Hey everyone, it’s week 3 and off to the NFL races we go with the Patriots vs the Jets tonight (ATS: Patriots ML: Jets )!  As always, here are my scrumdidilyumptious NFL picks based on very flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and a spidey sense that may or may not be functioning well based on the amount and quality of tacos I ate today. As for week 2, I got 53% (8/15) of my picks right with my 16th pick being a “push” (8 – 7 – 1).  Overall, you still have a better shot with my picks below than literally flipping a quarter.  So if you’re stuck on a particular game to pick, just know you got better odds right fucking here!!! LFGoooooo!

WEEK 1: 10/16 (62.5%) WEEK 2: 8/15 + 1 Push (53.3%)  SEASON RECORD (ATS): 18/31 + 1 Push (58%)

| | @gawdbrudder

It’s always difficult to pick games in Week 1, but I had a nice bounce-back performance in Week 2. Now it is time for the rubber match. Do I know ball or not? I am banking on some surprising teams continuing to surprise and I will be betting on those teams until the oddsmakers catch up or until they turn into pumpkins. Whichever happens first.

New England +6.5 at NY Jets

New England is the first of the surprise teams I am talking about. They have covered the spread twice in a row and have beaten Cincinnati outright. The Jets need this game badly, but they will have to grind it out because Aaron Rodgers has yet to throw for 200 yards in a game for them.

NY Giants +6.5 at Cleveland

Congrats to Cleveland for bouncing back from that Week 1 disaster and beating Jacksonville. The Browns should still have to score 20 points in a game before they are favored to beat anyone by a touchdown. Remember, my Giants were not abysmal last week. Malik Nabers is the real deal, and now we have a kicker who can help us cover this spread! I bet we can even win if we keep the opponent out of the end zone again (sigh).

Chicago at Indianapolis -1.5

The Colts laid an egg last week, but they should still be laying at least a field goal against the Bears. Chicago’s defense won the game against Tennessee and kept the game in Houston close, but I think it is asking a lot for this team to win outright on the road.

Houston at Minnesota +4.5

The oddsmakers still don’t believe in Minnesota! I do, especially after Houston failed to put away Chicago last week until the final minute.

Philadelphia at New Orleans +2.5

The oddsmakers also don’t believe in New Orleans! What else do the Saints have to do? Beat someone by 100? Maybe they’ll do that on Sunday!

LA Chargers +2.5 at Pittsburgh

Normally this would be a Pittsburgh spot with the soft west coast team coming into the Steel City, but Jim Harbaugh has turned the Chargers into men, and they will continue to prove their manliness with a big road win!

Denver at Tampa Bay -6.5

Bo Nix has four interceptions and zero touchdowns so far. That is not a great ratio! If Denver continues to turn it over, Tampa Bay will score more than enough to cover this spread.

Green Bay +2.5 at Tennessee

Matt LaFleur showed that he can win with Malik Willis under center. I didn’t need to see much else. Give me Packers and the points against feeble Tennessee.

Carolina +6.5 at Las Vegas

Andy Dalton will give this Carolina team a bump and the Raiders are in a letdown spot.

Miami at Seattle -5.5

I’ll lay anything less than a touchdown against Miami until it gets a competent quarterback in there. Jaxon Smith-Njigba finally broke out for Seattle in Week 2, and that is bad news for opposing defenses.

Detroit at Arizona +3.5

That Kyler Murray to Marvin Harrison Jr. connection looks sharp! Arizona is playing good ball so far with a close loss at Buffalo and a blowout win over the Rams. Could this be a letdown season for the Lions?

Baltimore at Dallas +1.5

I’m not convinced that Baltimore is bad after two close losses, but the Ravens aren’t good enough to be laying points in Jerry World.

San Francisco -7.5 at LA Rams

This is probably an overreaction to the Rams getting killed by Arizona, but I expect the 49ers to reassert dominance in this spot.

Kansas City at Atlanta +4.5

The Falcons should be 0-2, and I would like them even more if that was the case! The Chiefs just don’t like covering spreads. They would be 0-2 ATS if not for Isaiah Likely being one inch out of bounds on opening night.

Jacksonville at Buffalo -5.5

The Jaguars have a brutal September schedule, and that could bury them if Trevor Lawrence doesn’t step up his game. I don’t think he will because he is only a little better than Daniel Jones.

Washington +7.5 at Cincinnati

The Commies would be 0-2 if my Giants had a damn kicker, but their offense has been surprisingly decent. Jayden Daniels has been accurate and efficient. If he can finally throw his first NFL touchdown pass, Washington should be able to stay in the game with Cincinnati.

It was a massacre of the favorites! 11 dogs came home. How the heck did the Raiders do that? Why do the Cowboys suck again? How on earth did the Vikings beat the 49ers? The Rams? WTF! Fitting that the Falcons upset Phiily last night.

Leading the group Abe and Aaron are tied at 8-7-1. In second with 6 wins was Chabdog and Well Read, and poor Dorothy D had 4.

Yuk

— Baltimore can give away more than 8.5
— Chargers cover the 6 against sscary bad Scarolina
— Dallas does Derek real bad and blows them out by more than six
— Tampa hangs around the Lions lair, and kkeps this closer than a stupid 6.5
— Indy beats GB by more than 3 (that’s what I’m talkin bout Willis)
— J-ville makes Cleveland like like the JV/wins by 3 at least
— No more Green Acres for Sam Darnold; San Fran wins by a TD or better
— Seattle looks sleep deprived in New England… and surprise surprise NE is two for two
— Mr. Rodgers wins one away from his neighborhood, and it shows he’s still pretty good. Go with the JETS to cover.
— Comical Commies over jr. G-men, and it’s by more than 1
ChabDog’s Habs and Have-nots for the Weekend Spreads:
–Rams have no problemo raising their game against Arizona by a minimum of 3.
— Another huckleberry for Tomlin; Steelers slug their way past Denver and the margin is north of 2.5.
— Cincy is in the wrong place at the wrong time… and it’s not called Burrowhead. KC wins by 4.5 and then some.
— Bears learn there’s a big difference between Texans and Titans; Chicago’s sloppy play from last week catches up with them in what is a two-score margin
— Quite a bulge for the Eggles in Monday Nite’s Battle of the Birds. Go with Philly.

Miami – lost

Baltimore

Chargers

Dallas

Detroit

Not Packers – Indiana

Jacksonville

San Fran

Seattle

NY Jets

Washington

Rams

Pitts

KC

Houston

Eagles

Hey everyone, it’s week 2 and so happy to hauk tuah all over this NFL thang once again!!!!! As always, here are my scrumdidilyumptious NFL picks based on very flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and a spidey sense that may or may not be functioning well based on the amount and quality of tacos I ate today. As for week 1, I got 62.5% (10/16) of my picks right which means you have a better shot with my picks below than literally flipping a quarter.  So if you’re stuck on a particular game to pick, just know you got better odds right fucking here!!! LFGoooooo!

WEEK 1: 10/16 (62.5%)

| | @gawdbrudder

Week 1 of the NFL is finally in the books and the veil of the unknown has been lifted, but now we have a new conundrum. Of what we saw unfold last week, what is real and what is a mirage? What is a fluke and what is a season-long trend? Hey, this is almost as hard to predict as Week 1. At least I won’t be quite as disappointed with the Giants when they play like garbage.

Buffalo at Miami -2.5

Both of these teams had a little more trouble with their first opponents than I thought they would. At least I had Arizona covering against Buffalo, but I thought it would be more of a backdoor cover than a legitimately close game. Miami, meanwhile, was a yard away from falling behind Jacksonville 24-7 before it was saved by a Travis Etienne goal-line fumble and an 80-yard touchdown strike from Tua Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill. Now many fans are wondering why the Dolphins are favored in a night game when the South Florida humidity won’t have as much of an effect. I’ll tell you why. This team is much better than it looked in Week 1! Miami gets a big win tonight!

Las Vegas +8.5 at Baltimore

Neither of these teams were impressive last week, but the Ravens came an inch away from almost beating the Chiefs when Isaiah Likely caught a last-second touchdown only to be ruled out of bounds by replay. It’s easy to remember that late surge by Baltimore and a little less easy to remember that it looked like the inferior team for much of the evening. Inferior to the Chiefs is nothing to panic about, but I think this number is a little too big against what I expect to be a spunky Raiders squad. Antonio Pierce’s super conservative 4th down decisions were a detriment last week, but they might help cover in a game like this one.

LA Chargers -6.0 at Carolina

Jim Harbaugh took care of business for me against the aforementioned Raiders last week, so let’s keep rolling with him. I sure as heck am not backing the Panthers for the second week in a row, so if they bounce back and play respectable football, I will tip my cap.

New Orleans +6.5 at Dallas

Both of these teams looked great in Week 1, but the competition was suspect. Okay, maybe Dallas was a little more impressive since they won big as a road dog, but I thought the Cowboys would be good and I thought the Saints would have a little trouble with Carolina. So maybe New Orleans was a little more impressive for me. You have to be pretty good to make the opponent look THAT bad, right? I’ll just take the points because Cowboys fans getting too big for their britches is something that no one wants to deal with.

Tampa Bay at Detroit -6.5

I whiffed on both of these teams last week, but Detroit kind of screwed me by covering in overtime. The Rams were the right side! In Tampa, Baker Mayfield was amazing against Washington, but he’ll face a much stiffer test up north. I’m suspicious of how high this spread is given that the Buccaneers won a Playoff game last season and impressed in Week 1. That makes me like the Lions, who beat Tampa Bay 31-23 in January’s Divisional Round.

Indianapolis +3.0 at Green Bay

This line has shifted to Colts -2.5 because Malik Willis stinks. Maybe if the Packers kept Sean Clifford, I could talk myself into rolling with them. Too bad.

Cleveland at Jacksonville -2.5

This is such a chalky pick. We get the Jaguars coming off a game in which they should have beaten the Dolphins and the Browns coming off a tire fire vs. Dallas. I am choosing to step into the trap here because I was never much of a Deshaun Watson believer. Him continuing to be awful will amuse me.

San Francisco at Minnesota +6.0

Maybe the Vikings are a little bit good?! No, it can’t be. The Giants are just that bad, but I am buying the hype about Minnesota’s rebuilt defense under the leadership of Brian Flores. He might not coddle his quarterback enough to be a great head coach, but he knows how to run a defense! I doubt the 49ers will be able to run the ball the way they did against those Jets. San Francisco will win, but by fewer points than the experts think.

Seattle at New England +3.5

Boy, how crazy would the AFC East race be if the Patriots are legit? We could find out very quickly with New England hosting a Seattle team that beat up on Denver at home last week. Coming all the way across the country to face a fired-up Patriots squad is a different story! I am predicting another ugly New England win to follow up the shocking upset in Cincinnati.

NY Jets -3.5 at Tennessee

We are already in must-win mode for the Jets because of the great expectations placed on them in the preseason. Some fans even deluded themselves into thinking that they could beat San Francisco on the road. Not this guy! The good news for New York is that it already played the toughest game on its schedule. It’s all downhill from here, and it starts with a Titans team that gave away the game to Chicago last week.

NY Giants +1.5 at Washington

Another week, and another “winnable” game for the Giants to disappoint me in. According to what I said last week, the season is already over, but it’s easy to forget that Washington was just as miserable in Week 1 before Jayden Daniels racked up some garbage-time fantasy points at the end. I can see Daniel Jones having a bounce-back game to save his job and muddy the quarterback situation for the next few weeks.

LA Rams -2.5 at Arizona

No, I don’t think that Arizona is suddenly scary because it played a close game in Buffalo despite not getting much from Maserati Marv. The Rams, on the other hand, showed some serious fight after falling behind by two scores in Detroit while Cooper Kupp showed that he is still elite. If the Rams are back to being an NFC contender, they’ll take care of business here.

Pittsburgh -2.5 at Denver

Another overreaction road favorite pick? Maybe. Last Sunday made me a believer in Pittsburgh’s defense, and it could feast against the n00b Bo Nix.

Cincinnati at Kansas City -4.5

Jacksonville is no longer my chalkiest pick on the card. Chiefs at home by less than a touchdown against a Bengals team that just lost to New England? I want to buy a bounce back from the Bengals, but I just can’t with Joe Burrow looking like a member of *NSYNC. Give me the champs in a rout.

Chicago at Houston -6.0

If the Jaguars, Chiefs, and Texans all cover, I am officially declaring gambling to be too easy. The Bears needed some seriously fluky things to bounce their way in order to defeat Tennessee on Sunday. Now they need to go on the road in prime time against a Houston team that just showed how real the hype was when it won a big AFC South clash in Week 1. You can’t predict football, though.

Atlanta +6.5 at Philadelphia

I can’t pick the hot home favorite for the third time in a row. The difference here is that I believed in Atlanta a lot heading into the season (I also can’t stand the Eagles). Week 1 went very badly for Kirk Cousins and the Falcons, but the Eagles showed last week that they can give up the big play. Atlanta has plenty of playmakers capable of making one and keeping this game close.

