ESPN’s Pat Forde’s a good read but his latest column for ESPN.com, in which he scolds Michigan basketball, is misguided.  Fronted by a tabloid-ready photo of a bleeding Chris Kramer, Forde piles on John Beilein suggesting, much as cohort Jay Bilas did earlier in the week, that Michigan hoops suffers from boorish behavior.  While it may garner more hits and revenue for ESPN, its disingenuous to equate the Zack Novack elbow to PJ Hill (for which Beilein took a clear and hard line) to the Manny Harris/Chris Kramer incident.  Elsewhere, Michigan State takes on the Gophers tonight… (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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With the conclusion of the non-conference slate of games comes a moment of solitude where we acknowledge the blossoming of last season’s promise into this season’s reality.  Outside the shadow of Mount Nittany, it may be a mild surprise that Conference’s best backcourt thus far comes from Penn State. The reign of Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle, however, may be short-lived as the Big Ten is loaded with talented guards. (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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28 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists.   While Penn State (14-14, 6-10) toils in relative obscurity, freshman point guard Talor Battle (Albany, NY) has emerged as one the few bright spots for Ed DeChellis and the Nittany Lions.  Perhaps when Battle is a sophomore, Brent, Steve and Erin will arrive to watch the talented guard play meaningful games in March. (more…)

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