Nothing too complicated here: Michigan really needs to pull off an upset today against Purdue and Wisconsin really, really needs to beat Northwestern in Welsh-Ryan. No doubt, with the split to Duke and the UCLA win now a distant memory, Michigan needs the stars to align, regroup and put their season on the floor today in Mackey.  Elsewhere, Ohio State travels to the site of many excruciating Buckeye losses to play the scrappy Indiana Hoosiers.  Buckeyes beware! (more…)

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Don’t look now, but look where Bo Ryan is looking: around the corner.  In the midst of a five game swoon that could become six should the Badgers lose to Northwestern in Welsh-Ryan on Saturday, Ryan has integrated freshman Jordan Taylor in a rotation that already has come to rely on two sophomores, Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil.  And in Minnesota, Tubby Smith righted the good ship Golden Gopher with textbook defense at the expense of Illinois. (more…)

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Basketball heaven is upon us.  A classic ready matchup between Illinois and Minnesota awaits Big Ten fans tonight while last night we had the rare treat to watch two team play their hearts out.  Such was the case in Evanston as an impassioned Tom Crean urged and prodded and cajoled every ounce of effort he could muster from his beleaguered Hoosiers.  It wasn’t enough to beat a tough Northwestern team riding a streaking Kevin Coble but the Hoosiers can find some solace in a lost game well-played.  (more…)

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If you’ve got a tv and a computer, turn them on.  Now get ready to watch the Illinois Minnesota game.  I suspect you won’t regret the decision.  Are they on? Okay. Now, if you’re anything but an impassioned Illini fan, head straight for The Daily Gopher.  They’ll be chatting away during the game with solid, insightful, timely, and sometimes even funny comments.

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Three blocks from a frozen Lake Mendota and an empty Union Terrace, Matt Painter and his Boilermakers will try to bury Wisconsin.  If there ever was a late January must win for the Bo Ryan’s Badgers (12-7, 3-4), tonight’s game against Purdue (15-4, 4-2) is it.  (more…)

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It never made complete sense: 10 games into the basketball season, a freshman transfers because he’s not starting.  Now, we learn, former Ohio State point guard Anthony Crater, who quit the team one month ago and transferred to South Florida, was arrested along with Mike Mercer, an SFU transfer from Georgia on Friday night in Tampa and charged with possession of marijuana. (more…)

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We’ve watched for the better part of five seasons as Thad Matta recalibrated Ohio State basketball.  With spacing on offense at times reminiscent of Duke and a defense evoking shades of North Carolina, Matta has stockpiled a string of 20+ win seasons.  But, deep into his tenure, the Buckeyes still lack discipline on the offensive end and chemistry all around.  The soothsayers point to gaudy winning percentages and a series of highly regarded recruiting classes as testament to Matta’s genius.  Fair enough, but Hoopraker remains unimpressed.  (more…)

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After blowing a home game against Ohio State this weekend, Michigan (13-5) heads into State College tonight to play Penn State (14-5). Both teams are tied at 3-3 in Conference and with February games looming against the top tier of the Big Ten, Penn State needs to protect the Bryce Jordan Center, which will be hopefully stuffed with Lions. Illinois, on the heels of a hard-fought loss to Michigan State, hosts Ohio State in yet another critical, tough game. (more…)

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Six games into the Conference season, here’s an indiscriminate collection of players we enjoy watching without sole regard to their individual numbers.  Some are stars, some will be stars, some are glue.  All make their teams better, which at the end of the day is all that really matters. (more…)

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