Monday, January 22, 2007

Cream rising to the top…
The cream is rising to the top in the Big Ten. Wisconsin and Ohio State are the class of the league, with Indiana nipping at their heals. Michigan has a chance to prove whether or not it belongs with a huge week that entails road trips to Madison and Bloomington. Michigan State is on a little roll but after a midweek visit from Minnesota, the Spartans play Ohio State twice in a week with Illinois sandwiched in between. Home teams sputtered a bit more last week (5-4) and are now 20-8 (.714) this Big Ten season.

On another level, the cream rose to the top in the NFL over the weekend when the Bears rolled the Saints and the Colts finally shook the gorilla that was the Patriots from their backs. Should make for a fun to watch Super Bowl with many story lines. I was growing up in Indiana, a Bears fan, when the Colts moved in on the sly from Baltimore. This was my pick for the Super Bowl when the playoffs started. Indy 27 – Chicago 24 – Vinateri does it again!

Team of the week…
Wisconsin just keeps taking the best shots of its opponents and just keeps on winning. Last week it was a hard fought win at home over a game Purdue squad, followed by a battle in Champaign. Tough to pick against UW until they cool off, and I just don’t see that happening anytime soon.

On the rise…
Michigan and Michigan State. The Wolverines are a solid 4-1 right now, but have had the benefit of three of the first five at home. Michigan State has won three straight after a tough start (0-2).

In need of some “Ws”…
Minnesota. The Golden Gophers got taken to the woodshed – twice – at home last week, including a loss to previously winless in the Big Ten Northwestern.

Player of the Week…
It’s always tough to argue against the pick from BigTen.org (this week it was D.J. White) but I’m going to go with the 28-point, 5 assist, 1 turnover performance of Drew Neitzel in what was a near perfect road win for the Spartans (Marquise Gray and Goran Suton also combined to shoot 13 of 14).

This Week’s Schedule:
Jan. 23 – Indiana at Illinois
Jan. 24 – Minnesota at Michigan State
Jan. 24 – Michigan at Wisconsin
Jan. 24 – Ohio State at Northwestern
Jan. 24 – Penn State at Iowa
Jan. 27 – Michigan at Indiana
Jan. 27 – Penn State at Minnesota
Jan. 27 – Illinois at Purdue (Tiebreaker)
Jan. 27 – Michigan State at Ohio State
Jan. 28 – Wisconsin at Iowa

Get Gamm Basketball Standings
Yours truly got nine wins for the week, three others had eight and our leader, Buckeye Nation, invested heavily in the home teams and got burned.

1 - Gamm: 33-9 (.786) – 2 GG Wins
2 - Buckeye Nation: 32-10 (.762) – 1 GG Win
3 - PUFan: 31-11 (.738)
4 - Dan Meyer: 30-12 (.714) - 1 GG Win
5 - phatsdawg: 29-13 (.690)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gotta catch Andy!

Indiana 72 at Illinois 74
Minnesota 61 at Michigan State 76
Michigan 68 at Wisconsin 83
Ohio State 72 at Northwestern 61
Penn State 74 at Iowa 81
Michigan 71 at Indiana 82
Penn State 73 at Minnesota 69
Illinois 70 at Purdue 74(Tiebreaker)
Michigan State 66 at Ohio State 82
Wisconsin 73 at Iowa 71

Anonymous said...

ILLINOIS 68 indiana 65

MICHIGAN STATE 77 minnesota 64

WISCONSIN 72 michigan 64

OHIO STATE 79 northwestern 60

PENN STATE 66 iowa 65

MICHIGAN 69 indiana 68

MINNESOTA 71 penn state 64

PURDUE 77 illinois 71

OHIO STATE 88 michigan state 81

WISCONSIN 80 iowa 62

Dan Meyer said...

Indiana 70 at ILLINOIS 75--Both a "manhood" game (thanks to the Eric Gordon saga) and a must-win for NCAA purposes for the Illini.

Minnesota 58 at MICHIGAN STATE 72
Michigan 62 at WISCONSIN 75--Time to find out if the Wolverines are for real this week.

OHIO STATE 65 at Northwestern 56
Penn State 67 at IOWA--Key game for Hawkeye NIT prospects

Michigan 66 at INDIANA 75
PENN STATE 70 at Minnesota 68--Tough call here.

*Illinois 65 at PURDUE 69--Must win for Boiler NCAA hopes.

Michigan State 72 at OHIO STATE 80
WISCONSIN 74 at Iowa 69