2.5 is too little for the counterfeit Bills.  ChabDog’s going with Coach Mikey, Tua and the Aqua Marine scoring machine.  Look for lots of shock and awe in South Beach, as the Miami pound machine spits out too many points for an exposed Buffalo defense, that just last week got largely violated by the mighty Cardinals..

One guy was ready to answer the bell, did so, and helped lead his team to VICTORY.

The other guy wasn’t ready to step up … injury or otherwise… and hasn’t really shown much to indicate he’s anywhere near the guy he used to be in terms of leader. There’s just no decision to make. It has to be Fields.

ChabDog wins Week One with 15 wins! Only got the Bills wrong after switching to Philly and Chicago. Well Read and Dorothy D are tied for second with 12. Abe has 10 and Aaron has 5 … see it all at chabdog.com

Finally we can stop obsessing on societal issues and watch football! Bread and circuses my friends while America is engulfed in a five-alarm fire. Whatever is going to go down is going down whether we agree with it or not. But the circus is good.

Week One Picks

Deliberately took the chalk on KC and Philly and was rewarded with a 2 – 0 start. Chiefs look better than last year. Eagles are back but GB looked good.

Mike Tomlin is an exceptional coach but the Steelers QB’s suck! For that reason alone take the Falcons -2.5  even though Atlanta is all smoke and mirrors with a new coach and new offence.

7.5 is a lot  to give the Bills against an enigmatic Cardinals team. It’s a trap. Take Cardinals +7.5

Tennessee just seems like a dirty, worn out team. Chicago as a 5.5 point favorite is dangerous. But Tennessee smells like garbage and Bears are attracted to garbage. Take Chicago -5.5

Patriots are odds on favorite to play in this season’s BlooperBowl. The donkey in the natti is healthy so take the Bengals -7.5

Everybody loves Houston but the Colts are a division rival and are good at rocking illusions fans have. Take the Colts +1.5

I wish I could say something good about Jacksonville. Take Miami -3.5

Until we see this season’s Carolina and New Orleans play a regulation game and comment regarding their respective abilities would not be factual. Therefore, take the Saints -4.5 as they are the home favorite

Minnesota is weak but the Giants are weaker still. Take Minnesota -0.5

The Raiders should be ashamed of themselves. Garnder Mincschew? That’s all you got? Take the Chargers -2.5

Not a lot of delta for the Denver vs. Seattle game either other than Seattle still has a top ranked D and Bronco’s are starting a rookie. Take Seahawks -4.5

Unless and until Deshaun Watson plays like a champion the Browns are going no where. Take Dallas -1.5

Washington is a smouldering dumpster fire and I don’t mean the Capitol. Take Tampa -4.5

Lions are just a better team than the Rams. Take Lions -3.5

The Jets are a paper tiger. Great individual player talent. Poor team skills. Take San Fran -6.5 

THANK FUCKING GAWD FOOTBALL IS BACK!  And with that, I will continue my annual 18-week tradition of giving you all my scrumdidilyumptious NFL picks based on very flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and a spidey sense that may or may not be functioning well based on the amount and quality of tacos I ate today.  Fortunately for me, this is Week 1 and I’m already starting the season at 100%…so I can only go down from here! However, TO BE FAIR, I did get 50% of my Against-The-Spread picks right last season (see below) which isn’t too bad considering our highest Chabdog Sports expert got 54.51%. Lastly, regardless of who you cheer for, I hope you have a great season & are just as excited as I am to have football back! LETS FUCKING GO….

| | @gawdbrudder

Football is back! So what if it’s already been back for more than a week thanks to college football? It’s REALLY back tonight with the start of the NFL, tiny point spreads, and fantasy! I am a New York Giants fan, so I am predicting a season full of pain and suffering, but maybe some of you out there can get some joy out of the next five months. There’s always fantasy football, right? Nope, just more frustration and torture. But how about the ChabDog picks contest? Now, there is something that I have a chance to win.

Baltimore +2.5 at Kansas City

Everyone is going to love the Chiefs at less than a field goal. They just won the freaking Super Bowl and are at home in front of a raucous crowd. Plus, ChiefsAholic just got sentenced to federal prison, so you know the boys will be extra fired up to get the job done for him. HOWEVER, the Chiefs aren’t the elite offensive team they used to be. Last winter, they barely got by Baltimore in the Playoffs thanks to a great defensive effort. Patrick Mahomes is still looking for a go-to wide receiver and Travis Kelce might be over the hill. The defense is still good, but it’s tougher to repeat a great defensive season than a great offensive season. Give me the hungry Ravens with their new-look and more intimidating running game for the upset!

Green Bay +1.5 vs. Philadelphia

It is a sham that this game is even happening with the crime activity in Sao Paulo being so high that players are leaving their families behind. Player safety is a priority for the NFL until the owners can make a few extra bucks by putting a game in South America! Plus, it is a Peacock exclusive game, so even fans in America will feel like they are getting robbed. Anyway, this is an easy one for me. The Eagles were in full meltdown mode at the end of last season. Now, many fans are convinced that Saquon Barkley and a couple of new coordinators will solve all their issues. I’m not so sure. I’ll take the rising Packers after their exciting run in last season’s Playoffs.

Pittsburgh at Atlanta -2.5

This spread should be more than three points. Maybe not everyone realizes how much better the Atlanta offense is now that the team has a veteran quarterback under center. Kirk Cousins is coming back from a major Achilles tendon injury, but he won’t need to move around much when Bijan Robinson and Drake London are entering their primes. This offense is just as talented as the one that Cousins left behind in Minnesota. It will be tough for the Steelers and their new quarterback to keep pace, even with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s familiarity with Atlanta.

Arizona +7.5 at Buffalo

Arizona’s offense is on the rise due to the selections of Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey Benson in the NFL Draft. Plus, Trey McBride emerged as a star tight end last season, and Kyler Murray is expected to have his best season yet after missing half of 2023 due to recovery from knee surgery. Does that mean that the Cardinals will stun Buffalo in Week 1? There’s a chance with Josh Allen breaking in a new-look receiving group. I still think Buffalo prevails, but I wouldn’t pick the Bills in survivor. Taking the points is the move here.

Tennessee +5.5 at Chicago

The hype around the Bears is deserved with the massive changes they have made across the offense. Should they be favored by so much in Caleb Williams’ first NFL start, though? I’m not so sure. Tennessee was spunky at the end of last season with a shocking win at Miami and overtime losses to Houston and Indianapolis. The Titans have a chance to spoil Chicago’s party.

New England at Cincinnati -7.5

This is a very chalky pick, but the Patriots stink. They have very little juice on offense and fans will have to wait a little longer to see what Drake Maye brings to the table. I respect Jared Mayo for making the unpopular decision of going with Jacoby Brissett as the starter, but there is a reason why it is an unpopular decision. Brissett isn’t capable of rejuvenating the offense the way the franchise hopes that Maye will.

Houston at Indianapolis +1.5

This is a repeat of the 2023 regular season finale in which the Texans beat the Colts 23-19 to win the AFC South. This time around should be different just because Anthony Richardson is fully healthy again after his rookie campaign was cut short due to a shoulder injury. There’s a lot of hype in Houston after the team traded for Stefon Diggs to give C.J. Stroud another stud receiver to throw to in his sophomore season. Sunday gives the Texans a great chance to prove that the hype is real, but the dynamic backfield of Richardson and Jonathan Taylor will allow the Colts to control the clock and earn a crucial early-season win.

Jacksonville at Miami -3.5

The Dolphins were electric on offense in 2023, and they will be playing the hits once again in 2024. Laying points with them is fun because they can score so quickly, and that is what I plan on doing with the Jaguars in town. Trevor Lawrence just signed a massive contract, but just like with Daniel Jones, the deal doesn’t make the man.

Carolina +4.5 at New Orleans

I am hoping that new Panthers head coach Dave Canales can work some magic with this team. New Orleans finished 2023 strong and made a run for the NFC South title while finishing 9-8. Carolina, meanwhile, got shut out in its final two games to give Chicago the top NFL Draft pick. The Panthers can’t be that horrible again, right?

Minnesota at NY Giants +0.5

The Giants not being favored in this game is depressing. Sam Darnold is starting for Minnesota. It should be time for optimism in New Jersey, but instead it feels like we’re waiting for Daniel Jones to get hurt or force Brian Daboll to bench him. I need the Giants to win this so I can enjoy being delusional for another week. If New York loses, the season is over already.

Las Vegas at LA Chargers -2.5

This is probably a trap, but I love what Jim Harbaugh brings to the table and he doesn’t have to slowly build up the Chargers since they already have plenty of talent. Los Angeles lost a lot of receiving talent, but Harbaugh just wants to pound the rock and let Herbert hit a couple of big play-action passes. If the Bolts get ahead early, they should be able to grind this one out.

Denver at Seattle -4.5

Seattle is my survivor pick for this week. I expect the Hawks to cruise against Denver and rookie quarterback Bo Nix. Seattle is a tough place to make a debut, and Geno Smith has a chance to light up the scoreboard with the weapons he has at wide receiver.

Dallas -1.5 at Cleveland

The Browns’ supposedly great defense was blasted by Houston in the Wild Card last season, and I could see Dallas doing something similar. The Cowboys are the only NFC East team I’m really high on. They might fall apart in the Playoffs again, but an appearance there seems likely with Dak Prescott out to prove that Jerry Jones is making a mistake by not giving in to his contract demands. The connection between Prescott and CeeDee Lamb could be nearly unstoppable.

Washington +4.5 at Tampa Bay

I’ve been picking against rookie quarterbacks, but that stops here because of how much I love Jayden Daniels. I thinks he’s a better bet for a breakout campaign than Caleb Williams due to his great rushing ability. Daniels is no stranger to having to carry a team after the load he carried at LSU last year. He’ll make enough wild escapes to keep the Commies from getting crushed in Tampa.

LA Rams +3.5 at Detroit

This game was very close in the Playoffs last season, and it should be again. Both teams are loaded on offense, so it’s tough to imagine anyone pulling away and winning by a touchdown. Detroit probably prevails because I like their backfield and pass rush a little better, but victory might come in the final seconds.

NY Jets at San Francisco -6.5

I’m buying into the Jets hype. The defense is great, Breece Hall is dynamic, and they have one great wide receiver, but there is a lot of faith being put in Aaron Rodgers being much better than Zach Wilson when he’s very old and coming off a major injury. Remember, Rodgers failed to make the Playoffs in his final season with Green Bay. If he has success with the Jets, he’ll be carried by the rest of the team like Peyton Manning with the 2015 Broncos.

And to add to the relatively short, but undeniably flashy list of Italian stallions for tennis, in the tradition of the always fabulous Fabio Fognini (he could saunter like leisurely Mussolini), Adriano Panata — who not only did the improbable by winning botht the French and the Italian Opens in 1969, but did the impossible by beating Borg twice on clay– and “Making Waves” Matteo Berrettini, we now have Jannick Sinner, an amazing carrot top, whose only prop is reach that is simply inhuman. We have not seen such a mixture of raw power, defensive prowess, great reflexes and mental tenacity since Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, and Bjorn Borg morphed into one. Impressive win tonight over crowd favorite Tommy Paul.

• KC
• Philly
• Pittsburgh
• Buffalo
• Tennesee
• New England
• Houston
• Jacksonville
• New Orleans
• Minny
• Chargers
• Seattle
• Dallas
• Tampa Bay
• Detroit
• San Francisco

The Crimson and Gray will be A Ok this Saturday…. even if they’ve only got 1 comrade in the very sad PAC 2… LOL… and ChabDog Sports will report on it all in this Sunday’s “Fight, Fight, Fight for Washington State… the Chock Full of CFAA” CDST Show….

Games that are food for thought in week 1 of CFAA:
— Dabo clashes with Kirby
— Penn St. meanders into Morgantown
— The Golden Domers meet the 12th man who lives at College Station
— Cowpokes tangle with Phoenix’s Pitchforkers
— Tommy Trojan travels to Death Valley
— Spurned, passed over Cougars try to win one for Tom Tuttle by taking their frustrations out on Portland St.
— and the rest of the games are Cupcake City, baby!

Then there will certainly be time for more musings about Week 1 of NFL and the early games, including a replay of last years AFC Championship,(does anyone really expect Lamar to get very far at Arrowhead) and a possible preview of the NFC Championship (with A-rodg trying to dodge old age in Philly)..

Clips, quips and Dorothy Dawn’s men’s health spot; including athletic housewives from the Police Academy, showering more moral disgust on George Constanza and a hot haul in the Sahara for Humphrey.

Games to watch — week 1 of CFAA:
— Dabo clashes with Kirby
— Penn St. meanders into Morgantown
— The Golden Domers meet the 12th man who lives at College Station
— Cowpokes tangle with Phoenix’s Pitchforkers
— Tommy Trojan travels to Death Valley
— Hurrycanes attempt to dredge the Swamp
— and the rest of the games are Cupcake City, baby!

