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If there is a time for the Big Ten to exert their dominance in basketball, this is it! The conference has just suffered another poor football season, has been hit by scandal, and its teams continue to lose bowl games (2-5 in bowls this season). It is time for Big Ten basketball to rise to new heights; it’s time for the Big Ten to produce a national champion.
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At the beginning of the season we gave a quarterly review of the performance of each Big Ten team and graded them based on how they did compared to pre-season expectations. As the season progressed, so did the quarterly reviews. About a month ago, we gave our third quarter review. Now, with the regular season over, we conclude the series with our season in review. Each school’s grade is based on its overall / conference record, and how the team improved or declined throughout the season based on their expectations.
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Earlier in the season we gave a quarterly review of the performance of each Big Ten team and graded them based on how they did compared to pre-season expectations. About a month ago, we gave our mid-season review. Now, three-quarters of the season is over, and each school’s grade is based on its overall/ conference record, and how the team has improved or declined since the first half of the season.
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Every time Wisconsin meets with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Badgers coach Bret Bielema makes sure to give all of his freshman a history lesson on FBS’s oldest rivalry.
Recent history has been kind to the Badgers who have won eight straight in the illustrious battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe.
After opposite starts to the season, the Badgers and Gophers are in pursuit of the same thing and that’s a bowl game. One slight different separates them though; the Badgers are looking for a berth to a significant bowl while the Gophers are merely trying to be bowl-eligible.
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About a month ago we gave a quarterly review of the performance of each Big Ten team and graded them based on how they did, compared to how they should have done according to pre-season expectations. Now, we have our mid-season review in which each school’s grade is based on its overall/ conference record, and how the team has improved or declined since the first quarter of the season.
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There is nothing better than attending a pro sporting event, right? Some are for it, but I have a feeling most are against it. Truth is, I would rather sit at home and watch football games than attend them in person. People who have season tickets are crazy.
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Football fans, you’re Christmas is right around the corner. Preseason games have already started and the regular season is right around the corner. Nearly as important, the fantasy football season is finally here! In the coming weeks, we will prepare you ready for the upcoming fantasy season by breaking every position. First up, we’ll rank the top the top defense & special team units.
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Heading into the Big Ten Tournament, there was probably no more compelling storyline than the Northwestern Wildcats trying to get their first NCAA bid in their school’s history. Having finished seventh in the Big Ten, and just one win against the RPI top 50, the Wildcats were thoroughly on the bubble, and the consensus was that they had work to do in the conference tournament to be assured a ticket to the Dance.
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All in all, the Indiana Hoosiers still are in a greatly encouraging spot right now compared to where they’ve been at this point each of the last three seasons.
The resurgent Hoosiers, who have suffered through three years of aftermath of the Kelvin Sampson debacle, have finally found their way in this fourth year under coach Tom Crean, knocking off Nos. 1 and 2 teams (Kentucky and Ohio State, respectively) for the first time in program history en route to a 15-3 start and the team’s first appearance in the top-25 (and top-10) rankings for the first time since 2008.
It appears, though, the grind of the Big Ten schedule is starting to get to IU as the Hoosiers have dropped two straight conference contests — a completely lousy home loss to Minnesota last Thursday and a drubbing at Ohio State on Sunday.
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Four weeks ago, Northwestern had hit rock bottom. The ‘Cats were 2-5 after a five-game losing streak – blowing substantial leads in several of those games – and were on the verge of a losing record, which would have ended the streak of four consecutive years of bowl eligibility. With a four-game winning streak, however, including an upset over Nebraska on the road, the Wildcats have completed the miraculous comeback to bowl eligibility. As head coach Pat Fitzgerald has said multiple times during the winning streak, the ‘Cats are trying to make it a November to remember. [Read more…]
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This Saturday, the #18 Wisconsin Badgers (7-2, 3-2) and Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-7, 1-4) will meet for the 121st time which ranks as the most-played rivalry in FBS history.
In the last decade, the Badgers have been in full control of Paul Bunyan’s Axe as they go into the latest installment of the series winning the last seven games, including thee of them on the road in Minneapolis.
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Four games into the season, it’s difficult to describe a game as must-win, particularly when you’re talking about Northwestern, and especially when the opponent is #12 Michigan. The Wolverines are 5-0 on the season, and have impressed thus far. The ‘Cats on the other hand, are in a two-losses-in-a-row slippery slope. Lose to Michigan, and that slope will get a whole lot steeper. [Read more…]
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