- More gloom and doom bubble talk came out today, with Jerry Palm, Cheap Rug Lunardi and various blogs all discounting Northwestern's chances. FBC has all the links organized here, so just go there and check them out. In a related story, I may punch Lunardi if I ever see him, what a pompous ass.
- Fanhouse did a lengthy piece on Drew Crawford and his father.
- Wild night in the Big Ten last night with Illinois pulling off the impossible and winning in Madison. Demetri McCamey was outstanding in that game, outplaying Badger point guard Trevon Hughes. For much of the Big Ten season, Illinois has been written off as a product of playing a soft schedule, but with their last two wins they now have to be taken seriously as a conference title contender. Their remaining schedule is very tough and I'd be surprised if they won the Big Ten, but they have clearly played themselves off the bubble, and now deserve to be talked about in the same sentence with the rest of the league's elite, despite their inconsistent non-conference performance.
As impressive as Illinois was, Purdue looked even better while winning at Michigan State, with their big three of E'Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel, and JaJuan Johnson did all the heavy lifting. I was most impressed by Johnson's play, as he dominated the interior on both ends of the court. The Spartans had no one to guard him, and on defense he blocked 3 shots and altered many more. I was a bit premature last week in naming DeShawn Sims the front-runner for All-Big Ten center, as Johnson is playing up to his potential now and taking over games.
- I lost on both my picks last night, most notably putting the kiss of death on Wisconsin after declaring them favorites to win the league on Monday. Tonight I'll try to win back that lost cash.
Ohio State at Indiana (+10.5), 5:30 PM CST, BTN
While Indiana has no one to guard Evan Turner, we here at SippinOnPurple.com do not give double digit points on the road in conference play except in rare circumstances. Look for Verdell Jones to have another big game and keep Indiana within single digits.
Pick: Indiana
Season Records
Overall: 33-26-2
Northwestern games: 13-2