Re-evaluate the B1G for the first 1/3 of the season

[cubuffsdoug]

What to make of the B1G so far:

The league is hard to figure, consider there isn't a dominant team. Most years, you can count on 2 or 3 strong teams followed by 3 or 4 solid teams. After that, you have the rest of the league bringing up the rear. This year appears there might be only 1 or 2 strong teams, and about eight teams that can go either way. This year it seems to be four tiers in the B1G:

Tier one:
Ohio State- look the part, but we'll know more once league play starts.

Tier Two:
Michigan State- tourney team, but has holes in their roster and game.

Michigan-outperforming early-season expectations. Need to be a little more consistent.

Maryland-Hasn't played to the level of their talent. Still, they are likely to finish in the top third.

Purdue- is starting to find itself. Not at the level of previous teams, but still better than most of the league.

Tier Three:
Iowa- offense is excellent, but the defense will hurt them again. They are a step down from last year.

Penn State-belongs in tier two, but need to see how they perform away from home in league play.

Indiana-living on history. They can be pushed around, which spells trouble.

Rutgers- Inconsistent at times. Defense carries this team. Take care of the ball, and don't settle for 3s.

Wisconsin- One of the weakest UW teams in some time. They will be in the bottom half of tier three because they lack enough talent and defense.

Illinois- like Rutgers young and inconsistent. IU Has the talent to move into the second tier, but mental lapses kill this team at the worse time.

Tier four:
Nebraska- a collection of everyone else's players. It's not a lack of talent as much as it is, "do I know my teammates?"

Minnesota- not a good team, but they believe they are. Not coached up well by little Ricky.

Northwestern- hard to find consistency

 

[bac2therac]

my rankings right now

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Maryland
4. Michigan State
5. Purdue
6. Penn State
7. Illinois
8. Iowa
9. Indiana
10. Rutgers
11. Wisconsin
12. Minnesota
13. Northwestern
14. Nebraska

I would send the first 8 to the NCAA with Indiana having a shot. I think schools like Illinois and Penn State are ahead of Rutgers at this point so I disagree with lumping RU into that tier with them. Ohio State has proven to be the best in the league but dont count out the 3 below them. Losing on the road to PSU or Illinois are not bad losses. Those are quality losses. I think Nebraska is by far the worst team in the league. Minny and Northwestern are not particularly good but they will both have some surprise wins this year. Indiana is a bit of a mystery. That Wisky loss was shocking yet they have piled up wins. Purdue is sneaky good but not as good as previous years. Rutgers could really help their perception by beating Seton Hall today.

 

[knights1212]

Even Nebraska took Indiana into OT last night at Indiana. This league is very tough. Iowa is doing better than I had expected. RU does need to win today. Our BIG schedule appears to be much tougher over the last 7 games which appears to be a brutal stretch.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

my rankings right now

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Maryland
4. Michigan State
5. Purdue
6. Penn State
7. Illinois
8. Iowa
9. Indiana
10. Rutgers
11. Wisconsin
12. Minnesota
13. Northwestern
14. Nebraska

I would send the first 8 to the NCAA with Indiana having a shot. I think schools like Illinois and Penn State are ahead of Rutgers at this point so I disagree with lumping RU into that tier with them. Ohio State has proven to be the best in the league but dont count out the 3 below them. Losing on the road to PSU or Illinois are not bad losses. Those are quality losses. I think Nebraska is by far the worst team in the league. Minny and Northwestern are not particularly good but they will both have some surprise wins this year. Indiana is a bit of a mystery. That Wisky loss was shocking yet they have piled up wins. Purdue is sneaky good but not as good as previous years. Rutgers could really help their perception by beating Seton Hall today.

I lumped several schools together because we'll know more once each team plays about 6 or 7 league games. I think PSU is good, but they have to take that mental step to join the second tier. Illinois has the talent, but for some reason, they are not consistent. That's one reason why I reserve judgment on them moving higher.

 

[bac2therac]

they already both have huge wins that seperate them from Rutgers and Indiana types at this point

 

[cubuffsdoug]

they already both have huge wins that seperate them from Rutgers and Indiana types at this point

For Illinois, you're talking about Michigan at home. They did play Maryland close on the road just like Rutgers did against Michigan St. You can't explain away the WTF game against Miami or the death match against Nicholls St. in O.T. It's just not a big enough sample size to say IU is superior by a country mile.

PSU had a nice home win over Maryland. Ole Miss remains to be seen if it was a bad loss. On paper, the wins against GTown and Syracuse look good, but it's all about their rep. I need to see PSU against a solid team on the road.

I'm not against teams moving up or down.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Ohio State has almost the same roster from last year. They started 12-1 last year and then finished 8-14 the rest of the way

If you want to rank them based on how they have done YES but them as #1.

As for an elite team.......ask me in late January.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Ohio State has almost the same roster from last year. They started 12-1 last year and then finished 8-14 the rest of the way

If you want to rank them based on how they have done YES but them as #1.

As for an elite team.......ask me in late January.

Ohio State is really not like last year at all....they have bonafide freshman and Wesson has lost weight and playing well. They also don't have a shot eraser at the basket, which may not lock them into the final Four but they're as good as anyone in the country right now.

Oregon at Michigan at Noon today on CBS, will be another league game that will impact how things are viewed in another month or so.