was lots of talk about how awesome the conference was going to be this year.

With Indiana picked as preseason champs and Cody Zeller dubbed preseason Player of the Year, there was a lot of hype surrounding the Hoosiers. Let’s not forget that out of the 12 Big Ten Teams, three are ranked in the preseason top 5 (#1 Indy, #4 OSU, #5 Mich) and two more got a top 25 shoutout (#14 MSU and #21 Wiscy). While preseason rankings mean next to nothing, a lot of people think that this is the conference to beat.

Coaches Pressers

Usually these things are done in alphabetical order by team, starting with Illinois and finishing with Wiscy, but this year they mixed it up and went backwards.  Our moderator wore a bow tie, which elicited a few comments from coaches along the way, while others were just focused on talking as much as possible (I will refrain from listing who, but I’m sure you could guess).

Wisconsin – Bo Ryan

Ryan was among the jokesters, and commented he thought the bow-tied moderator was the valet guy. Sounds like Wiscy will have some good guards this year, which has Ryan excited. Zach Bohannon, brother of the successful Jason who was also a Badger,  is taller, loves the game, is ahead of the others coming in and can shoot 3′s. As for the high rankings in the league, Ryan thinks it’s great for the B1G and great for RPI.

Matt Painter looks like he shed a few pounds.

Purdue – Matt Painter

Purdue’s Painter was next, and it looks like the guy lost some weight! Congrats to him, as his waistband had been expanding as of late. Though he said he was excited, you could tell Painter wasn’t thrilled to report that he lost four starters. He says there is some talent on the Boilermakers, but not a lot of experience. “It’s going to be a youth movement for us,” he said. “I do like our talent level, I don’t like our experience.”

Penn State – Patrick Chambers

Oh yeah this guy! When fresh-faced Chambers took the podium I sort of forgot that he existed. He is excited about going into his second season, and there was a lot of talk surrounded Tim Frazier, who was named to the preseason All-Big Ten Team. When asked about the controversy surrounding the football team, he had this to say regarding recruiting: “I talk to the parents about it and the kids about it and I don’t want it to be the elephant in the room. I would rather get it out in front of it and let’s discuss it and if there are issues, then this might not be the right place for you.”

Ohio State – Thad Matta

Sitting pretty at #4, OSU may have lost William Buford and Jared Sullinger, but they return two all-Big Ten selections including Defensive Player of the Year, Aaron Craft. “I think they’re very aware of the challenges that lie ahead,” Matta said of the team, “and I like their demeanor to this point.” Deshaun Thomas is reportedly thinner and lighter, and has a better understanding of the game and is focusing more on defense. When asked about new Illini coach John Groce (who worked under Matta at OSU), Matta said the guy has a lot of passion for the game, and for the University of Illinois.

Northwestern – Bill Carmody

Apparently this is Carmody’s 13th year with NU, so perhaps this will be the lucky year when they finally make the tournament? Without John Shurna, that might be tough. “We have four starters back, we lost a good kid in Shurna and four starters back sounds great, but we have nine guys on our team that have never played for Northwestern,” he said. Drew Crawford will work to replace Shurna as the face (and everything else) of the team.

PSU Coach Patrick Chambers

Nebraska – Tim Miles

The first B1G newbie of the day was Miles, who came out with a huge grin ready to have a lot of fun. He cracked jokes throughout and had this to say about entering the conference “Technically, I haven’t had my brains beat in yet, but I would like to thank the Big Ten for starting us at home against Michigan State, and the beginning of the schedule, thanks, Rick! Santa is going to give him some coal in his stocking.” As a kid, Miles had a dream to turn Notre Dame into a basketball school, but he said he’d like a real challenge and thus came to Nebraska. Before stepping off stage he took a panoramic picture of us media goobers and tweeted it to his followers.