Not to belabor the point, but heading into Labor Day we take occasion to showcase the legendary bromance that is Tank and Abe. It’s the “Going loco at the O.Co.” CDST Show. Yes, there’s a golf cart burning some serious rubber on the basepaths at the largely vacant warehouse that is the Bay area mausoleum, and our boys are winning hearts and taking names in this swan song season for the green and gold in Oakland.
Lots of other baseball to discuss, including ChabDog’s take on the hokey, homespun creations of batting stance guy… gotta see his
renditions of the 1979 Pirates, 1986 Red Sox and the 1977 Yanks… and a fitting tribute to jovial Joey Votto (MLB’s answer to cheery Cherry).
There’s also NFL water cooler talk, including the latest juggernaught that is the 2024 BBBBBears, why 1+1 may equal 0 in Pittsburgh
and whether there will be legitimate Aaron Rodgers sighting in Week 1.
Plus, how to Currie favor when you’re up Schitt’s Creek and Bette Davis’ Dead Ringers.
We’re on call for you tomorrow and catch it all at chabdog.com and on the ChabDog Sports you tube channel.

A’s Owner Charlie Finley with his manager Dick Williams in 1972. photo Ron Riesterer/Oakland Tribune

Time to bid adieu to power hitting first sacker Pal Joey Votto.
Quite a career, all with the Reds, including 253 million plus of salary, 356 homers, 450 plus doubles, 1144 ribbies, .294 avg, 2 gold gloves, 6 All-stars, and an MVP.
I’d say the Reds got their money’s worth, even if he only had 22 triples. Yes sir, you could certainly say they won a prize in the lotto, when they got Mr. Votto in the 2nd round of the 2002 MLB June Amateur Draft from Richview Collegiate Institute (Toronto, ON).

If our clip from Goodfellas “May 11, 1980” doesn’t make your toes tingle or curl with excitement, nothing will… featured this weekend on CDST, when ChabDog is back for the “Tidy Tim, Ahoy Palloi” show! Don’t be lost at sea,, dazed and confused and floudering with so much to do and so little time before Week 1 of College Football and Opening Weekend for NFL. We’ll help you navigate the turblent waters of SEC vs. Big Tent, and ACC and Big 12 on the outside, desperately looking in. Plus, who’s well positioned for a quick start outta the gate in the NF:L, and who’s coming on strong in the jockeying for pennant races and wild card spaces. No time to be sitting around passive and all, even if we are stuck in the middle of office. There’s guns to be dropped off, gotta pick up my brother from the hospital, drop him off at the house, pick up Karen and deliver the stuff to the guys from Pittsburgh…. then there’s meatballs to be made, cutlets to be fried, sauce to be stirred, and oh yeah, gotta drive Lois back to her house to retrieve the lucky hat.

And oh yeah, has anyone ever seen jughead Jud Heathcote and Tidy Tim Walz in the same room together?

UNITED STATES – AUGUST 6: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic nominee for president, speaks during a rally to kick off their campaign at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Kirby Smart (16)

Paris Olympics: IOC doubles down on its decision to permit 2 boxers who failed unspecified gender eligibility tests to compete – Yahoo Sports

Does that look like a level playing field…. under any conception of fair competition.

RIP Martin Smith… you were a one-of-a-kind sports enthusiast and always an inspiration for ChabDog Sports.

We’ll miss your enthusiasm and joy for life, including all things Arizona athletics, and perhaps in fitting tribute thee

D-back now refuse to lose.

No.1 in this picture and No.1 on my hit parade in terms of the my desire to connect with people through the written word.

Go for the competitive throats, you D-backs, Cards, Suns, and yes Coyotes!

California’s 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 conservative sports talk show

Unfiltered & unapologetic Gen X’ers

Just Push Play

C’s seize the moment in the first quarter, and never really look back. The energy, the dedication to defense, the advantage on the boards, and flashes of shooting all returned and the Mavs never really threatened with a run of their own. What a year, what a credit to the entire organization.

Top 5 Reasons He’s Fat, not Phat, Luka:
1) Great at seeking nourishment in the key.
2) Likes getting it on with those pre-game bon bons
3) Real Maverick who doesn’t get sick from too much pizza
4) Brando-sized butt as big as the state of Texas makes for prime rib positioning
5) Enhances the chances for rescue by the refs on those love tap fouls

Celtics played Kristaps, and the band played taps for the Mavericks.
On the anniversary of history’s Longest Day, it was quite a long night
for the Western Conference Champions. Boston shot the lights out of the TD Garden
in a wild first quarter, then never really looked back. Porzingis was busy sinking line
drive jumpers, blocking shots and grabbing boards, Brown was dominating on both ends,
and D. White was doing a little of everything else. As for Dallas, aside from Luka getting his usual
thirty, assists and participation from the rest of the horses was few and far between, and sidekick
Kyrie was nowhere to be found. Key stats were the Celts’ huge advantage in assists (23 to 9) and
blocks (9 to 1). Yes, for the odds-on favorites, this was D-Day Domination.

D. White goes helter skelter on the Pacers…. sticking in the dagger trey and sealing the deal for finals’ bound Boston. Another frantic comeback ends in success, and the Celtics complete one of the most dominant runs through the Eastern Conference in recent memory. Better get some rest in advance of what should be sterner test from the best of the West.

With the NBA’s Western Conf. Finals raging full bore, what better time for the “Long Riders From Dallas Wreaking Havoc Just Above the Low T-Wolves’ Line” CDST Show. We’ll bear witness to the wreckage strewn from the Mavs’ recent trip to Minneapolis, a tad more successful than the James Gang’s foray at the Northfield bank. And in an ironic twist, there’s the sad opening to the NHL’s Western finals, where the former North Stars had apparent ADD manifest at the beginning of the 2nd OT, falling to cover a wide open McDavid and getting their series soiled by the Oilers. Plus, the Celtics trying for a 4 zip walkover the anxious Pacers and the Rangers with their storybook season in danger against the seasoned Panthers.
Adding to the Memorial Day festivities we’ll have the Keach and Carradine brothers trying to stay out of reach from the long arm of the law, famous last words from Howard Cosell and Rick Barry, an NBA jingle that will make your spine tingle, hygiene advice from Redd Foxx, a dose of Bullett Fever, and Jim McKay narrating the best finish at Indy you ever saw.

Former Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz attends Game 6 of the NBA basketball playoffs Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, Friday, May 27, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

ONE DAY I WAS UNUSUALLY HAPPY TO BE ALIVE:

— CELTICS COME BACK FROM THE BRINK TO WIN GAME 1 OF THE ECF

— BUCCOS MAKE THE JUNIOR G-MEN WALK THE PLANK WITH 4 IN THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH

— AND OH, THE RED SOX ALSO SPAYED THE RAYS!

…and the Pirates conduct operation “Wransack Wrigley” on Friday the 17. Raise it!

How about some new blood in the NBA Finals? The T-Wolves are chomping at the bit for a final chance to scale the wall at The Ball and deal a mortal blow to the defending champs. We’ll discuss the Game 7 drama of Minnesota-Denver on Sunday’s “Ball-barians at the Gate” CDST Show, along with what to expect in the Eastern Conference, no matter who is there to repel the Celts. And the NHL ‘s march toward crowning a new champ…. with the Presidential Rangers facing down eFFFFFen Florida, and the silky smooth Stars sitting pretty and preparing to welcome over-achieving Vancouver, who are on the verge of making roadkill outta McD’s Oilers.

Plus, a dangerous driver at the PGA, and we’re not taking about a golf club, a strikeout machine named Skenes in P-burgh, some pleasurable WNBA profiling that is refreshingly free of CC, clips galore… and more (as Abe shows us something new from the Etsy store.

Check it out at chabdog.com

Don’t say Brandon didn’t tell you so…. wanna know who’s gonna keep doing what’s necessary and who keeps forgetting to brick up that proverbial back door … better listen to the CDST “Taking care of business, Round 2 Playoff Show”. The sexy second seasons for NBA and NHL have lots of dangerous curves, and ChabDog and his co-hosts with the most are here to help you circumnavigate the globe of possibilities. Be there, or be impaired. Catch it all tomorrow 9-10 am or thereabouts, tomorrow at chabdog.com.

• Stars make a 4 goal lead stand up using the Benn and break your opponent’s will approach; well, the Avs didn’t exactly get pushed around after Jamie took down Toews, but with that savage, but legal hit, an important message was sent up the flagpole and in Big D a lot of people were saluting it.
• 47 shots later, May is still not Hurricane season.

• There had better be hell to pay for this out-of-control beating. It was only Wednesday, but the Bruins were beat 6 to 1 ways from Sunday. That last goal was a total disgrace, and if Boston has any semblance of self-respect, they’ll be putting a whole bunch of Barkov in the doghouse come Game 3. Where’s Terry O’Reilly when you need him?
• Oilers try to, but can’t, make the Canucks look like schmucks in the Van. Talk about quick strike.

ChabDog’s Monday Nitro Basketball-Hockey Playoff Update for the day after the day after “May the Fourth Be With You”:
— Anthony Edwards and his long armed-nerdy friends gang up on Murray and really slaughter him.
— Yvonee de’s Brandon pitches in for good measure, and the Panthers make the mistake of daring to go 1 up on the Bruins. The result is an execution at Sunrise.

Recent history for the Boston Bruins at home in Game 7 has not been kind.  2019’s going out like mice to the tireless Blues, and the mega collapse to Florida in last year’s opening round.

The Solution:  Be Boston strong and imagine you’re on the road, not at home, kicking another Canadian team’s arse (like you did in Vancouver in 2011)…..and carry that Don Cherry attitude to the competition…. GO B’S!!!!!!!

• 
• Murray slaughters the Lakers with a fantastic finish, and it’s love boat time for LeBron. Don’t fault LA for rolling over in a tough situation… no they acquitted themselves well in terms of showing tons of spunk and making the champs work for this win, but in the end they didn’t get the job done on the boards and the lack of a shut down, skilled defensive guard really hurt. Offense gets you the headlines but defense wins championships.
• Too bad for the underdog Pelicans that only the favorites could wear Thunder shirts… oh well… it’s “What a pro wants, what a pro needs” and in this series, OKC was definitely not singing flat.
• It was a total White-out in Miami, as Derrick struck oil at South Beach….. gushing for 38 points, blocking shots and generally shredding the Heat’s lame attempt at zone defense. Good riddance to the Heat.

CDST is back with this week’s “Hello darkness my old friend, it’s playoff time again” show, and just in
time to weigh in on the remaining fun in Round 1. You never know what you’re made of until you stare into
that abyss, so gather that confidence, take aim, and try not to miss. We’ll discuss who’ll be the graduates
to the conference semis, and who’ll just be goin fishin. Plus some MLB, a racing update if we’re lucky, and
we’ll raise your spirits with some classic stuff from Aldo Ray, pushing Canada Dry and raising a Battle Cry.

• Timber!!!! That’s the sound of the elderly Suns falling with a big thud in Round 1.
  The Wolves are hangry and appear to be locked, loaded and on a mission.
  Good luck to anyone standing in their way, and that includes the No. 2 Nuggets.
  These guys have the best D in the league and some very choice options in the halfcourt, including a leaner, meaner KAT and the overpowering and overwhelming talent of Anthony Edwards.
• When you go to war, it helps to have a leader.
  Tonight in Dallas, the Clippers had none to speak of, including a
  gimpy, listless Kawhi, a coach who was awol and left for dead on the sidelines, and a grand total of three has-been ex-all-Stars, who were all more bark and bluster than bang for their bucks.
  Meanwhile, Doncic and Irving showed a generally underrated cast the way forward.
• Tyrese wasn’t satisfied with a tie, which mucks things up for the big toe-less Bucks.

Sid Luckman, backfield coach for the Chicago Bears, who quarterbacked that team to four NFL championships in the 1940s, holds a modern football helmet in Chicago, Dec. 10, 1969, as he discusses its advantages for the wearer. It is one of Sid’s theories that the protection of face guards has hade players braver and more daring. (AP Photo/Edward Kitch)

ChabDog Sports wishes you a very, very Happy Passover. The most important holiday in our religion, because this is the reminder and celebration of our freedom.

• White was out of sight all night, as seen through the ruby red frames of Coach Snyder, whose options were quite limited given the Bulls’ superior size, strength, speed and agility. Celtics had better take notice.
• Nick “Temple of Doom” Batum drops more than a few big ones on the Heat.
  Vroom vroom vroom, Joel Sebby Bach is back, and the Sixers think they still have a
  chance. Go figure….

