Saturday (2-1-14) BB thread

Submitted by WolverineHistorian on

It's a non-Michigan day but still plenty of basketball going on. 

In B1G play we have:

*Ohio State @ Wisconsin (12:00)

*Northwestern @ Minnesota (2:00)

*Michigan State vs. Georgetown (3:00)

*Iowa @ Illinois (7:30)

 

And in non-B1G games, a few games between ranked teams:

Oklahoma @ Iowa State (4:00)

Kansas @ Texas (4:00)

And the game of the day...

Duke @ Syracuse (6:30)

The Duke/Syracuse game sounds like a great watch but it will probably have Dick Vitale broadcasting and he has multiple orgasms over anything Duke related.  So put your TV's on mute. 

Yeoman

February 1st, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^

Gotta share this but it doesn't deserve its own thread so I'll put it here.

You know that drill where players pair off and practice one-on-one dribbling/on-ball defense? One guy dribble-advances against the other, then they flip sides?

I was at a high school game last night and before the game one of the schools ran that drill with a twist. One guy dribble-advances against the other...who falls down on first contact. The dribbler then helps him to his feet.

They were practicing flopping, during pre-game warmups.

WTF. Has anybody else seen this anywhere?

Naked Bootlegger

February 1st, 2014 at 12:13 PM ^

The dribbler should NOT have helped up the flopper.   Bad drill!

Seriously, though, I've never seen this as a warmup and can't believe a coach would have his team flopping on the floor in front of the refs before the game.

Taking a charge is a vital and difficult aspect of good defensive basketball.  Flopping when breathed upon is not.

Yeoman

February 1st, 2014 at 12:19 PM ^

But never falling-down drills. These were outright flops, as if that's what they were deliberately practicing .Maybe the coach asked for charge drills and, it being pre-game, the players did a half-assed walkthrough.

It looked awful, though, and it's kind of an odd thing to do in front of the referees right before a game.

And that old adage about "you play the way you practice" was borne out, too.

MGoBender

February 1st, 2014 at 12:38 PM ^

I was at a high school game last night and before the game one of the schools ran that drill with a twist. One guy dribble-advances against the other...who falls down on first contact. The dribbler then helps him to his feet.

I also saw this at a high school game this year.  As a coach I was amazed. 

A) You're practicing "taking a charge" in a manner that is so weak with the officials watching you.

B) It's just a waste of warmup time.  My warm-ups are high energy, high paced with as many passes, layups and jumpshots crammed into limited time as possible.  Then stretching and shootaround.  I would never have my players waste pre-game time by flopping around, no matter how much I value drawing a charge.

C) You're right - play the way you practice came out in the game I saw as well.  Pathetic attempts to draw charges that the refs did a good job of calling blocks or no-calls.

goblue16

February 1st, 2014 at 12:09 PM ^

Here's my rooting interest: OSU just cause they have more big ten losses than the badgers, Minnesota just because, GTown because I love watching Izzo freak out after a loss, and Illinois cause Iowa only has 3 losses in the big ten

J.Madrox

February 1st, 2014 at 12:14 PM ^

Dakich doesn't believe that Craft has ever committed a foul in his entire basketball playing life. Dakich also called out the entire OSU team for a lack of effort in their last couple games, except for Craft of course. Dakich knows he is still working as hard as he possibly can. He may not have a high enough basketball IQ to get a shot off at the end of a game, but man is he a gritty hard worker.

LSAClassOf2000

February 1st, 2014 at 12:27 PM ^

Definitely catching hoops in between rounds of shoveling. I see Wisconsin is beginning to get into the rhythm of a team that is 318th in Division I in possessions per game. Bo Ryan can be seen summoning the Wraith Of Offensive Rebounding. 

MGoBender

February 1st, 2014 at 12:40 PM ^

We're rooting for Wisco, right?  Need them to redeem theirselves so that road win of ours looks better.

Brust finally is able to shoot the ball again.

Lucky Socks

February 1st, 2014 at 12:59 PM ^

Hit a few big shots for OSU...then air balled a three, and (essentially) air balled a layup.  He was being recruited for Spike's spot a few years ago.  I remember when Spike committed a few days prior to his scheduled visit, he tweeted something to the effect of "WOW! Michigan just stopped recruiting me.  That's really fair!"  

Not trying to rag on a foreign 17-year old, but I thought it was hilarious.  Two years later I'm pleased with the way it's turning out.  He's a goofy player (beyond the mop top), while Spike makes everything look easy.  

Smash Lampjaw

February 1st, 2014 at 1:14 PM ^

I find myself cheering for Traveon Jackson against his dad's team. Perhaps because Jim is such a likable personality on BTN. He almost makes me want to buy that insurance. The same goes for Stephen Bardo.

aiglick

February 1st, 2014 at 1:29 PM ^

All right if the Big Ten isn't a good conference in basketball then the SEC isn't a good one in football. They beat up on each other in conference just like the Big Ten is doing. The Big Ten had a strong out of conference schedule for the most part and did well. At the end of the day it is the out of conference season and Tournament which determines the strength of a league. Again there are maybe two elite teams, time will tell. The rest of the league can beat anybody on their home floors and yes the floor is rising.

aiglick

February 1st, 2014 at 2:07 PM ^

That is certainly a metric to measure a conference. Another is conference depth. Judging based on that metric the Big Ten is one of if not the best conference. The Big 12 records looked quite similar and they are cited as one of if not the best conferences. I'm just happy the Big Ten is elite in one of the power sports.