Minnesota -Tubby Smith

Far less energetic than Miles, Smith has been a head coach since 1991, and enters his sixth year as the coach of the Golden Gophers.  Things are looking up for the team that has been injury (and other issues) plagued as of late, Minnesota has 11 returning players, including 4 starters. Trevor Mbakwe had a knee injury last year, and some legal trouble (DUI) this year. He’s been cleared to play, and Smith believes he will be able to step in and contribute. Smith had this to say about  Mbakwe: “Trevor is a fine young man, hell, I’ve never had a problem with him on the basketball court or in practice or in the classroom. He’s graduated, he’s working on his Masters degree.”

Michigan State -Tom Izzo

MSU has 11 letterwinners returning, and Izzo joked they must have had a lot of walk-ons. The team has some youth and some depth, including guys who have been to the Final Four. With such a strong conference, Izzo knows the season will be tough, and credits the coaches for all of the B1G accolades.

Michigan – John Beilein

New Illini head coach John Groce

With just 3 returning starters (out of five is that really so bad?), Beilein believes he’s got some challenges ahead. “We have challenges because so few of our players have a lot of game experience,” he said.  “But, there is great opportunity because of the young talent we have and the returning players who haven’t played
a lot but have worked hard at their game.

Iowa -Fran McCaffery

Coach McCaffery still looks like a chemistry teacher, and kind of speaks like one, too. It was nice to see him get fired up last year when he slammed a chair during a game against MSU, because in these things he doesn’t have much of a spark. “We have to be cautiously optimistic because we’re still a very young team despite the fact that we have 87 percent of our offense back, there is going to be a lot of young players in the mix,” he said. “I think we’re the biggest we’ve been in a long time and the deepest we’ve been in a long time, and I think we have a chance to be very good.”

Indiana – Tom Crean

Just as the media peeps started to get tired, out came the two of the most talkative guys in the bunch. Tom Crean came out without a tie, while pretty much every other coach had a tie that boasted their teams’ colors. Although, I suppose we should be glad he at least wore a sports jacket. Crean spoke for about 10 minutes before a question was even asked of him. But, with all the hype surrounding the team, it’s understandable to be excited. Despite the attention, it’s business as usual and he isn’t taking anything for granted. He had this to say as part of the Zeller lovefest: “Cody Zeller epitomizes so many things about the program and number one is the humble spirit he has. He’s confident but he has a humbleness, and he has a desire to improve.”

Illinois – John Groce

Last but not least, new head coach John Groce came out to the podium with a deep orange tie (maybe a little too dark, but I’ll let it slide) and a nice shiny head. Like football coach Tim Beckman, Groce is pretty intense. Groce had a lot to say about the guys working hard and showing improvement, especially Nanna Egwu, who will be trying to fill the big shoes of a guy that no one really mentioned: Meyers Leonard. Myke Henry, Jo Bertrand and Tracy Abrams were also given shoutouts. As for Brandon Paul’s inconsistency, Groce says they’ve been working on it, but we’ve heard this before. He refers to this Pat Riley quote with Paul: “Coaches will take consistency over greatness any day.” Perhaps that inspiration will do the trick.

Another week, another highlight reel play by Venric Mark.

The Huskers scored 12 points in the final six minutes of the  fourth quarter and came back to beat the Wildcats 29-28 today in Evanston.

Nebraska got on the board first with a field goal on their first possession, but Northwestern, sporting fancy black uniforms and matching helmets, responded with a touchdown late in the first quarter. The teams then traded TDs in the second quarter, and the ‘Cats took a slim 14-10 lead into the half.

Stud RB Venric Mark ran 80 yards to the house to put Northwestern up by 14 early in the third quarter, but the Huskers were able to score a touchdown of their own with a minute and a half remaining in the quarter. They went for a two-point conversion, but the attempt was unsuccessful. The Wildcats tacked on another TD to make it a two-score lead again, but then things went south for them.

Nebraska answered with an 80-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown, cutting the ‘Cats’ lead to only five points with just under six minutes left in the game. The Northwestern offense sputtered, while the Cornhuskers manufactured one more drive, which ended in the game-winning score. They went for a two-point conversion again, and failed again, but it didn’t matter.