As discussed on tomorrow’s ChabDog Sports Talk Show…. The MLB All-Animal team (these guys were truly beasts at their respective positions):
Manager — Whitey Herzog — The White Rat
“Hippo” Vaughn — starting pitcher 178-137 ERA 2.49 (ERA Title, Pitching Triple Crown)
Harvey Haddix (The Kitten) — starting pitcher 136-113 ERA 3.63 (threw a no-hitter and lost)
Jim Kaat — starting pitcher 283-237 ERA 3.45 (Hall of Fame) (3x all star) 16 gold gloves
Old Hoss Radbourne — starting pitcher 310-194 (Hall of Fame) ERA Title 2.68 ERA
Goose Gossage — relief pitcher 124-107 301 saves (Hall of Fame) (9x all star)
Catcher — Yogi Berra (Hall of Fame) (3x MVP) (numerous world series titles and 18 all star appearances) (over 300 homers and over 2k hits)
Designated Hitter — Jimmy Foxx– aka The Beast (Hall of Fame, 3x MVP) (over 500 homers, lifetime avg of .325) Triple Crown
First Base — Lou Gehrig — aka The Iron Horse (Hall of Fame) (2 MVP) (.340 lifetime avg) 493 homers
Second Base — Nellie Fox — Hall of Fame, MVP (over 2600 hits, .288 avg) (3 gold gloves) 15x allstar
Shortstop — Rabbit Maranville – Hall of Fame (over 2600 hits, .258 avg) 291 stolen bases
Third Base — Bill “Mad Dog” Madlock — Four batting titles, over 2000 hits and lifetime .310 avg. (205 homers and lifetime avg of .305) 3x all star
Left Field — Ducky Medwick — Hall of Fame, MVP, Triple Crown winner, 10x all star
Right Field — Dave Parker — The Cobra — MVP, 7x allstar, 2 batting titles, 3 gold gloves, 2713 hits, .290 avg, 339 homers and nearly 1500 rbis, 2 world series titles
Center Field — Clyde Milan– Deerfoot — nearly 500 stolen bases, 2100 hits, .285 lifetime avg
Bench —
Johnny Mize (The Big Cat) — Hall of Fame, over 2000 hits, lifetime avg. 312, 349 homers, 10x allstar
Fred McGriff (Crime Dog) — Hall of Fame, 493 homers, lifetime avg. .284, nearly 2500 hits, 5x allstar
Ralph Garr (the Road Runner, Gator) — 1500 hits, .306 lifetime avg., 170 stolen bases
Dave Kingman (Kong) — 3x allstar, 442 homers
Omar Moreno — The Antelope — nearly 500 stolen bases
Ron Cey — Penguin — 6x all star, World Series MVP, 300 plus homers, over 1800 hits and over 1100 rbis
Walt Dropo — Moose — 1s allstar, Rookie of the Year, 152 homers

Like Sloan and Jimmy V before him, Keatts is dressed to the nines and primed to lead his team to compete. I’ll take the Pack to beat that bloated 9 point spread, and when it’s over end up ahead. It’s a case of Duran Duran destiny. They’re hungry like wolves, and ready to take the Boilermakers.

Every day is a glorious fresh start. Happy Easter from ChabDog Sports!

• DEVILS BURNED ON EASTER IN A FIERY, PLUS-SIZED WAY WHEN NC STATE BRINGS THE MOST TO THE POST WITH DANCING DJ…. OH YEAH!!!!
• Tennessee more or less kept it close, but its painful-to-watch offense never really got going, and when it came to Edey that freight train was anything but slowing.  Boilers advance to the promised land in the desert, while it’s hard knocks for the Knoxvillers.

• In Tuscaloosa they’re wearing the Crimson letter “A” with tons of pride, after another awe-inspiring about face mid-way through the first half had the Tide erase a double-digit deficit en route to a first ever trip to the Final Four. Senior guard and peerless leader turned Crypto.com into his personal Sears showroom with 7 threes and a steely resolve that rebuffed the Tigers at every turn.
  Tons of credit goes out to Freshman Stevenson, who dropped in a handful of long bombs himself, not to mention the points, boards and defense chipped in by Pringle, Nelson’s continued tenacity and enthusiasm and the very important contributions of Griffen and Estrada.
  Clemson was tough as nails, and kudos to them for fighting the good fight, but when the dust cleared the Hall monitor fouled
  out of school and the Chef was just out of recipes.
  Can they stand up to the Huskies… you bet they can… because they’ve earned their stripes in battling through this adversity,
  and have their big toe… Coach Oats watching their back and directing the attack. Go for it guys!!!
• Enterprising Illini came to the regional final with some great expectations, but when the second half reared its ugly head they had no answers for larger than life CT and its Clingan empire

ChabDog’s Sweet 16 Summary (Day 1):
–I wasn’t dreaming of Jeannie tonight… I was dreaming of Major Nelson, and what a beautiful reality
show it was. The 3’s, the reverse lay ups, the blocks, and the free throws…. what a show from a guy
who really came of age tonight in a big way. And what a boost for Coach Oats and the entire Crimson Tide
program…. showing the Tar Heels what’s what in the biggest basketball win in school history.
ROLL TIDE, ROLL!
— The first half was relatively tame, with SD State clinging to U Conn’s coattails, but after halftime, there
was no more static cling, as Clingan, Caraban and the rest of the crew cruised.
— Arizona got most of the style points tonight, but when it came to substance,
that was all Clemson. The Tigers did all the little things better, and when the game was
on the line and the heat was on in the kitchen, who came through but the Hall Monitor and the Chef.
–The Illini were bricklayers from the line, but the ‘Clones couldn’t
throw it in the ocean from anywhere else. In a rather ugly encounter,
No. 3 survives No. 2, and now faces likely execution at the hands of No. 1.
We shall see, but this was sloppy all the way around.

Day 1 cliffnotes from the ChabDog Group ESPN Bracket Racket (now this is what I call adulterated bracketeering):

— Jenna goes 14 up 2 down, while ChabDog keeps pace with the same, but takes a bigger hit when Kentucky chokes against Oakland… say what?
— Meanwile IG JackCart looks pretty smart at 89%, followed by a slew of 70 percenters, including Well-read and Yolk (who persists in picking Perdone)
— Abe and Blixx take a day 1 dive at 45, along with someone not quite coming up smelling like a rose
— And it’s Dunker in the bunker, pulling up the rear with Queen Momsie and EFS Grand Slam….

when we consider whether the Big 10 Champs are really ready to cook up something special for the Big Dance… or are they just chicken. Will Edey be the gourmet delivering the magic elixir that has eluded the Boilermakers for so long, since the days of Wooden, through the trials and tribulations of Combover Keady, and the pre-mature promise of Painter’s past pretenders. Lots more to consider, from the battle on the bubble to who’s most likely slated for Humpty Dumpty treatment.
And for your further consumption, we got Abe’s etsy swagger, Well-read’s soundboard back on track, Dorothy’s nutritional knowledge, and some choice prime clips chucked out there by ChabDog.
Take it in at chabdog.com….

Listen to the tide slowly turning
Wash all our heartaches away
We’re part of the fire that is burning
And from the ashes we can build another day
MAKE WAY FOR CREIGHTON.

interest rates are going down, this year’s gonna end with a positive bang, and when April flowers bloom,

the Moody Blue Jays will be jubilant.

So sayeth the Oracle of Omaha…

The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket is here, and as usual, it is glorious. What’s even better is that the beautiful pinwheel logo has returned to prominence after one-year hiatus that is among the worst decisions in college basketball tournament logo history. Penn State has almost zero chance of winning this thing, which is its only available path to the NCAA Tournament, but I can dream of a run to the semifinals thanks to a favorable draw that avoids Purdue and Illinois through the first three rounds.

The #B1GMBBT bracket is set. 🏀 pic.twitter.com/26VaSJB5cc

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 11, 2024

Sure, Penn State has to play on the first evening of the tournament, which is a Peacock exclusive event, but if it had been seeded a little higher in slots 10 through seven, the matchup in the quarterfinals would feature Purdue or Illinois instead of the less intimidating Nebraska. I’m getting way ahead of myself, though, since just reaching the quarterfinals means defeating a red hot Indiana team that is desperate to play its way onto the NCAA bubble. Penn State might have a psychological edge from defeating the Hoosiers twice this season, but Indiana has looked like a different team on its current four-game winning streak. Plus, just to get to that date with Indiana, the Nittany Lions must get past Michigan tonight. The Wolverines have lost eight straight, but Penn State has a loss to Bucknell on its resume, so nothing is impossible.

Purdue established Big Ten supremacy last week with a thrilling victory at Illinois before wrapping up its regular season with a home win over Wisconsin. The slumping Badgers have not been a great team since February started, as they finished Big Ten play 3-8 after starting 8-1, but I’ll give them credit for the way they battled the Boilers despite having another rough game from beyond the arc. Wisconsin shot 5-for-24 from three-point range, but John Blackwell and Tyler Wahl both went 7-for-10 from the field to keep Purdue from running away with the game.

Blackwell in particular is a guy to look out for with 35 points over his last two games. He’s a freshman who has gotten better throughout the season, and he’ll have to be a major factor if the Badgers are going to make a run in Minneapolis. For Purdue, the Big Ten Tournament is a precursor to the Big Dance, where Matt Painter’s team must redeem itself for last year’s embarrassing loss to Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round. If the Boilers fail to reach the Sweet 16 again, they will be laughed at for years to come, and I think most college hoops fans will even consider the season a failure they fall short of the Final Four. There is going to be a lot at stake in every NCAA Tournament game for Purdue as it tries to reach the Final Four for the first time since 1980. It will be interesting to see how the Boilers handle the Big Ten Tournament since their status as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament is locked in. Winning a Big Ten Tournament title in addition to the regular season title is an amazing accomplishment, but no one will care if Purdue doesn’t follow it up with a Final Four appearance.

Without all that pressure of recent history, Illinois figures to be looser and more motivated in the Big Ten Tournament. If it takes care of business, a third game against Purdue in the championship on Sunday is very possible. And unlike Purdue, Illinois can improve its seeding in the NCAA Tournament with a Big Ten Tournament title. The Illini may have lost to Purdue last week, but they are still playing their best basketball of the season over the past month with the way their offense has blown up. They bounced back from the Purdue loss with an impressive win against Iowa in a game that Iowa needed to have with its NCAA Tournament hopes on the line. Illinois held the Hawkeyes to 61 points in a 73-61 win and Iowa’s Tony Perkins had one of his worst games of the season with two points on 2-for-10 shooting.

That can happen when you’re locked in a matchup with Terrence Shannon Jr. like Perkins was. It’s easy to forget sometimes that Shannon is such a good defender because of how good he is on the other end, but this guy is the complete package. There aren’t a lot of players who can attack the rim as ferociously as Shannon does while also shooting 35 percent from beyond the arc, and all of his skills were on display in Iowa City. Shannon scored 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting while going 3-for-8 from beyond the arc. The man can take over a game whenever he wants.

To have any chance at the NCAA Tournament, Iowa will need to defeat Ohio State on Thursday and win its rematch with Illinois on Friday. Tony Perkins obviously must play better, even if that means deferring to teammates instead of looking for his own shot. I would suggest passing more to big men like Owen Freeman and Ben Krikke. They combined for just 10 points on Sunday despite Illinois’ lack of size on the post.

Indiana is another team that is desperate for a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament. I’m not sure if an at-large bid is even possible for the Hoosiers, but they have looked fantastic lately, and they kept their hopes of dancing alive with a 65-64 home win over Michigan State on Sunday. Indiana jumped out to a 17-point lead midway through the first half, only to watch it disappear in about 10 minutes. Michigan State led by as many as seven in the second half, but the Hoosiers went on an 8-0 to take the lead back on Xavier Johnson’s three-point shot with eight minutes to play. The two teams battled down the stretch, with Kel’el Ware putting Indiana up by two on a five-foot hook shot with two minutes left. Tyson Walker answered with a driving layup, and after an empty trip for each team, Ware was fouled by Malik Hall with 17 seconds left, which resulted in the game-winning free throw.

With Trey Galloway banged up and limited to seven minutes of play, Indiana didn’t get much from its backcourt, but Ware continued his dominance with 28 points and 12 rebounds while Malik Reneau handed out five assists in addition to his 16 points. Michigan State got 30 points from Walker, but Malik Hall and Jaden Akins combined for just 17 points on 7-for-24 shooting.

The battle in Bloomington was by far the most exciting game of the Big Ten’s regular season finale. Elsewhere on Sunday, Ohio State held Rutgers to 27 percent shooting and outscored the Knights by 20 in the second half on the way to a 73-51 win in Piscataway. In another road blowout, Nebraska hammered Michigan 85-70 behind 30 points from Keisei Tominaga. And even my Nittany Lions got a convincing win! They won 85-69 at home against Maryland, but with Julian Reese nursing an injured ankle and no hope of an NCAA Tournament appearance, I’m not sure Maryland was very motivated. Jahmir Young only played 30 minutes, Donta Scott only played 20, and seldom-used bench guys like Caelum Swanton-Rodger got meaningful playing time. Whatever; a win is a win.

Who do YOU have winning the Big Ten Tournament? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/IKN2fVb783

— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) March 13, 2024

We should be in for a great Big Ten Tournament with two elite teams in Purdue and Illinois, two feisty overachievers who are looking to prove themselves in Nebraska and Northwestern, and two teams who are clinging to hope of an NCAA Tournament bid with Iowa and Indiana. Story lines galore! My pick to win it is Illinois because it is an extremely deep and talented team and will be more motivated than Purdue. As for the best gambling value, that goes to Northwestern at +1600. If Boo Buie and that offense gets hot, watch out.

