Riding a three game shooting slump, Illinois (19-5, 7-4) regained its footing this weekend with a combination of defense and blue collar effort in a 66-48 beating of Purdue (17-6, 6-4) in Champaign.  For its part, Matt Painter’s Boilermakers ended a rough week that saw it lose twice on the road and succumb to the reality of playing without a healthy Robbie Hummel for the foreseeable future.  Consequently, its season hangs in the balance. (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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At 15-2, Illinois is set to play Michigan State, the heir apparent to the Conference title in the Breslin Center on Saturday.  It’s a tall order for any team but expect Illinois to show up and make it a game.  With the series split with Michigan and a huge road win against Purdue in their back pocket, Illinois’ only other loss is to undefeated and #9 Clemson by two points (a game they should’ve won).  The Illini coulda, shoulda been 16-1. (more…)

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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. (more…)

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A 69-63 overtime win by Illinois over Kent State last night tempered somewhat the pain of three stinging Big Ten losses within 24 hours.  On Thanksgiving, Michigan State was regrettably pushed around by Maryland. On Friday afternoon, with the added burden of a whistle happy officiating crew, Purdue faded against an Oklahoma team it should have beaten.  And for a night cap, despite marked improvement in its offensive execution, Iowa was pummeled by the rough pressure of Bob Huggins’ latest incarnation of tough guys at West Virgina, including the erstwhile former IU commit Devin Ebanks.  (more…)

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It means little and it all might end tonight when Michigan plays Duke, but through ten days of hoops and 27 games, the Big Ten is undefeated.  In Michigan’s win over Ben Howland’s young but talent-laden 4th ranked UCLA Bruins 55-52 last night in Madison Square Garden and in Illinois’ 69-63 win over Vanderbilt in Nashville, two Big Ten coaches served notice that last year’s numerous losses didn’t disguise impressive seasons of growth by their programs. (more…)

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Matt Painter and Purdue enter a season marked with high expectations.  But, in a season-opening 82-50 win against Detroit, E’twaun Moore found himself on the bench at tip off, having lost his starting spot for what’s been called a violation of team rules during practice.  Painter laid down the law and swiftly.  While Moore’s digression may or may not be an isolated incident, with the cascade of transfers in recent seasons (none more surprising than Scott Martin) at the very least, it’s worth keeping one eye gazed on Purdue’s chemistry as they steam into a season as Conference favorites.  (more…)

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