2011-12 BIG Basketball Preview: Indiana

Coach: Tom Crean – 28-66 (.298)

Lost:  G Jeremiah Rivers, G Maurice Creek (injured)

Returning: F Christian Watford (Jr), G Jordan Hulls (Jr), F Tom Pritchard (Sr), G Verdell Jones III (Sr), G Victor Oladipo (So), F Will Sheehy (So), F Bobby Capobianco (Jr), F Derek Elston (Jr), G Matt Roth (Sr), G Daniel Moore (Sr)

New faces: F/C Cody Zeller(15), SG Remy Abell, SF Austin Etherington

Cody Zeller is already the big man on campus and
he hasn't even played a game yet. Oh, fickle IU fans.

Preview: While head coach Tom Crean wasn’t given much to work with initially, his tenure has been underwhelming to say the least.  Characterized by underperforming (overrated?) recruits, Indiana has taken a firm backseat to instate rivals Purdue and Butler.  Fortunately for Crean this may be the year Indiana pulls themselves out of the doldrums of the Big Ten and into NCAA bubble consideration.  Before the season even began the Hoosiers realized they will be without dynamic guard Maurice Creek.  As tough as it is to lose such a good player, this injury may turn out to be a blessing in disguise in the long run for the program. Freshmen Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehy were both effective players last season but neither averaged more than 20 minutes a game.  Now each of these two should offer nice compliments to the team’s best player Christian Watford.  Additionally, IU hopes to benefit greatly with the addition of freshman big man Cody Zeller who coaches (and the national media) say will make an impact in the post immediately.  Also returning is Jordan Hulls a Damon Bailey type guard who can shoot the lights out but is a little too small and slow to be utilized when his shot’s not falling.  It’s hoped the younger players will improve enough to allow Hulls to become more of a role player and less a focal point on the offensive end. With success in this regard the Hoosier offense could be lethal. But the biggest issues this team has in the upcoming season lie on the defensive end.  Indiana allowed opponents to make over 36% of their three point attempts and allowed opponents to shoot free throws on over half of their field goal attempts which ranked 333 out of 345 Division I programs.  A year of growth should enable IU to improve enough in this area otherwise it will be off to the NIT.

Shot in the dark at the starting 5:

G Jordan Hulls

G  Victor Oladipo

F Will Sheehy

F Christian Watford

F Cody Zeller

Boise State: FTW or FML?

Boise State has once again found themselves in the enviable position of being a BCS-buster and "Top 5" College Football program. Okay, so the second part of that statement is a stretch, but they do find a way to get this little school from the Gem State into major media outlets each Autumn. And barring any unforeseen upsets, they will once again crack the NCAA Football elitist train wreck known as the BCS this January.

I'm going to assume you know enough about Boise State to know that their field is blue, they like to run trick plays, and none of the major contenders want to play them. But let's talk about how the Broncos could maybe possibly get to the apex that has eluded them for the past ten-plus years of dominating the Pacific Northwest in college football.

2011-12 BIG Basketball Preview: Illinois

Brandon Paul will be All Big 10 this year. Mark it down.

Head Coach: Bruce Weber – 193-86 (.692)

Lost:  G Demetri McCamey, C Mike Tisdale, F Mike Davis, F Bill Cole, G/F Jereme Richmond

Returning: G Brandon Paul (Jr), G DJ Richardson (Jr), C Meyers Leonard (So), F Tyler Griffey (Jr), G Crandall Head (So), G Joe Bertrand (RS So)

New faces: PG Tracy Abrams(58), C Nnanna Egwu(97), SF Michael Henry(39), PF Mike Shaw(59), SF Devin Langford, C Ibrahima Djimde, G Brad Maniscalco (transfer)

Preview: The Fighting Illini lost four seniors who made up the core of their team the past four seasons as well as the highly intriguing G/F Jereme Richmond who declared for the NBA draft but was not selected.  Now it’s time for Juniors Brandon Paul and DJ Richardson to step up. As dysfunctional as the team was last season I think most Illini fans will agree with me when I say the team ran more smoothly when these two were on the floor. Both can go nuts from 3 on any given night though improving consistency from long range should be a point emphasis. Paul is the more dynamic player and Weber will probably look to use him as the center of the offense utilizing his playmaking ability. The team will hope Tyler Griffey can add some strength in order to help him bang more down low and sophomore seven-footer Myers Leonard will need to improve by leaps and bounds as he couldn’t have been more raw last season.  The incoming talent is really incredible but if they don’t gel better than last season’s senior class Bruce Weber’s time in Champaign will end before their graduation. It’s NCAA Tournament or bust for this team.

