Duke hammered Purdue by 16 in a game that never seemed that close. Illinois first blew a lead and then its last possession en route to 2 point loss to Clemson.  Iowa fought back against Boston College only to lose as a freshman bricked the front end of a 1 and 1 with less than a second left.  Minnesota controlled Virginia in what could be the first in a string of solid Gopher wins.  Ohio State fought back from a huge early hole to beat Miami on the road.  And Wisconsin stood up and slapped Big Ten basher Seth Greenberg and Virginia Tech on a last second drive by Travon Hughes.  Six games of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge down, six to go.

The Mike Davis Fan Club

Hoopraker has advocated on behalf of Mike Davis since the end of last season.  Last night in Champaign, he was a star.  Unfortunately, a dominant effort by David and a gutsy game from Chester Frazier went for naught.  While Paint the Town Orange reluctantly points the finger at Bruce Weber, the game was lost not on the last possession when Demetri McCamey failed to get a shot off or make a decent pass (which was no doubt bad) but in the last five minutes, when Illinois blew a lead, lost control of the game and essentially stopped looking for Davis in their their motion offense.

Purdue Boiling Over

Off the Tracks runs it down but it’s worth emphasizing the fact that Purdue just wasn’t mentally ready for the defensive intensity of Duke.  Duke is good but at this point in the season it’s obvious Purdue doesn’t merit consideration as one of the elite teams in the Country.  Without over analyzing it, Purdue was simply embarrassed on its home court, something Hoopraker did not expect from a Matt Painter team.  The expectations placed upon it and its group of talented players after last year’s surprising run seemed to have shackled the Boilermakers.

The Damian Johnson Fan Club

PJS runs down some keen observations from last night UVA game at The Daily Gopher.  Suffice it to say, in year two, Tubby Smith has the ingredients of something special in Minnesota.  Led by the talented and, as of today, under the radar players Damian Johnson and Al Nolen, the Gophers controlled Virgina in Williams Arena.  Johnson, in particular, is a pure joy to watch, altering shots and passes on seemingly every defensive possession.  Add to the equation the highly skilled freshman post player Colton Iverson and the development of Blake Hoffarber as a reliable jump shooter and Minnesota is poised to challenge Illinois as the most improved team in the Big Ten.  It’ll be fun to see the Gophers run through the league this year.

Night Three

Florida State could overlook Northwestern. Against Carolina, Michigan State needs to avoid the deer in the head lights gaze they exhibited against Memphis last March.  The pride of the Big Ten is at stake.  Michigan and Penn State are underdogs but they can beat Maryland and Georgia Tech respectively. For Penn State, beating Tech would be huge and, with Jamelle Cornley and Talor Battle, they can do it.  Indiana stands no chance against Wake Forest, sorry Chuck.

Posted by TD Lawlor on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 at 6:54 pm.