Matt Painter Explains How and Why Recruit Rankings Miss the Mark

March 22, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Purdue’s unexpected early exit from the Big Ten Tournament is now ancient history as they won handily in Hartford last night over Old Dominion 61-48 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Boilermakers will next take on the defending national champions Villanova Wildcats at approximately 7:40 p.m. central on Saturday, March 23 on TNT. Some believe that the Boilermakers’ surprise early ending in Chicago will be a blessing in disguise, as it gives the team some rest, and more time to get ready for the big dance.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Purdue Boilermakers

March Madness is Big Business, How Big? Try $10 Billion

March 22, 2019 By Leave a Comment

brackets

We’re in the midst of what many declare the greatest four days on the American sports calendar- the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Colloquially (and trademarked) known as “March Madness,” it’s a Thursday-Sunday span that sees a field of 64 college basketball teams swiftly reduced to 16.

In order to make this happen, the games start in late morning and run until very late in the evening. It’s a time when work productivity is at its lowest because, at least for these three weekends, just about everybody is a college basketball fan. The sport only enjoys a very tiny niche following the rest of the year, but for this month, it’s front and center.

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Filed Under: Business, College Basketball, Duke Blue Devils, Kentucky Wildcats, Michigan State Spartans, Michigan Wolverines, North Carolina Tar Heels

Should Athletes Be Allowed to Protest?

March 21, 2019 By Leave a Comment

By Frankie Wallace

Image Source: Pexels

In February, eight basketball players from the University of Mississippi knelt during the national anthem in order to protest two confederate sympathizer groups who had gathered on their college campus. The hate groups’ rallies were formed in support of a sculpture of a confederate soldier on the school’s campus. Regardless, the Ole Miss players’ silent protest stirred up some controversy around the sports media world.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, News and Current Events, NFL, Politics, Social Issues

Michigan State or Michigan: Who Has a Better Final Four Shot?

March 19, 2019 By Leave a Comment

michigan vs michigan state

Asked to give his initial thoughts on drawing #15 seed Bradley in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo was surprisingly defensive.

“I don’t have any thoughts on that. I guess the only thoughts I have is I’ve been-1-seed and been a 7-seed. Got to a Final Four as a 7 and got beat the first weekend as the 1,” he responded in a tone that was less jovial than expected from a coach who had just won the Big Ten Tournament title.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Michigan State Spartans, Michigan Wolverines

How to Pick March Madness Upsets: Top Predictive Trends of Last Decade

March 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment

ncaa-tournament-march-madness

Last St. Patrick’s Day, University of Maryland-Baltimore County shocked Virginia 74-54 to become the first No. 16 seed in the history of the NCAA tournament to ever beat a No. 1 seed.

And with that upset, the Retrievers became media darlings, lovable underdogs, breakers of brackets all over the world. Thanks to UMBC, there were just 25 perfect brackets remaining among the tens of millions submitted before March Madness began.

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Filed Under: Business, College Basketball, Duke Blue Devils, Kentucky Wildcats, Michigan State Spartans, North Carolina Tar Heels, Purdue Boilermakers

Big Ten Has Three National Title Contenders, but None are Among the Favorites

March 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Lots of college basketball pundits have deemed the Big Ten the strongest conference in the nation this season, and the numbers seen to verify this. From top to bottom, it’s the strongest conference in the country, but it’s strongest teams aren’t among the elite of the elite nationally.

The Big Ten has three teams, #6 Michigan State, #10 Michigan and #13 Purdue that have a legitimate shot of winning it all, but none are likely to earn a #1 seed on Selection Sunday. You won’t find any of that trio among the top favorites to be crowned kings of March Madness either. In short, the Midwestern based league, headquartered in Chicago, is just not top heavy enough.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Duke Blue Devils, Kentucky Wildcats, Michigan State Spartans, North Carolina Tar Heels, Purdue Boilermakers Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Michigan-Michigan State the Next North Carolina-Duke? Tom Izzo, John Beilein Opine

March 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment

michigan vs michigan state

Before Michigan and Michigan State played for the Big Ten Tournament title, in what was their third meeting this this season, both head coaches discussed the growing significance of their heated rivalry. Both Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo and Michigan head man John Beilein opined on the idea of MSU-Michigan being/one day becoming on par with North Carolina-Duke.

Playing for the third time in a span of just three weeks, the Michigan-Michigan State blood feud is becoming more relevant and entertaining by the year.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Duke Blue Devils, North Carolina Tar Heels Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Northwestern Will Upgrade at Point Guard Says Chris Collins

March 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment

chris collins northwestern

It’s no secret that the biggest issue Northwestern basketball had in 2018-19 was their abysmal offense. It’s also very widely understood that those offensive struggles stemmed from NU having no point guard in their roster this season.

After his team lost 74-69 in overtime to Illinois last night, and thus saw their season ended, Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said he will be addressing this issue. He will be looking to add depth at guard, and hopefully not have to play guys out of position again this season.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Northwestern Wildcats Tagged With: , ,

Michigan State March Madness, B1G Tourney Results Don’t Correlate Well

March 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment

michigan-state-spartans

Looking for clues on whether or not you should pick Michigan State in your bracket pool? Well, you can consider their Big Ten tournament result as a factor in your equation. #1 seeded Michigan State beat #3 seeded Michigan yesterday 65-60 in the tournament title game in Chicago.

It was the Spartans’ fourth #B1GTourney final in the past six years, with Michigan State winning all but one of those conference tournament final games.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Michigan State Spartans

Purdue Fans, Listen to Matt Painter and Retire the “IU Sucks” Chant

March 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Social change is accomplished when hearts and minds are moved to change. The first time I heard the “IU Sucks” chant at a Purdue home game (win over Northwestern in 2016), I admit that I thought it quirky and funny. It reminded me of the times I’ve been to Fenway Park, when the Boston Red Sox are playing the Detroit Tigers and the fans chant “Yankees Suck!”

Over time though, my opinion has evolved, and if you clicked here with an open mind, perhaps yours will too. Or maybe it won’t, but the point is Purdue head coach Matt Painter believes it’s time to abolish the “IU Sucks” chant, and I agree with him wholeheartedly.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Purdue Boilermakers, Social Issues Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Gophers Coach Richard Pitino Refutes Himself in Colorful Press Conference

March 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment

With a nice win over #13 Purdue last night, his second triumph over the Boilermakers this month, Minnesota Golden Gophers coach Richard Pitino punched his ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second time. The 75-73 victory at the United Center, in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, was easily the most exciting and interesting of the tourney thus far.

Afterward, Pitino said he doesn’t care what the media write and say about his team, and claimed they don’t get a whole lot of coverage. He then pointed out how often his team is picked to lose, and then made references to specific bracketologists, therefore completely refuting his own point about how he doesn’t care.

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Filed Under: College Basketball

Josh Whitman Needs Illini Football and Men’s Hoops to Finally Do Something, Now

March 17, 2019 By Leave a Comment

josh whitman

University of Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman doesn’t sound all that different from most power five conference A.D.s when he speaks in public: Business school journal article meets Ted talk meets colorful motivational Instagram post.

This hybrid of corporatespeak and sentences that sound like they should be accompanied by “Rocky” theme music is not worth even thinking twice about if/when the revenue sports are getting results. Whitman’s jogging analogies and other assorted industry standard leadership pablum would hypothetically work just fine if Illini football and Illini men’s basketball were winning.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, College Football, Illinois Fighting Illini
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