Pod people in Minneapolis

Ironically enough, I received Invasion of the Body Snatchers (the Donald Sutherland version) from Netflix yesterday. But I think Minnesota's win over Illinois was a pretty decent remake. Illini fans probably didn't recognize the team that took the floor last night. After all, this was one of the better shooting teams in the conference, but in this one they made just 29% of its shots, en route to losing the 59-36 contest. Depending on your point of view, this was the worst offensive performance in the conference season, or it was the best defensive performance. Either way, it was a bad night for Weber's team, but an equally joyous occasion for Tubby Smith's squad, who snapped a 20 game losing streak against the Illini.

Not only did the Illini struggle to make shots, but they were silent on the boards and rarely visited the free throw line. Minnesota, on the other hand, cleaned up over 40% of the available offensive boards and attempted 17 more free throws than the Illini. Lawrence Westbrook continued his impressive conference play with 15 points on 9 shots. No one on the Illini reached double figures, though Dominique Keller chipped in 9 points on 8 shots. Box score.

With this impressive win, Minnesota has vaulted itself into the conversation for the conference crown. Illinois' efficiency margin took quite a hit as well, nearly being cut in half. The question is whether this was just a bad game, or whether it's just the beginning. The Illini were not seen as title contenders coming into this season, even by those who recognized how out-of-whack their conference record was last season compared to their point differential. Illinois returned roughly two-thirds of the minutes last season, and a lot of those were played by freshmen, so improvement was expected. But until last night, Illinois looked like the best team in the Big Ten, a scenario that no one foresaw. So the question is, was this the correction we've all been waiting for? Stay tuned.

Michigan State easily dispatched of Iowa, 71-56 in a 63 possession game last night. This was one of those games where everything goes to script. Both teams shot well enough, both teams coughed it up too often, but Michigan State's dominance at the free throw line and on the offensive glass was the difference. It's been said before, but Lickliter's squad turns it over way too much for a team that likes to keep it on the perimeter. The coach is still searching for answers, but I'm afraid I don't have any here. It's one of the bigger mysteries of the past season and a half.

There was no mystery on the other side of the ball, as Michigan State dominated from the opening tip. Even more impressive was that the Spartans were without a healthy Raymar Morgan, who was limited due to an illness. Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers picked up the slack, combining for 45 points on 22 shots. Jeff Peterson led the Hawkeyes with 14 points on 11 shots. Box score.