Big Ten Slow Ball

Everything is 65 possessions and under - but hey, at least it's faster than those snails out west.

Michigan State exploded in the second half to take down Ohio State, 78-67 in a 61 possession game yesterday. The Spartans had 52 second half points, which is quite an accomplishment for such a slow game. Ohio State's shotblockers did little to prevent the MSU from scoring inside, allowing them to shoot 56% on two pointers. They weren't bad on three pointers or from the free throw line, either. Oh, and they grabbed 50% of the available offensive rebounds. Frankly, the Buckeyes didn't slow down the Spartans in any way. And so continues the defensive struggles of the Ohio State. They need David Lighty back, and soon.

This represents another quality win for Coach Izzo's team, as Michigan State maintains its lead on the rest of the conference. This team isn't perfect, especially defensively, but the offense is so good that it might not matter. Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers combined for 46 points on 26 shots. Box score.

On Saturday, Illinois protected its home court with a 64-57 win over Wisconsin in a 61 possession game. The Illini shot the ball very well, going 53% from 2 point range and 40% from three. Good thing too, because Wisconsin allowed Illinois to grab only 3 offensive rebounds all game. On the other side of the ball, the Badgers couldn't make a shot, going 39% from two and 29% from three. The reason the game was so close was because they took excellent care of the ball, turning it over just seven times. This is a staple of Bo Ryan's team, and that will keep them in most games.

Joe Krabbenhoft had himself a game in this one, scoring 16 points on 10 shots to go along with 12 rebounds. A big part of this was that Illinois tried to guard the forward with someone giving up nearly half a foot, but one wonders why Krabbenhoft doesn't shoot more. He's an effecient scorer when he puts it up (53.1 eFG entering this game), but he's awfully selective (16.1 shot percentage). Wisconsin isn't loaded with playmakers, so there's room for Krabbenhoft to hoist up a few more attempts.

For the Illini, Demetri McCamey led the team on the offensive end, scoring 25 points on 10 shots to go with seven assists. It's a testament to how many great guards there are in the Big Ten when you consider that McCamey might not be the third best point guard in the conference, because McCamey is pretty good. Box score.

Iowa let one get away at Penn State, losing 59-63 in a 57 possession game. The Hawkeyes appeared to have this one in hand, leading by 14 in the second half. But the Nittany Lions closed the game on a 22-5 run to sneak out with the victory. Road wins aren't going to come easily for Coach Lickliter's team, so this was a big loss. But the story of this game was Jamelle Cornley. After picking up a technical foul, Cornley hit big shot after big shot to bring Penn State back. All in all, the big man had 24 points on 17 shots, playing all 40 minutes. Talor Battle also chipped in with 20 points on 12 shots, to go with 6 assists and one turnover.

After a game like this, it's hard to say whether one team made a miraculous comeback, or whether the other guys just choked. In most cases, it's probably a bit of both, and that's what I saw here. Yes, Penn State hit some big shots, and they get a lot of credit for that. But there were some questionable plays by Iowa as well. David Palmer shooting a three pointer with 11 seconds left, for instance.

As tough a loss as this was for Iowa, it would have been nerly disastrous for Penn State, who is still aiming for an NCAA Tournament berth. Defending the home court is paramount, and while Iowa is no cupcake, they appear to be headed near the bottom of the conference standings. And make no mistake - Penn State caught a bit of a break here. The normally-accurate Hawkeyes aren't going to shoot 4 of 17 from the three point line very often.

Big Ten Geek breakout candidate Jake Kelly led Iowa with 19 points on 10 shots, but with 4 turnovers. David Palmer's magic appears to have worn off, as he had just 6 points in this one. But Todd Lickliter reached into his bottomless bag of players and got a good game out of Aaron Fuller, who scored 16 in this one. Fuller had been averaging less than 4 points a game. Are we sure that Anthony Tucker isn't just wearing disguises out there? Every game, it seems Iowa gets an unexpected big game out of someone. Box score.

Usually when Manny Harris doesn't have a good game, Michigan is in trouble. Usually. But the Wolverines got plenty of contributions from the supporting cast in defeating Northwestern 68-59 in a 57 possession game. It's not often that the better shooting team loses by nearly double digits, but that's exactly what happened in Ann Arbor on Saturday. The difference was rebounding. The Wildcats grabbed just 10% of their available offensive rebounds while the Wolverines snagged 40% of theirs. It's hard to stop the other team when you let them keep shooting until they finally make a basket. The effort on the boards was especially concerning was Coach Carmody's team because over half of Michigan's attempts were three pointers. Another very un-POTish aspect of Michigan's offense were all the trips to the line. Although both teams attempted roughly the same percentage of three pointers, the Wolverines saw 18 free throw attempts to the Wildcats' three. Ah, life on the road.

Harris only had 8 points on 9 shots, but he found other ways to contribute, grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing four assists. Not only is Harris an elite scorer, but he's also one of the Big Ten's best rebounders and distributors. Michigan fans - enjoy him while you can, he might not be around much longer. DeShawn Sims led the Wolverines with 15 points on 8 shots, and also had seven rebounds. Kevin Coble propelled Northwestern's offense with 21 points on 18 shots, 7 rebounds, and five assists (0 turnovers). Box score.

Minnesota escaped Bloomington with a win over Indiana yesterday, prevailing 67-63 in a 65 possession game. This one was tight throughout, as Indiana overcame its usual turnover problems with strong offensive rebounding and hot outside shooting. The numbers were pretty similar for both teams, but the Hoosiers had just a couple more turnovers in the game, and that was the difference. Like the game against Michigan, this is another one that just got away. Certainly Indiana fans can point to the 52% free throw shooting as evidence that they should have won this one.

Minnesota was led by forward Damian Johnson in this one with 18 points, but I was awfully impressed with freshman Ralph Sampson, III, who might become sort of a darkhorse candidate for freshman player of the year if he keeps playing like this. Sampson didn't have quite the accolades of B. J. Mullens, William Buford, or Delvon Roe, but his game was plenty impressive yesterday. Not only did he score 13 points and grab 8 rebounds, but he also swatted six Hoosier shot attempts.

Indiana was led by Devan Dumes, who had 19 points on 11 shots. Box score.

Tonight, the conference takes the night off. Tuesday, Purdue visits the Kohl Center in a pivotal matchup. Can Wisconsin really lose five straight Big Ten games?