I said on the Chabdog Sports podcast last Sunday that Purdue would be listed as champion when I fill out my NCAA Tournament bracket in a couple of weeks. On Tuesday night, the Boilers showed why I think they will complete their redemption arc when they beat Illinois 77-71 in Champaign. The combination of opponent and venue made the game Purdue’s stiffest test since December, and it passed thanks to a clutch three-point shot in the final seconds by Braden Smith. The shot came at the tail end of a broken possession by the Boilers that was saved once by Zach Edey, who slapped the ball away from Illinois and into the hands of his teammates Fletcher Loyer following Lance Jones’ wild layup attempt. Smith saved it again when he casually pulled up from five feet beyond the arc and drained his jumper over Terrence Shannon Jr.

If Smith had not clutched up, Illinois would likely the ball back down by three points with 18 seconds to play. Instead, the lead was six, and the game was over when Shannon’s answer bounced off the rim. Smith’s effort was just one of several big three-point shots for Purdue in the second half. Edey dominated the first 20 minutes with 18 points, but Illinois held him to 10 after the break, forcing the Boilers to look to their role players for help. They answered, starting with Mason Gillis’ three-point shot in transition that gave Purdue its first lead at 56-54 with 10 minutes to play. Gillis drained another one to put the Boilers ahead 64-58 with seven minutes left, but Illinois tied the game with a dunk by Coleman Hawkins two straight driving layups by Marcus Domask, the last of which he floated in over Edey.

Braden Smith! Onions! He bailed out Matt Painter, who for some reason did not call a time out during this broken possession. Purdue’s biggest win of the year. pic.twitter.com/bivOs9D3uN

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) March 6, 2024

Illinois would retake the lead on a pair of free throws by Shannon, but Loyer put Purdue back up by three with a three-point shot and a runner in the paint on consecutive possessions. Lance Jones hit a monster triple from the corner to expand the advantage to six with less than a minute on the clock, but Domask struck back with another layup plus the foul to set the stage for Smith’s heroics.

With Edey doing his thing like he always does, Purdue is not going to be beat when it shoots the three as accurately as it did against Illinois (9-for-16). Matt Painter’s team doesn’t excel at creating its own shot from the perimeter, but it showed that it can break down the opposing defense and find the open man with 20 assists on 29 field goals during the win. Illinois did an excellent job slowing down Edey in the second half, but it could not keep up with Purdue’s three-point shooting. Illinois was just 4-for-16 beyond the arc, and most of that came from Quincy Guerrier catching fire in the first half. Domask was the one guy who came up huge down the stretch, and Shannon needs to step up if the Illini are going to win a rematch with Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament or NCAA Tournament. He went 3-for-13 from the field with just 11 points.

Purdue and Illinois are locked into the top two seeds of the Big Ten Tournament with the Boilers clinching their second straight outright conference title with their victory. That means that the next time these two could meet is on Sunday in the final game of the tournament. There’s a decent chance for that since both squads have proven to be in a tier of their own above the rest of the Big Ten, but one team that could derail destiny is the Indiana Hoosiers.

I left Indiana for dead after it lost to my Nittany Lions two weeks ago to complete a four-game losing streak, but these Hoosiers are finally showing some resiliency that they have lacked for most of the campaign. They bounced back with three straight wins, with the last two coming on the road against Maryland and Minnesota.

Two of the biggest factors in Indiana’s revival were on display during their 70-58 victory in The Barn on Wednesday night. The first is Kel’el Ware  emerging as a consistently dominant center. Ware has had some monster games this season, but two of his best have happened during Indiana’s winning streak. He scored 27 points on 11-for-12 shooting with 11 rebounds and five blocks against Wisconsin before feasting in similar fashion at Minnesota. In that game, he scored 26 points with 11 rebounds and three blocks, but he also showed off his guard skills some more with a pair of three-point field goals on three attempts and three assists as well. Ware is shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc this season (16-for-36), so I’m looking for him to expand that part of his game as we head into tournament play.

FG: 12-16
PTS: 26
REB: 11
AST: 3
BLK: 3

Kel'el Ware put all his skills on display tonight. 💯@KelelWare x @IndianaMBB pic.twitter.com/dBtmmfLKAT

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 7, 2024

The second revival factor is Trey Galloway embracing the point guard role. We know that Indiana’s backcourt production has been an issue all season with Xavier Johnson going in and out of the lineup. It doesn’t help that Galloway is only hitting 25 percent of his threes this season or that Gabe Cupps barely shoots at all. If you’re a guard who doesn’t shoot well, you better be able to break down a defense, and Galloway has proven much better at that lately. He averages 4.8 assists per game, but all three of his double-digit assist games have come in the past six games for Indiana. That includes Galloway’s 11 dimes against the Gophers that he dished out despite Johnson playing 22 minutes off the bench. Galloway led a passing effort that saw the Hoosiers assist on a crazy 28 of 30 field goals. Indiana was beat up on the glass by Pharrel Payne and Dawson Garcia, but it still ran away from Minnesota in the second half thanks to that incredibly efficient offensive performance.

In the early game on Wednesday, Michigan State got a win it desperately needed by beating Northwestern 53-49 in a good, old fashioned East Lansing rock fight. The Spartans have mostly been a flashy, guard-led team this season that loves to run the floor and score in transition. In their effort to snap a three-game losing skid, though, they showed a ton of grit against the Wildcats. Michigan State only shot 32 percent from the field, but it grabbed 19 offensive rebounds on 41 missed field goals to generate enough opportunities to pull out a win. Malik Hall was responsible for seven of those offensive boards and a whopping 17 overall to go with his 15 points, and Tre Holloman scored a clutch 12 points off the bench for Michigan State.

Malik Hall (@iammalikhall) absolutely cleaned the glass last night. ✨

Sports Science Stat x @ifs pic.twitter.com/5iFEtO5s3Y

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 7, 2024

With the game on the line, though, of course it was Tyson Walker who showed up to put the game in the W column. Michigan State was clinging to a one-point lead with less than three minutes to play in a game where a field goal had not been made in more than four minutes. Walker proceeded to score layups on two straight possessions to give the Spartans a commanding five-point lead. They still had to sweat, though. Ryan Langborg was making his return to the Northwestern lineup, and was having a pretty miserable game, but he came up huge with a three-point shot that cut Michigan State’s lead to two with a minute to play. After Northwestern got a stop, Langborg had a clean look for three and the lead with 10 seconds left, but the shot clanked off the back rim and Holloman drew a loose-ball foul when he hustled after the rebound. The reserve guard hit his two free throws to wrap up the victory and give the Spartans a little momentum as they head into a huge game at Indiana on the final day of the regular season.

Northwestern bounced back nicely with a 90-66 blowout win against Minnesota on Saturday night in Evanston. Garcia scored 30 points with nine rebounds and three blocks for the Gophers, and Elijah Hawkins had 14 points with 10 assists, but the Northwestern offense was overwhelming on this night. The Cats shot 10-for-18 from deep and 59 percent overall while committing just one turnover. That is ridiculous. They were well balanced as well, with four players handing out at least four assists and four scoring at least 14 points. Boo Buie and Brooks Barnhizer led the way with 23 points each, and Northwestern looked like that team that you don’t want to face at this time of year. The emergence of Nick Martinelli late in the season has taken the offense to a new level.

The only other Big Ten game this week that I haven’t mentioned yet featured Wisconsin taking care of business at home against Rutgers 78-66. The Scarlet Knights led by seven early in the second half, and they shut down Tyler Wahl and Max Klesmit, but Kamari McGee was a hero off the bench for the Badgers. The seldom-used junior showed off his quickness and scored 11 points in 10 minutes, with nine of them coming during the 19-2 run that let Wisconsin take control of the game. John Blackwell also starred in a backup role with 17 points and eight rebounds, while starting center Steven Crowl was a beast on the boards with six offensive rebounds, 11 total rebounds, and 17 points of his own. AJ Storr led everyone with 19 points.

On the Rutgers side, freshman Gavin Griffiths had one of his best shooting nights of the season by going 4-for-9 from beyond the arc and scoring 14 points, which are the most he’s had since blowing up for 25 against Boston University back in November. As a team, the Knights shot 45 percent from the field, which is pretty damn good for them, especially on the road. The problem was that they turned the ball over 18 times against a team that doesn’t do much to force them. Yuck.

Holy cow, there is just one game left of Big Ten basketball before the Big Ten Tournament and the glorious return of the beautiful pinwheel logo. Northwestern and Minnesota are in the clubhouse, but everyone else has one last game to play on Sunday. The Wildcats look like a good bet for a top four seed and a double bye in the bracket since they just need Wisconsin to lose at Purdue. Nebraska would then be able to join Northwestern with a 12-8 record and a double bye if it wins at Michigan, which is the first game of the day. If the Huskers slip up, it’s possible for there to be a four-way tie for fourth place with Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan State. For that to happen, Iowa and Michigan State would have to defeat Illinois and Indiana, respectively. Those are going to be tough games, so we’ll wait for the results before we attempt to figure out how to break the hypothetical tie.

There is also a potential traffic jam when it comes to the 11th seed, which is the highest ranked team that has to play on the first day of the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State occupies the spot now, but it can move to 9-11 with a win at home over Maryland, while Indiana could possibly fall back to 9-11 with a loss to Michigan State. If Ohio State (at Rutgers) and Penn State win while Indiana loses, that would create a four-way tie for seeds eight through 11, so we might have to sort through that as well. I cannot wait for the bracket to come out on Sunday night!

The Peacock strikes again! We heard outrage from across the sports universe when the NFL made its Dolphins vs. Chiefs Playoff game exclusively available on NBC’s streaming service. Now, something similar is happening in Big Ten Basketball, and the conference should be embarrassed that the top game on its regular season schedule won’t be in front of as many viewers as possible. Before the Big Ten’s new media rights deal that went into affect this fall, Purdue vs. Illinois on Tuesday night would be on ESPN where every fan knows how to find it, and it would have been promoted all day long on ESPN’s many programs. The new deal might work for football because the Big Ten doesn’t need ESPN when it has games on three major networks all day, but with basketball NBC has made Peacock part of the deal, and that is a nightmare for ratings.

The worst part is that we are over a month away from WrestleMania, so a fan would need to subscribe for two months in order to get Purdue vs. Illinois as well as the Showcase of the Immortals. At least with the NFL sham, the Royal Rumble was included in the price of the football game. As a wrestling and Big Ten fanatic, I’ve been watching on Peacock all season, but for fans who are just getting into college basketball now, the stream exclusive is going to be a major turnoff. They’ll likely just stick with ESPN for Alabama vs. Florida and Kansas State vs. Kansas.

Those who do invest in Peacock should get a great game. Purdue and Illinois met earlier in the season on January 5, and the Boilermakers led comfortably for much of the game on the way to a 83-78 win. However, not only was that game at Mackey Arena where Purdue never loses, but Illinois’ star guard Terrence Shannon Jr. was suspended due to sexual assault allegations. The Illini held Zach Edey to 10 points, but they were burned by Trey Kaufman-Renn, who erupted for 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting. It will be interesting to see if Illinois head coach Brad Underwood employs a similar strategy tonight since Kaufman-Renn hasn’t approached that kind of scoring output in the last two months and hasn’t even scored 10 points in his last six games.

With the game shifting to Champaign’s State Farm Center and Shannon playing some of his best basketball, the Illini are favored by two and a half. It will be the first time Purdue is an underdog in Big Ten play this season and the first time it is an underdog at all since its clash with Arizona back in December. Both teams are riding three-game winning streaks, but Illinois’ schedule has been a little tougher lately with a game at Wisconsin and another against a hot Iowa team at home. Plus, the Illini have scored at least 85 points in their last six games. With Shannon finding his three-point shot and Marcus Domask being a master technician in the paint, this is a team that can come at you from everywhere, and I didn’t even mention Coleman Hawkins’ range at center or the rebounding ability of Quincy Guerrier and Ty Rodgers.

In other words, Illinois won’t be the only defense with its hands full tonight. On the other end, Zach Edey has been unstoppable lately. In Purdue’s last game against Michigan State on Saturday night, Spartan big man Mady Sissoko accumulated four personal fouls in just six minutes. Michigan State threw a bunch of bodies at Edey, but he still scored 32 points on 9-for-15 field goal shooting and 14-for-20 free throw shooting. Edey is too big to keep him from getting into scoring range, but he can be forced into turnovers if he has to put the ball on the floor. Turning a few Edey turnovers into fast-break scoring opportunities will be key for Illinois tonight. Scoring in transition helped the Illini put away Wisconsin on Saturday when Justin Harmon blocked Chucky Hepburn’s shot in the paint in the final two minutes. That led to a fast break and a layup for Shannon to give Illinois a 10-point lead.

Here’s what else happened in the Big Ten over the weekend.

Penn State collapsed against Minnesota for the second time this season

As if one collapse against Minnesota was not enough, Penn State went up by a whopping 23 points in the first half in Minneapolis only to lose 75-70. Hot three-point shooting by Puff Johnson and Ace Baldwin Jr. helped the Lions gain the early edge, but the Gophers whittled the lead down by 12 by halftime and overtook Penn State thanks to some big shots by Cam Christie (19 points) and a key steal by Elijah Hawkins (18 points, 8 assists) down the stretch.