Huskers QB Taylor Martinez had a solid afternoon, tossing three TD passes and going 27-of-39 for 342 yards. His Northwestern counterpart, Trevor Siemian, finished the day 15-of-35 for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Kain Colter, the Wildcats’ other quarterback, threw just two passes today and completed only one, but had 35 yards on 14 carries.

Nice hat, sir.

Mark had 16 carries for 118 yards and a TD and Rashad Lawrence had four receptions for 41 yards to lead Northwestern. Ameer Abdullah had just over 100 yards on 19 carries and Quincy Enunwa had six catches for 110 yards to lead Nebraska.The Cornhuskers racked up 26 first downs compared to the Cats’14, but they also turned the ball over three times. The Wildcats were outgained in total yardage 543-301.

Northwestern drops to 6-2 overall and 2-2 in the B1G. They’ll host Iowa next weekend. Nebraska improves to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play. They’ll host Michigan next Saturday.

Venric Mark was pretty much the only bright spot for Northwestern on Saturday.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was a conference win (on the road), and the Wildcats will certainly take it.

Behind RB Venric Mark and a good late-game effort from the defense, Northwestern managed to hold off the Golden Gophers and secure their sixth victory of the season, making them bowl eligible for the sixth straight year.

Minnesota fumbled on the opening kickoff and the Cats recovered, setting up a 26-yard TD run by Mark. That gave them a 7-0 lead less than a minute into the game. The Gophers put up a field goal on their next possession, but NU answered with another touchdown, this time by QB/WR/RB Kain Colter.

The teams continued to trade scores in the second quarter, with Minnestoa’s MarQueis Gray running for a 25-yard TD and Mark taking the ball 48 yards to the house.  Northwestern was up 21-10 at the half thanks almost entirely to Mark, who was basically the whole offense for the Wildcats.

Neither team did much of anything in the second half, though the Gophers tacked on another touchdown in the third quarter. That brought them to within four points of Northwestern, but they weren’t able to muster any more points. They had a chance for a final score with less than a minute and a half left in the game, but a sack and forced fumble by NU’s Tyler Scott ended the drive.

The Wildcats were lucky that Mark had a great day, because the passing game was virtually nonexistent. Colter went 10-of-10, but for only 63 yards. The Cats’ other QB, Trevor Siemian, was a miserable 1-for-7 for four yards. Gophers starting QB Max Shortell had to leave the game due to injury, but was 9-of-19 for just over 100 yards. Gray took over under center and finished 7-of-11 for 66 yards and an interception.

Mark had 20 carries for a career-high 182 yards and two TDs and Rashad Lawrence had four catches for 24 yards to lead Northwestern. Gray had nine carries for 86 yards and a touchdown and A.J. Barker had three receptions for 49 yards to lead Minnesota.

The Gophers struggled to hold onto the ball, fumbling nine times and losing it twice, including on that opening play. They did manage 21 first downs, whereas NU had only 13. The Wildcats were outgained 327-275 in total yardage and had the ball for 26 minutes.

Northwestern improves to 6-1 on the season and 2-1 in the Big Ten. They’ll host Nebraska next weekend. Minnesota drops to 4-2 overall and 0-2 in conference play. They’ll take on the Badgers next weekend in Madison.

Or maybe, more accurately, Northwestern ended Northwestern’s perfect season.

Venric Mark scored Northwestern’s first TD of the day.

The Wildcats traveled to State College to take on the Nittany Lions Saturday afternoon, and for three quarters, it looked like they were on their way to a 6-0 record. Then came the fourth quarter, where the ‘Cats seemingly forgot how to play defense, and didn’t do much on offense, either.

Penn State got on the board first with a first quarter field goal, then tacked on a touchdown in the second quarter. NU responded by scoring two touchdowns in six minutes, giving them a slim 14-10 lead at the half. The first of those TDs came after Penn State’s Jesse Della Valle fumbled on the punt return and the ball was  recovered by Northwestern’s Nick VanHoose at the Nittany Lions’ 17-yard line.

PSU took back the lead midway through the third quarter, but the Wildcats scored two more touchdowns in less than three minutes to take back the lead. That made it 28-17 with one quarter left to play.