Shot in the dark at the starting 5:

PG Brandon Paul

G DJ Richardson

F Tyler Griffey

F Mike Shaw

F Nnanna Egwu

Be Afraid (Happy Halloween) - Top 25 (9/30/11)

Well, a few Top 10 shakeouts that were "expected" and one surprise. Also, Wisconsin comes down to 2 Hail Mary's in their loss to Ohio State, and somehow my beloved Cornhuskers surprised even me in their domination of Michigan State. Boise State is sitting at home this week loving the havoc these conference rivals are wreaking on each other. Only 6 undefeated teams remain, and it was almost 5 by the end of Saturday. Can the chips finally fall their way?

Lets get to some answers...and maybe some more questions.

No One Is Safe - Top 25 (9/23/11)

WOW.
That's really all that needs to be said about the end of the Wisconsin v. Michigan State game. In case you weren't watching, the Badgers jumped out to an early lead before Russell Wilson made the first few "bad" decisions I've seen this year out of the N.C. St. transplant, including an interception and a safety from intentional grounding. MSU carried that momentum into the 2nd half and led by 14 with about 11 minutes left in the game. But Wisconsin fought back, and tied things up with just 90 seconds left. The Spartans tried to get into FG range, but the final drive sputtered after a Kirk Cousins fumble brought up 2nd & 21. He then completed a mid-range pass bringing up 3rd & 6 when suddenly everything changed...

Upcoming schedule and possible layout change

In late October/early November I'll be rolling out another preview for college basketball's power conferences including a somewhat in-depth look at the Big Ten (BIG).  November marks the beginning of the season so I'll try to hold off until then. Besides I know everyone is more interested in football anyway.  The posts may come fast and furious or they may start off fast and peter out like most years; right now it's too soon to say. Until then, please continue to enjoy Taege's weekly BCS preview.

On another note, I'm contemplating doing an overhaul of the layout. I like the color scheme fine but it can get annoying when you try to post something and the format goes all out of whack.  I'll probably tinker with it this weekend and see if there's anything positive in the new Blogger interface (it's possible we may lose Fred McGriff).

I think that's all I've got for now. Carry on.

Pre-BCS Top 25

Tonight the first BCS rankings will come out. Pretty sure we all know the top 3 schools, and the order is a little irrelevant since LSU plays Alabama in a few short weeks. What will be interesting is where the Boise (Blowout) Blue Broncos fall. Odds are good they will be short of all the undefeateds from the major conferences, possibly including Clemson and Wisconsin. Speaking of undefeated teams, a few ran into problems yesterday which results in a new team in the Top 10.

It is so....

Put up or Shut up!

Conference play is in full swing, and there were some heavy-hitting matchups among top 25 teams this weekend. A little redemption for Nebraska and Taylor Martinez against Big Ten perennial powerhouse Ohio State. Who cares if the Buckeyes are down this year due to the scandals? The Huskers are trying to hold onto a respectable season after the defense has vastly underperformed so far this year. Also, the Red River Rivalry was not close, and that's why I think Oklahoma continues to be the obvious number 1.

So, without further adieu...

Conference Shakedown - 10/1/11

Some serious matchups between top 25 schools this week. Some schools stepped up big (Bama, Wisc). Others were a letdown (Neb, Va Tech). I will say this much. The B1G Ten has 1 school carrying the torch for the conference right now, and Wisconsin better win out to keep things respectable. The SEC dominated the news again, and it looks like a Big XII v. SEC title is brewing.

Show me whatcha workin with.

Top 25 - 9/25/11 (Now It Gets Interesting)

Now that the "preseason" cupcakes are out of the way for most major programs, it's time to dig in to some serious conference play. True, a few teams broke out the conference matchups right off the bat, but now there's nowhere to hide for everyone else. So this is the final Top 25 before everything gets the James Bond martini treatment.

Let's go.