Iowa got another huge win at Northwestern

The Hawkeyes are binging on Quad 1 wins lately, and they might have won five games in a row if not for the awesome offensive performance by Illinois two Saturdays ago. Northwestern is still without Ryan Langborg, but it still shot 54 percent from the field and 10-for-20 from beyond the arc thanks to Boo Buie’s 27 points and 6-for-7 three-point performance. Buie hit some monster shots to keep the Wildcats in the game throughout the second half, but Iowa was just a little better the whole way. The Hawkeyes won 87-80 with 25 assists on 33 made baskets. Tony Perkins had 14 of those assists, while Josh Dix remains as hot as liquid magma with 24 points on 4-for-5 three-point shooting. Payton Sandfort had another well-rounded game with 23 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Iowa is still projected to miss the NCAA Tournament, but it can change that with a win in its final regular season game against Illinois on Sunday.

Indiana might be back after a big second half comeback at Maryland

If Iowa is the potential seventh Big Ten team in the NCAA Tournament, could Indiana be the eighth? Probably not, but its insane fans are starting to talk themselves into it now that Mike Woodson’s team has won two straight over Wisconsin and Maryland. The Terps got a rare balanced performance on offense with four players in double figures and 48-percent field goal shooting. They led by 10 at halftime and by as many as 16 in the second half, but the Hoosiers stormed past them and won 83-78 thanks to some solid point guard play by Xavier Johnson off the bench (13 points, six assists), and Mackenzie Mgbako exploding for 24 points on 4-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc.

With Johnson healthy, Mgbako playing like a seasoned veteran, and Ware and Reneau dominating the paint, it’s not crazy to think that Indiana could win its final two regular season games against Minnesota and Michigan State. If it does that, the Hoosiers will be a hot pick to make a run in the Big Ten Tournament next week.

Nebraska completes perfect Big Ten home slate and Ohio State gets revenge on Michigan

It was not surprising to see Ohio State blow out Michigan 84-61 on Sunday since the teams are headed in opposite directions. The Buckeyes might have to consider making Jake Diebler the full-time head coach with the way he has led this program after Chris Holtmann was fired, but I’m guessing Ohio State has bigger fish in mind. Meanwhile, the Wolverines have to figure out if Juwan Howard is the man to turn their mess around after a very disappointing campaign.

In the final game of the weekend, Nebraska took care of business against Rutgers 67-56. The Huskers are 10-0 at home in Big Ten play and 1-8 on the road. They have a great chance to get a second conference road win a trip to Ann Arbor this Sunday, but it will still be very interesting to see which Nebraska team we get when the Big Ten Tournament tips off in neutral site Minneapolis. The Huskers have lots of scoring and shooting depth, so if they can bottle up the Pinnacle Bank Arena vibes, they are another dark horse to watch this month.

I really thought Ohio State was done with the upsets after it stunned Purdue two weekends ago in interim head coach Jake Diebler’s debut, but on Sunday, the Buckeyes pulled off yet another shocker. They went into East Lansing as 10-point underdogs and beat Michigan State 60-57 with the margin of victory coming on a last-second three-point heave by Dale Bonner. Just moments earlier, Tyson Walker had a chance to put Michigan State ahead with a fair of free throws, but he somehow wedged his first attempt in between the backboard and the rim. Walker had to settle for a tie with his second free throw, but Bonner’s clutch bomb ensured that it didn’t matter.

Ohio State is now 2-1 since Chris Holtmann was fired, and I feel a little bad for him even though he is technically on a paid vacation right now. These kinds of wins are what Ohio State was building towards with its young lineup, and against Michigan State, it was even younger than usually due to Jamison Battle missing the game with an ankle injury. Freshman Scotty Middleton replaced Battle to give Ohio State all underclassman in the starting five. The Buckeyes certainly missed Battle’s three-point prowess, as they went 3-for-17 from beyond the arc in the low-scoring affair, but the Spartans had their own shooting issues and shot just 4-for-16 from that range, including 1-for-9 from Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins.

OHIO STATE STUNS MICHIGAN STATE AT THE BUZZER 🚨 pic.twitter.com/SaIQY2jT0m

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 25, 2024

Still, Michigan State appeared to have the game under control with a 12-point lead and 11 minutes on the clock, but Devin Royal came off the bench for Ohio State and proved to be an unlikely hero alongside Felix Okpara. The pair of big men led the Buckeyes on the comeback trail and closed to within one point at 52-51 with six minutes left, setting the stage for the exciting conclusion. Royal, another freshman, showed off his post moves and mid-range game while scoring 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting in just 18 minutes. Okpara added 10 points and six rebounds, with four coming on offense.

No matter who is the head coach for Ohio State next year, the team has a bright future with all the young talent that has emerged this season. If the roster doesn’t fall apart, it should be a very desirable job since whoever gets it will be in line for massive improvement without having to do much. Michigan State, meanwhile, looked like it was a lock for the NCAA Tournament a week ago, but back-to-back home losses over teams with worse records have put the Spartans’ postseason status in doubt. It doesn’t help that their next game is on Saturday at Purdue.

Speaking of the Boilermakers, they took care of business on Sunday with a 84-76 victory at Michigan. The Wolverines as usual showed some life in the first half, but Purdue broke away with an 18-6 run leading into halftime and kept Michigan at arm’s length for the rest of the game. Juwan Howard made the odd decision to not double team Zach Edey, and he took full advantage with 35 points on 14-for-18 shooting. Purdue had a poor shooting day from beyond the arc, going 7-for-24, but Edey and company grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to mitigate the damage. Without all those second chances, it would have been a much more interesting game, as Michigan got a balanced effort on offense led by Dug McDaniel’s 19 points and six assists. The Wolverines shot 48 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point range even with Olivier Nkamhoua out for the rest of the season due to wrist surgery.

The most exciting game of the Big Ten weekend was Illinois’ 95-85 win over Iowa in Champaign. It was also a great example of why gambling should be done responsibly. Iowa was in the game the whole way through and even led by seven with just over 12 minutes left, but Illinois pulled away late with much thanks to a steal and breakaway dunk by Coleman Hawkins that helped it cover the nine-point spread. Hawkins was a major factor all day as he bounced back tremendously from his snafus at the end of the Illini’s loss at Penn State. The long and versatile big man scored 30 points on a scorching 9-for-11 from the field and also dished out five assists and added five steals. Illinois is so tough to play against when Hawkins plays up to his potential because of the nightmare he poses for opposing defenses. He can step back and hit the three against traditional big men and also score in the paint against smaller players. We know what Terrence Shannon Jr. is capable of, but he only needed to score 12 points in this one and Illinois nearly scored 100 points.

FG: 9-11
PTS: 30
AST: 5
STL: 5

Here's every basket from Coleman Hawkins' career-high 30-point afternoon. ⤵️@colehawk23 x @IlliniMBB pic.twitter.com/RUsHZlqRb1

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 24, 2024

Illinois has all the tools it needs to make a deep NCAA Tournament run, and Brad Underwood showed off the depth of his team early in the second half against Iowa when he made a full line change. The Illini played with five bench players on the floor for about four minutes, and the unit held its own. Italian freshman point guard Niccolo Moretti even stuck around and played in crunch time, hitting a pair of huge three-point shots in the process. I’ve talked before about Illinois lacking a traditional point guard in its starting lineup, and while Underwood has found a way to fill the void, Moretti is certainly someone to watch as a potential impact player in March.

For Iowa, it was a disappointing loss even though the team came in as a big underdog. The Hawkeyes were right there for most of the afternoon, but they missed out on a third straight Quad 1 win. As a result, they are still likely out of the NCAA Tournament field if it was decided today. There are still plenty of chances for Iowa to improve its resume with Northwestern and a rematch with Illinois left on the schedule, but first it must defeat Penn State at home on Tuesday night. Josh Dix led the Hawkeyes in scoring in Champaign, and he is becoming a bigger and bigger factor with his mid-range shooting accuracy.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Penn State impressed me with a win over the reeling Hoosiers. I knew that Indiana was down bad and I knew that the Lions were supposed to win, but I was still dreading the game. Fortunately, Indiana continued to be one of the worst shooting teams in the country by going 2-for-15 from three-point range and 14-for-25 at the free throw line. It’s preposterous that an Indiana team is so bad at the great equalizing factor of basketball, and it has been a major factor in the program having a horrific campaign. The Hoosiers still shot 51 percent from the field with Malik Reneau (27 points) and Kel’el Ware (16 points) dominating in the paint, but Ware’s impact was minimized by foul trouble and Penn State pulled away from Indiana with a 26-for-30 performance from the charity stripe and sharp three-point shooting led by Zach Hicks going 4-for-8 from beyond the arc with 17 points.

THE FOUR POINT PLAY! 👏@zhicks1231 x @PennStateMBB pic.twitter.com/H9xkXsnFWn

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 24, 2024

These days, it’s hard to have a Penn State win without Ace Baldwin Jr. playing well, and he was pretty great on Saturday with 23 points, 7-for-12 shooting, nine assists, and four steals. He also played all 40 minutes and scored eight straight points to give the Lions a little cushion at halftime following a tightly contested first half. The Lions will need Baldwin to keep playing like a stud if they’re going to do anything in the postseason. The NIT is still up for grabs, but to get there, Penn State probably needs to win one of its remaining two road games at Iowa and at Minnesota.

Maryland and Minnesota are two other contenders for the NIT, and they went in opposite directions on Sunday. The Terps picked up a big road win at Rutgers, and it was the first home loss for Rutgers since Penn State went into Piscataway and won 61-46 on the last day of January. Maryland also held the Scarlet Knights under 50 points with a 63-46 victory that was never close after the Terps went on a 10-0 run at the end of the first half that featured three-point shots by Jordan Geronimo, Jahmir Young, and Donta Scott.

We know that Rutgers’ offense has been rotten all year, but it was particularly bad against Maryland’s tough defense. The Knights shot 37 percent from the field, went 2-for-11 from three-point range, and did not have a starter score in double figures. That is ugly. For Maryland, Julian Reese was dominant with 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting, Young handed out nine assists, and Geronimo played one of his best games of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Minnesota is a team we’ve talked about as a dark horse for the NCAA Tournament here and there, but it has a weak non-conference resume and has fallen short in key spots during Big Ten season. Two weeks ago, the Gophers had a chance to pick up a key road win at Iowa, but Dawson Garcia got hurt and they blew a 19-point second half lead. This latest game at Nebraska was another opportunity for Minnesota. I knew Nebraska had not lost a home game in 2024, but I figured it would be hotly contested because of how well Minnesota was playing lately. Well, it was hotly contested for the first 11 minutes. Then the Huskers pulled away on a 14-2 run and continued to increase their lead in the second half.

Keisei Tominaga and Rienk Mast struggled for Nebraska, but Juwan Gary picked up the slack with a game-high 22 points, 7-for-13, shooting, and eight rebounds. Brice Williams pitched in with 15 points, eight rebounds, and three steals while Nebraska’s defense held Minnesota to 31 percent shooting and forced 13 turnovers. The Gophers have not been very good outside of the Barn this season, but they will need to figure out a way to win on the road at Illinois on Wednesday if they want to keep their faint NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

We’ve been saying for years that Penn State Basketball would be a more impressive television product if the home arena wasn’t the Bryce Jordan Center. The giant arena is way too big for a program that strives to be in the middle of the Big Ten standings in a good year. When Penn State plays in the Palestra or at Rec Hall, it looks like a proper basketball program, and sometimes it even plays like one. Wednesday night was one of those nights with Illinois in town. However, for most of the night, it looked like a typical 2024 Penn State loss. The Lions got off to a hot start on offense, but then fizzled and struggled to keep pace with the talented Illini because of their failure to grab a rebound on defense. Illinois often doesn’t need second chances, especially with Terrence Shannon Jr. playing like he did, but it got 19 of them, with the Swiss Army Knife Ty Rodgers grabbing five offensive boards. That helped make up for 18 Illinois turnovers that Penn State needed just to keep the game respectable while Shannon was going off for a career-high 35 points on 10-for-18 shooting.

Another reason why Penn State only trailed by 10 points with two and a half minutes left was Nick Kern Jr. He has shown some upside with his athleticism this season, but again Illinois he got to the basket at will. At one point in the second half, Kern scored 13 straight Penn State points, and he finished with a season-high 22. Now that Kanye Clary is out of the picture, I’m hoping that Kern can stick around for one or two more seasons and develop into a star, but to do that he needs to expand his range past 10 feet from the basket.

