Big Ten/ACC Challenge open thread
Iowa beating UNC 5-2 on ESPN, Notre dame beating MSU 18-16 on ESPN2, and Virginia Tech beating PSU 15-10 on the U.
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:06 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:53 PM ^
Bo has the Izzo model up in Madison with a lesser ranked type of player.
Model - keep almost everyone for 4-5 years. Have a lot of seniors/juniors supported by 1-2 very talented younger guys. In this modern NCAA there is a big advantage to rolling out 21-22 year olds when a lot of teams (like ours) are constantly relying on 18-19 year olds. When your 18-19 year olds are not of the UK variety especially.
Izzo has been living off that system for 10 years now - but the NC and the hype machine of ESPN has him getting a lot better quality player than Bo. Bo is maximizing talent whereas Izzo has a ton of HS All Americans walk thru there (Dawson, Appling, Harris on last year's team alone along with 5 star Payne) who are often less then their sum of parts. And he keeps them there almost always til seniors (Harris the rare exception). A guy like Valentine was ranked exactly where Nik Stauskas was - one guy is in the NBA, the other is "a great leader and incredibly well developed" NCAA player per the analyst crew. Now Valentine is a total bonehead with his decision making but he has the raw tools to already be in the NBA under Beilein. But that's the difference right there - Valentine will be around all this year and next. We have to reload.
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:04 PM ^
Agree with Kansas and UNC being down. I think Duke is real good this year though. Wisconsin is a top 5 team but I think they have some isues.
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:07 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:09 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:12 PM ^
Travis Trice was recovering from the flu along with Dawson. It is the reason why he shot so poorly. After his mystery illness from last year, I would think Trice has the immune system of a bubble boy.
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:56 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:10 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:15 PM ^
High times in Madison.
Wiscy can be B1G champions in both Basketball and Football.
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:15 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:16 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:16 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:08 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:18 PM ^
Wisconsin is such a trash team. So reliant on the 3 ball and getting hot.
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:19 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:26 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:32 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:48 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 10:53 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:00 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:09 PM ^
Will look good alongside Drummond come this time next year.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:11 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:09 PM ^
Might as well chalk up Duke and Kentucky for the final four... sigh...
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:10 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:11 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:12 PM ^
Impressed with Maryland's resolve. They easily could've quit when it was 18(?). Had it to 11 and there's a lot of time left but Virginia are so good defensively.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:15 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:15 PM ^
Officials are really screwing Wisconsin.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:19 PM ^
Good one, especially after that call.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:17 PM ^
Wisconsin has no business being in this game. Everything that trash Jackson is throwing up is buckets.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:28 PM ^
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:33 PM ^
I don't recall Sulaimon throwing in 20-footer after 20-footer despite being a mediocre at best outside shooter.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:20 PM ^
has bricked so many close shots.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:26 PM ^
Hard to beat Duke when they don't miss shots. Even with some soft Wisconsin D, 64% is ridiculous.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:28 PM ^
...I'm honestly conflicted over who I want to lose this game more. Thoughts?
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:38 PM ^
Impressive road win here for Duke. They look a lot better than they did vs MSU.
Very young team that is improving very quickly with a centerpiece 5 and some nice wings. You can see the difference in athleticism out there at almost every position. Wisconsin is a savvy experienced group for the most part playing a lot of elite athletes - reminded me of the MSU vs UK game that kicked off last season. One team had a ton of experience and that was their calling card - the other team had players still in their infancy but some serious prodigies.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:39 PM ^
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December 4th, 2014 at 12:22 AM ^
Is he not one of the most overrated players in the country? Bo didn't even have him in during critical moments of the game. Can't figure that out.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:45 PM ^
So Michigan ends up being the only ranked B1G team to win a game in the B1G/ACC challenge. Go Blue!
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:47 PM ^
Virginia's win at Maryland also very impressive. ACC incredibly top heavy. Duke/Virginia/Louisville are gonna beat each other up this year.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:59 PM ^
You think its bad for them watch the Big 10 this year - on any given night the #9 team could beat #2 - they are all going to be almost identical
You can throw Maryland, UM, OSU, Illinois, MSU, Nebraska, Iowa in a bucket any night and not know who is going to come out.
Even teams like Indiana and Minnesota and Purdue have enough talent to pull a lot of upsets, especially at home.
Then throw Wiscy on top of all that.
The Big 10 is going to be brutal this year with tons of parity. If Wisconsin was not in the conference I would bet the 1st place team would have 6 losses. You are going to see a ton of teams between 8-10 and 11-7 this year in conf play. Possibly 9-10.
December 4th, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^
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December 4th, 2014 at 12:11 AM ^
Good to keep the streak in tact against the ACC. After losing the first 10, we're all 4-0-2 in the last 6.
December 4th, 2014 at 1:05 AM ^
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December 4th, 2014 at 1:19 AM ^