Big Ten Tourney

[tornado]

1st game of the big Ten Tourney is in the books...

Illinois (the #9 seed) knocks off higher seed Indiana 64-54

Indiana stumps me -- Crean has landed Top-10 recruiting classes year after year after year and yet he still doesn't have anyone who can score!!!
Sure- every once in a while someone goes for 25 in one of their games, but their offense looked really, really ugly.

They push it up the court at breakneck speed then hurry some wild shot...
interestingly - it was working early and Indiana hit 6 of their first 9 3-pointers...
BUT - then they never hit another and finished just 6-20

Illinois isn't the most efficient team offensively but in the end 54 points for Indiana wasn't going to beat many teams -

[tornado]

Memo to Illini - if you think you might be a bubble team still - don't send out a release saying you have made an agreement with the NIT!

https://twitter.com/SLGreenberg/status/444168062879543297

getting hungry for some good basketball - hope Hill goes deep in the NJCAA Tourney & I'd love to see some upsets here & there...
Illini....Minny....and a couple MVC actually win some games in the alphabet tourneys & the Shox go deep in NCAA...

[tornado]

Illinois almost beats Michigan...

they fought back from 11 down to take the lead and lead much of the final 3-4 minutes then a bad turnover and Michigan wins 64-63
Ekey & Rice had off games - and were a combined 1-7 from the arc
Max Bielfeldt did not play

in one other game decided by a buzzer beater - St. Bonaventure beats A-10 champ Saint Louis 71-68!

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400546234

[LongTimeFan]

That will probably bump a bubble team out.

[Da Coach]

That will probably bump a bubble team out.

Toledo, the best team in the MAC and who was 27-5 with an RPI of 35, was upset in the MAC Championship game by Western Michigan-

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400546630

So another upset in a mid-major conference that could bump a team off the bubble. Toledo probably deserves an at-large bid, but will now probably become an NIT team.


In the Big East final, Providence put on a show of defense against Creighton. Providence leads 26-17 at halftime.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400546633

[tornado]

..

In the Big East final, Providence put on a show of defense against Creighton. Providence leads 26-17 at halftime.
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400546633

Really impressed with Providence and their coaching...Providence hired Cooley from Fairfield in 2011 (to replace Keno Davis - and Bruce Pearl was the other serious candidate for this job!) -- where he had only been a head coach for five years....very little top experience! PLUS - he had never taken a single team to the NCAA Tournament - ever, and had just two 20-win seasons & 3 seasons over .500!
BUT - they rewarded him with a contract that runs through 2020.

When he was hired - Cooley predicted this...
"we will win and win big"

He was only 13-23 in his first two seasons at PC then he had some highly publicized off-court issues and suspensions - and some fans were grumbling - some even wondering if they had made a mistake!
But it's pretty apparent now Ed Cooley will be a coaching star - he is very good -
Good thing their media didn't "sour on him" and "turn on him in year two" ....