IT'S STORMING IN STATE COLLEGE ‼️@PennStateMBB takes down No. 12 Illinois. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/zq0GMzJNVk

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 22, 2024

Anyway, Zach Hicks hit a mid-range shot to cut the deficit to eight points, and then the Illinois collapse began. Shannon drove into the paint and kicked the ball to the corner to set up Luke Goode with a wide-open dagger three. With the way Goode shoots the ball, that should be a layup for him, but he missed, and Hicks answered with a triple for Penn State to cut the lead to five. However, Illinois was still in great shape after two free throws from Marcus Domask and a missed three by Ace Baldwin Jr. Now the Illini were up by seven points with less than a minute left. Shannon tried a runner in the paint, but it bounced out and Jameel Brown took advantage by crushing a three-point shot in transition. Brown’s next play was even bigger, though, because Penn State needed a turnover to make it a one-possession game. Brown came through by stripping Shannon of the ball, which led to an easy layup for Puff Johnson. All of a sudden, the Lions trailed by just two with 30 seconds left.

The pressure was building on Illinois to put the game away, and Coleman Hawkins had a chance to do that when he was fouled by Johnson on the next play even though it looked like Hawkins traveled. It ended up not mattering as Hawkins missed both free throws despite being an 80-percent shooter from the charity stripe this season. Penn State appeared to botch the ensuing possession when Baldwin got stuck in the backcourt and Hicks fired off a prayer of a shot from well beyond the arc, but Hawkins incredibly fouled Hicks in his rush to defend the low-percentage attempt. Hicks calmly sunk all three free throws to give Penn State 90-89 lead and it was a big bail-out moment for Mike Rhoades. He got caught sitting on a timeout during that horrible final possession, but the dumb foul by Hawkins changed everything.

Illinois had no time outs and three seconds left to respond, and it came surprisingly close to winning thanks to a long inbounds pass to Justin Harmon that led to a five-foot runner at the buzzer. The shot fell out, and it was time to party in Happy Valley. The upset win was a great morale booster following the departure of Clary, but it probably won’t change the postseason fate of these Lions. The bubble is too competitive and the team has too many weaknesses. It’s not like Penn State outplayed Illinois for more than one wild final minute.

🗣️ @TheAndyKatz LOVES the idea of future @PennStateMBB games at Rec Hall: pic.twitter.com/2fXrRx2aq2

— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) February 23, 2024

I think the best parts to come out of the win were the national media attention that the awesome Rec Hall atmosphere got and the play of Kern. We now have big college hoops personalities like Andy Katz advocating for more games inside Rec Hall, and that’s great for the future of Penn State Basketball. Plus, I’m going to put my hopes and dreams into Kern developing a jump shot and becoming a versatile scorer down the stretch of this season. After all, the NIT is still a longshot.

I’m now afraid that Penn State will suffer a letdown on Saturday against an Indiana team that appears to be cooked following home losses against Northwestern and Nebraska. The Hoosiers had a great opportunity to get into the bubble conversation with wins over the two teams that have struggled on the road all season long. Indiana was indeed favored in both games, but you would not know from the results. After being beaten soundly by Northwestern on soundly, Mike Woodson’s team was crushed by Nebraska 85-70 on Wednesday. The Hoosiers never had the lead and were bombarded by Nebraska’s three-point shooting. The Huskers took more than half their shots (33 out of 63) from beyond the arc and shot 42 percent from there with Jamarques Lawrence coming off the bench with 19 points on 5-for-5 three-point accuracy. Keisei Tominaga was “only” 4-for-9 from deep and he led Nebraska with 20 points. Indiana got a second straight 20-point performance from Mackenzie Mgbako, but its 4-for-21 shooting from three-point range was not enough to keep pace with Nebraska.

Keisei capped off a huge first half with this 3. 👌@KeiseiTominaga x @HuskerMBB pic.twitter.com/aRNyP5EBe7

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 22, 2024

Mike Woodson has got to be on the hot seat with Indiana continuing to disappoint its fans week after week, but the emergence of the freshman Mgbako and the recent good health of Kel’el Ware at least offer hope for the future. Indiana’s backcourt is still a mess with Xavier Johnson out due to injury and Gabe Cupps coming along slowly (he was shut out in two of his last three games), but these Hoosiers are still plenty talented enough to take out Penn State in the BJC. I’m hoping my Lions take care of business and bury the woeful Hoosiers, but despite our win in Bloomington weeks ago, it’s difficult to trust Penn State with its inconsistent play.

We also got three results on Thursday from the Big Ten, but none of them were very surprising. Purdue bounced back from its upset loss to Ohio State by blowing out Rutgers at Mackey Arena. The Boilers shot 59 percent against Rutgers’ normally stout defense, with freshman Camden Heide going 7-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Having another shooting option to compliment Zach Edey is not what opponents need to see from Purdue right now.

At the Barn, Minnesota pulled away from Ohio State in the second half and won 88-79 despite great games from Bruce Thornton (25 points, 10-for-14 field goals, 6 assists) and Jamison Battle (21 points, 5-for-10 from deep). The Buckeyes shot 51 percent, but the Gophers were even more effective on offense with Elijah Hawkins calling his own number for 24 points in addition to seven assists. Minnesota has now won two straight and five of seven, but an NCAA Tournament bid is still unlikely because of a poor non-conference resume.

With Ohio State and Penn State picking up big wins recently, Michigan is clearly at the bottom of the Big Ten. It stayed that way with a 76-62 loss at Northwestern in which the Wolverines briefly led in the second half before the Wildcats pulled away. Michigan shot the ball better than Northwestern with Nimari Burnett leading the way with 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting, but Nick Martinelli continued to be a beast on the offensive glass for Northwestern like he was in the win over Indiana. The Cats won the offensive rebounding battle 14-5 and the turnover battle 11-5 and ended up taking 20 more shots than Michigan. Boo Buie established himself as the Northwestern GOAT by taking over the all-time scoring lead, but Ryan Langborg has been just as key to their chances lately. He led the team with 20 points, knocked down five of his nine three-point attempts, and now has 46 points in his last two games.

It runs in the family 🤞 pic.twitter.com/SSYOa8TYZm

— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) February 23, 2024

It’s a light Saturday slate for the Big Ten with Penn State taking on Indiana and then Iowa visiting Illinois. The second game is way more interesting because the Hawkeyes have won two straight over Wisconsin and Michigan State while playing their best basketball of the season. A third straight Quad 1 win could force Iowa into some NCAA Tournament projections but it is not going to be easy in Champaign.

Take some time, after the Super Bowl and before the Tournament, to go back in your mind to the days when you woke pampered, protected and primed for creating you own play-by-play. Abe the Babe, ChabDog and his Uncle Abie, Well-read, DD and Get the Sensation Yorke invite you the “Ain’t That a Wonderment?” CDST Show. Taking stock of some hockey, as all those teams really start to jockey, the NBA finally gets off the pine built during the force-fed All-Star Break, and of course, it’s time to teach ourselves some college basketball….

I almost feel bad for Purdue fans even though they have a tremendous basketball team that will probably make the Final Four. No matter what the Boilers do in the regular season, there is nothing they can do to change their reputation as a team that collapses in the big moment. The only way to do that is to win in the NCAA Tournament. Whenever Purdue slips up this season, the doubters and haters (Indiana fans) come out of the woodwork to say “this is what will happen in March.”

I have said since November when Purdue won the Maui Invitational that this team reminds me of the 2019 Virginia team that bounced back and won the national championship after losing to a 16 seed the year before. Maybe Purdue will fulfill that prophecy, or maybe it will hilariously disappoint its rabid fans once again. On Sunday in Columbus, Matt Painter’s team gave us a preview of March or a blip on the radar, depending on your perspective. Despite shooting 20-for-20 from the free throw line and dominating the offensive glass like they always do, the Boilers lost 73-69 to an Ohio State team that was playing its first game since head coach Chris Holtmann was fired.

It didn’t help that Purdue turned the ball over 14 times, most notably when Zed Key poked the ball away from Zach Edey with less than a minute to play and the Boilers needing two points to tie the score. Purdue ended up fouling Jamison Battle, who helped put the game away at the charity stripe.

We're still thinking about Zed Key's impact in Ohio State's upset over then-No. 2 Purdue.

The F had a career-high 5️⃣ steals, to go along with nine points.@iamzedkey x @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/XZBdxfJWt1

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 20, 2024

Just moments before, Purdue rallied to overcome a seven-point deficit and tied the game 65-65 on Lance Jones’ clutch three-point jumper, but Battle answered with a 15-foot jumper to ensure that Ohio State would not fall behind. The Buckeyes were boosted by Battle’s 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting as well as 26 points from a bench effort led by Key and Dale Bonner. Purdue, meanwhile, got its usual great effort from Edey (22 points, 7-for-11 shooting, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks) but only four points from the bench. I still have no clue how Ethan Morton gets more than 10 minutes a game on team as talented as Purdue.

Ohio State interim head coach Jake Diebler made a great impression and he’ll have a case to keep the job full time with a few more wins down the stretch. I will feel very smart for talking about the potential of Ohio State’s young core if the team can upset Minnesota or Michigan State on the road.

Indiana blew a chance to join the bubble

Speaking of upsets, only one other Big Ten underdog won outright over the weekend. That was Northwestern defeating Indiana, but we can probably have a long argument over whether or not the Wildcats should have been considered the underdog in Bloomington. While they have been way more successful than Indiana this year and are projected to make the NCAA Tournament, Northwestern hasn’t impressed on the road. That’s why I saw this game as a great opportunity for Indiana to get a quality win and get into the bubble conversation. I should have known that the Hoosiers would waste it since they have shown so little heart and fight this season.

Indiana found a way to lose 76-72 while shooting 16 percent better than Northwestern (51 percent to 35 percent). It’s just another facepalm moment for Hoosiers fans who have suffered through a brutal campaign filled with disappointment after disappointment. Indiana lost the turnover battle 11-3 and the offensive rebounding battle 14-6 to the more disciplined and tougher Wildcats. Indiana shouldn’t be getting crushed on the glass like that in any game that Kel’el Ware plays 36 minutes in, but to Ware’s credit he collected 16 boards (four on offense) to go with his 22 points and four blocks. I guess no other Hoosiers wanted to rebound, so Nick Martinelli and Matthew Nicholson combined to create 10 second chances for Northwestern and they each had a double-double in this game.

The big star of the game for Northwestern, however, was Ryan Langborg. With Brooks Barnhizer and Boo Buie struggling for most of the game until Buie finally got going with eight straight points to put Indiana away, Langborg scored 26 points with six assists and zero turnovers while playing all 40 minutes. That’s the kind of effort the Wildcats need from the Princeton transfer down the stretch with Ty Berry missing the rest of the season due to injury.

Iowa makes its case for March Madness

While Indiana squandered its opportunity, the leading candidate for a seventh Big Ten team in the NCAA Tournament is now Iowa. The Hawkeyes picked up two huge wins over the last four days when they beat Wisconsin 88-86 in overtime on Saturday and followed that up with a big 78-71 road upset over Michigan State on Tuesday night. Just a week ago, Iowa had zero Quad 1 wins on its resume and now it has two. I’m still catching up with what a Quad 1 win is because I was just starting to figure out RPI when they got rid of that, but going from zero to two sounds like a big deal.

Even more impressive than Iowa’s recent results is that Fran McCaffery’s team got contributions from different players. In the home game against Wisconsin, it was all about Owen Freeman, Tony Perkins, and Josh Dix. Freeman was a force down low with 20 points scored on just six field goal attempts as well as 12 rebounds, six assists, and four blocks. It was the most complete game of the season for the likely Freshman of the Year in the Big Ten. Meanwhile, Dix was unstoppable from the mid-range with 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting while Perkins came up clutch down the stretch with 16 of his 18 points coming in the second half and overtime. He tied the score 78-78 with a driving left-handed layup at the end of regulation and then won it with one second left in overtime on another drive where he powered through a steal attempt by Chucky Hepburn.

It's a 🔟-0️⃣ @IowaHoops run. 💥

💻: Peacock pic.twitter.com/Hu31h8Nswg

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 21, 2024

The script was very different in East Lansing with Freeman only playing eight minutes due to foul trouble. Ben Krikke took over as the go-to guy down low and provided 18 points with 14 rebounds. Payton Sandfort only connected on two of his seven three-point attempts, but he did a great job getting to the basket and pacing Iowa’s transition offense with 22 points and six rebounds. During Iowa’s huge run at the end of the first half, Sandfort stole the ball and hit Patrick McCaffery for a breakaway dunk. The coach’s son would score 14 points off the bench and Iowa overcame a strong three-point shooting night by Michigan State with 51 percent overall shooting.

Iowa has a chance to pull off a third straight Quad 1 win when it visits Illinois on Saturday, and that promises to be another high-scoring affair played at a fast pace. A big game to watch this weekend!

Maryland is falling out of the at-large race

It looked like Maryland had the upper hand on Iowa to secure an NCAA Tournament bid when it came from behind to defeat the Hawkeyes last week, but since then the two programs’ fortunes have reversed. The Terps also had two chances at Quad 1 wins on Saturday and Tuesday, but they dropped both of them to Illinois and Wisconsin. Maryland’s hopes at an at-large bid are now dismal.