At that point, Northwestern apparently thought the game was over, as their defense failed to show up at all for the fourth quarter. That allowed the Nittany Lions to score 22 unanswered points (three touchdowns and a two-point conversion) and to come away with a victory.

The ‘Cats have struggled against Penn State recently, and Nittany Lions QB Matt McGloin has owned NU teams during his years under center. Wildcats QB/RB/WR Kain Colter ran all over the place as he played multiple positions last week, but he was unable to do so this Saturday.

Trevor Siemian took the reins under center for NU this week and finished the day 21-of-36 for 135 yards and a touchdown. McGloin went 35-of-51 for 282 yards and two TDs. Venric Mark had 13 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown and Mike Trumpy had three catches for 28 yards to lead the ‘Cats. Zach Zwinak had 28 carries for 121 yards and a TD and Allen Robinson had nine receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns to lead Penn State.

PSU rolled up 443 yards of offense compared to Northwestern’s 247 and had possession of the ball for almost 40 minutes. The Wildcats managed only 14 first downs (the Nittany Lions had 30) and were outplayed pretty much all-around.

The loss doesn’t kill Northwestern’s hopes of a successful season and a good bowl game, but it does drop them from the AP Top 25. They’re now 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the B1G. Penn State improves to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Ohio State is now the only team in the B1G who has not lost a game this season.

The Wildcats celebrate after their win over the Hoosiers. (photo by Katie Dzwierzynski)

I got to attend my first Northwestern game today, which was really exciting. Even more exciting? We beat Indiana (where my cousin is a sophomore) and improved to 5-0 on the season!

My experience was made even better because the Wildcats set a school record for offense and QB/WR Kain Colter had a career day, too.

The first score of the day came courtesy of an 8-yard run by Colter and the ‘Cats took a 7-0 lead with just under five minutes left in the first quarter. They followed that up with two field goals and another 8-yard touchdown run by Colter, which put Northwestern up 20-0 heading into the half.

Colter opened up the third quarter with another TD run, this time for 15 yards. The Wildcats looked to be comfortably ahead, but then the defense – who’s been praised this season for being much better than in years past – decided to take a break.

The Hoosiers scored two touchdowns in less than two minutes, the first coming on a 20-yard run by Stephen Houston and the second on a 35-yard pass from Nate Sudfeld to Kofi Hughes.

The teams then traded TDs, with Venric Mark taking the ball in from one yard out and Indiana returning returning a kickoff 96 yards to the house (talk about something that deflates excitement in a crowd). That made the score 34-21 with four and a half minutes left in the third quarter.

Jeff Budzien tacked on a field goal a few minutes later to increase the Wildcats’ lead to 37-21 before each team scored on more touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Hoosiers went for two points and got it, but Colter’s final TD, which came on a 22-yard run, locked up the victory for the ‘Cats. For being a team that’s struggled this season (and the past few), Indiana had solid effort and looked, for a while, anyway, to really be threatening NU’s perfect record.

» Continue reading “Northwestern Opens B1G Play, Keeps Perfect Season Alive”

The Nebraska Cornhuskers athletic director, Tom Osborne held a press conference on Wednesday announcing his retirement from the position starting January 2013. He will continue to be around the programs for six months after his retirement to help with recruiting and his replacements transition period.

For those of you who don’t know much about Tom Osborne, he will basically go down in Nebraska as one of the best there ever was. He coached the Cornhuskers football team from 1973-1997 earning himself a 255-49-3 record before leaving the position to later become the AD. The in-between years of coaching football and becoming the AD, Osborne was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Just a few of his accomplishments as a coach:

On top of that, Osborne has three National titles under his belt and thirteen conference championships spanning across the Big 8 to the Big XII. So to say he has left an imprint on Nebraska football and college football is an understatement.

In the press conference, Osborne claimed age was the deciding factor in his decision. He is 75.

I never want to be one of those guys where people are wringing their hands and saying ‘What are we going to do with him?

Much respect to Tom Osborne and the last legacy he is leaving on college football.