It’s not the Terps didn’t put up a fight. They were playing with heavy hearts against Illinois on Saturday following the death of legendary Maryland head coach Lefty Driesell, and while Kevin Willard’s bunch hung with the superior Illini throughout the second half, Illinois never surrendered the lead. Jahmir Young came awfully close, though, with around three minutes to play. Maryland was down by one and Coleman Hawkins tried to save his own rebound under the basket and blindly chuck the ball out to midcourt. Young was there to corral the wild pass, but his fast-break layup was thwarted by Marcus Domask’s defense. Justin Harmon picked the ball up and found Hawkins wide open on the other end of the court, where he dunked the ball and was fouled. Instead of Maryland taking a one-point lead, the Illini lead expanded to two possessions. That’s quite the swing in a game that was tight throughout, and the Terps didn’t get a better chance to pull even in the 85-80 defeat.

A HUGE sequence ended with a CLUTCH and-one Coleman Hawkins 👏@colehawk23 x @IlliniMBB pic.twitter.com/dLEVBB2a7w

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 18, 2024

It was a tough loss for Maryland, not just because it needed the game, but because the Terps are usually in great shape when they get solid production from Young, Julian Reese, and Donta Scott in the same game. All three guys did their thing on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Illinois’ deep offense led by the amazing Terrence Shannon Jr. who scored 27 points and went 14-for-16 at the free throw line.

Illinois as a team went 32-for-36 at the stripe, and Maryland ran into a similar problem when it traveled to Madison for Tuesday’s tilt with the Badgers. Wisconsin closed the first half with a 37-29 lead thanks to a three-point shot by Chucky Hepburn and led by two or more possessions for most of the second half. Once again, the Terps could not keep their opponent off the free throw line, and Wisconsin shot 28-for-31 from there with Max Klesmit, Tyler Wahl, and John Blackwell doing most of the damage. The foul shot barrage made it impossible for Maryland to make a solid dent in Wisconsin’s second half advantage, even with Young, Reese, and Scott combining for 50 points. Tyler Wahl and his 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting held keep the Terps at bay before Klesmit put them away with a three-point shot in the final minute. Badgers won 74-70, but I’m still not convinced they have pulled out of their February slump. I need to see them win their next two at Indiana and vs. Illinois at home before I can say they are ready for March.

The Penn State disaster

I’m trying to cover the entire Big Ten, but I’m also a huge Penn State fan, so I don’t even know if Kanye Clary being removed from the Nittany Lion program is news that resonates beyond me. He was just a sophomore and Penn State’s best player. He was a foundational piece that Mike Rhoades could have built a program around. Now he is gone and we don’t know why. Yes, you can always find a patch in the transfer portal, but Clary was shaping up to be the type of player that you don’t just find a patch for. The good news is that Ace Baldwin Jr. is doing a good job as the floor general, and he might come back as a graduate student for one more season. The bad news is that Baldwin has not shot the ball well during Penn State’s three-game losing streak and the most recent game at Nebraska was not close for the second half.

Kanye Clary is no longer with the Penn State basketball program. This is awful for the future of the team since Clary had so much potential as a foundation piece. Maybe Ace Baldwin Jr. will return. Penn State needs him. #WeAre pic.twitter.com/H8ahHSMAzU

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) February 19, 2024

There’s not much to say about Nebraska from the 68-49 result. The Huskers took care of business at home like they always do and Keisei Tominaga hit a disgusting step-back three over Puff Johnson while leading Nebraska with 17 points. I guess it’s encouraging for Nebraska that it won handily while only shooting 4-for-21 from beyond the arc, but Penn State’s offense was so putrid that Zach Hicks led the team in scoring despite going 1-for-7 on his own three-point shots. I will be interested to see if Nebraska can finally win a conference road game tonight against the no-heart Hoosiers. Indiana is favored by one and a half as of this writing!

Penn State has Illinois at home and instead of the cavernous Bryce Jordan Center, the game will be played at Rec Hall, which will feel like an old-school basketball gym. The environment should give the Lions a better home-court advantage, but that probably still won’t be enough to make up for a big talent gap. The Illini are favored by seven and a half.

Best of the rest

Minnesota beat Rutgers 81-70 on Sunday, which ended a four-game winning streak for the Scarlet Knights. If Rutgers had come out on top, I might have to start considering them as a very dark horse to make a run on the bubble, but the Gophers helped me kick that can down the road with a fantastic offensive performance against one of the best defenses in the country. You just don’t see many teams shoot 51 percent against Rutgers, even in their own buildings. Minnesota turned the ball over 15 times, which helped Rutgers keep the game close in the first half, but the second half was all Gophers.

The Knights got 19 points each from Derek Simpson and Clifford Omoruyi, but Pharrel Payne had his best game of the season for Minnesota. Even with the Gophers shooting so well, Payne still found seven offensive rebounds and 11 total while scoring 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting with zero turnovers. If he can play like this more often, the frontcourt combo of Payne and Dawson Garcia will be a very tough one to deal with. Elijah Hawkins did a great job at point guard as well. He scored 16 points with six rebounds and seven assists. Minnesota as a team had 20 assists on 25 made baskets. Make Ben Johnson the Coach of the Year.

Finally, Michigan State handled Michigan 73-63 on Saturday night in Ann Arbor. The Spartans were dealing with a major upset scare, but the Wolverines failed to score for the final seven minutes while turning the ball over five times in a span of six possessions. That spurt of futility helped Michigan State close the game on a 10-0 and cover the spread in a game that looked like a disaster midway through the second half. With Sparty going on to lose at home against Iowa, we can now say this game said more about Michigan than Michigan State, and it said that Michigan is a tire fire.

He really gums things up inside the paint… he can walk the walk, talk the talk, and block block block.

Maryland Men’s Basketball just lost its standard-bearer and godfather today, with the passing of Coach Charles “Lefty” Driesell.
That man sold me on MD basketball the first time I saw him clap…. the way only Lefty could clap, and when
he assured us “Baby, I can coach”. No, the Terps never won it all under his reign, but his guys
did have plenty of powerful moments, and everybody … even Duke and the Heels learned to fear the turtle.
Lefty’s 1973 squad was a prime example… loaded with talent,
with plenty of heart, but just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Driesell had a way with words, and he could certainly sell, but at his core he
was much more…. a born leader.

Wisconsin finally broke its four-game losing streak in very Wisconsin-like fashion on Tuesday night. It used solid defense and three-point shooting by Max Klesmit to close the first half on a 16-3 run that turned an 18-18 tie into a 34-21 advantage. Ohio State got within five points in the second half, but Chucky Hepburn answered with a three-point shot followed by a steal and a breakaway layup while the Buckeyes failed to score for seven straight minutes. When Bruce Thornton finally got his team back on the scoreboard with 1:36 to play, Hepburn responded with another triple to put the game away. Perhaps the most thrilling part of the game was Jamison Battle not scoring all game until he hit a three with 16 seconds left to cover the 9.5-point spread for Ohio State. Klesmit had a chance to expand the lead back to 10 points, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one and the Badgers settled for a 62-54 victory.

Chucky Hepburn creates so much offense with his defense. 💥@ChuckyHepburn x @BadgerMBB

💻: Peacock pic.twitter.com/Pdu8gNTINj

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 14, 2024

It wasn’t the most impressive win for Wisconsin since it came at home against Ohio State, but Greg Gard’s team will take what it can get after dropping games to Rutgers and Michigan on the road. The real excitement came on Wednesday when reports came out about Ohio State firing Chris Holtmann after six and a half seasons with the program. Holtmann made the NCAA Tournament four times (would have been five if not for the pandemic) in a row since taking over for Thad Matta in 2017. However, he never made the Sweet 16 and his highest seeded NCAA Tournament team was upset by Oral Roberts in the first round in 2021. 2023 was a disaster for Holtmann, as his team lost 14 of 15 games in the middle of conference play and finished 16-19 overall. It looked like everything would change this season, as Ohio State beat Alabama in November and improved to 12-2 when it defeated Rutgers on January 3. The Buckeyes have won just two games since, though, and athletic director Gene Smith has had enough of the losing.

I don’t blame Ohio State for expecting to make the NCAA Tournament every year. but I’m surprised Holtmann got fired when he has such a young and intriguing group of sophomores at the core of his team. Keeping a group of starters together for more than one season in today’s college basketball environment is rare, but I think Holtmann had something with Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle Jr., Felix Okpara, and Evan Mahaffey. They have not been winning much lately, but they are also playing in a league that’s full of fourth- and fifth-year players in the starting lineup. With the way they are all improving together as first-year starters, I wouldn’t be surprised if the group returned next season as juniors and finished in the top third of the Big Ten. With Holtmann gone, it’s more likely that the program will be reset under a new head coach who wants to bring in his own players.

In the other Big Ten game on Tuesday, Illinois destroyed Michigan 97-68 to bounce back from the loss it suffered at Michigan State on Saturday. It was a complete offensive performance by the Illini, and they shot 56 percent from the field as well as 48 percent from beyond the arc. Terrence Shannon Jr. played his best game since returning from suspension with 31 points on 11-for-15 shooting. Shannon is going to be impossible to stop when he’s knocking down three-point shots like he was against Michigan. There’s no way to close out on him without giving him a chance to explode to the rim.

Beautiful ball movement ➡️ TSJ 3-pointer

No. 14 @IlliniMBB is on fire. 🔥

💻: Peacock pic.twitter.com/obpalLW6BP

— Illinois on BTN (@IllinoisOnBTN) February 14, 2024

With Holtmann out at Ohio State, there will now be more attention paid to Juwan Howard’s seat and how warm it’s getting in Ann Arbor. Howard got off to a hot start in his tenure with a run to the Elite Eight in 2021 with a team led by Hunter Dickinson and Franz Wagner, but the next season he barely made the NCAA Tournament as an 11 seed before saving face with a surprise Sweet 16 appearance. However, Howard is now about to go two straight seasons without a tourney appearance that became routine under John Beilein. No one is going to say anything right away because Howard is a Michigan legend from the Fab Five and he just had open heart surgery in September, but this season has been an embarrassment for Wolverine fans, and Beilein is just sitting there on Big Ten Network… awkward.

Kevin Willard was another coach that I thought was in trouble this season. He’s only in his second season at Maryland, but expectations were high and his team has been pitiful on offense for most of the season. Still, the Terps could easily be trending towards the NCAA Tournament right now if they had just defeated Rutgers at home and Ohio State on the road. They blew both of those winnable games, but got back on track with a 78-66 comeback win over Iowa on Wednesday. I was all set to finally write Maryland off for good when it fell behind by 10 points with 12 minutes left on a dunk by Owen Freeman, but Willard rallied the troops and they went on a 21-6 run over the next seven minutes. Jahmir Young and Julian Reese did most of the damage, and when the dust had cleared, Maryland was rolling away with a win that it desperately needed. The Terps shot 57 percent while outscoring Iowa 47-29 in the second half.

Willard has had major issues finding offensive production from the two spots in his lineup not filled by Young, Reese, and Donta Scott, but it looks like Deshawn Harris-Smith might finally be breaking out. He played a major role in the win over Iowa with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting in 32 minutes off the bench. That would be a huge lift to Maryland’s offense if it could get that output more often from the freshman.

What a nifty move from @TerrapinHoops' DeShawn Harris-Smith. 🌀 pic.twitter.com/NHdWBshmuz

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 15, 2024

From the Iowa perspective, this was a game that could have gone a long way towards its own tourney hopes. The Hawkeyes did not shoot well after the break, and Tony Perkins had a poor night against Maryland’s tough defense. You can usually count on the senior point guard for 15 to 20 points, but he scored just nine in College Park on 3-for-13 shooting. Also, Ben Krikke can apparently only score against my Nittany Lions. In the two games since he exploded for 22 points in Happy Valley, Krikke has combined for just 17 points. He looked like Iowa’s best player back in November, but he’s been very quiet in some of these Big Ten games. With the next three games against Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Illinois, Iowa’s NCAA Tournament hopes are looking bleak.

Also on Wednesday night, Penn State lost at home to Michigan State 80-72. The game wasn’t really that close, as the Spartans led by double digits for almost all of the second half. They first started to pull away in the first half when Penn State turnovers led to some easy transition buckets for Michigan State. With four wins in its last five games, Tom Izzo’s team is rounding into form, and this win was especially encouraging because Tyson Walker and A.J. Hoggard combined for just 10 points. Michigan State still shot 51 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range thanks to Malik Hall posting his best game of the season and Jaden Akins pouring on 20 points. Hall is such an important player for the Spartans because he’s their only consistent post threat on a team that plays three guards for most of the time. Hall’s talents were on full display against my Nittany Lions as he showed off his scoring in the post and his ability to stretch out the defense and shoot from mid-range and beyond. A brand like Michigan State doesn’t sneak up on anyone, but this team seems to be peaking at the right time and it could end up with a deceptively low seed in March.

Malik Hall has been hot for @MSU_Basketball in the second half. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eId47Q2k4P

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 15, 2024

For Penn State, it sucks to lose that badly when you have good shooting nights like we got from Zach Hicks (5-for-6 from deep) and Nick Kern (2-for-2 from deep, 6-for-7 overall), but getting stops was a major issue and 15 turnovers was too much when Michigan State was looking to run off of every change in possession. Ace Baldwin Jr. and D’Marco Dunn both played poorly, and that won’t lead to wins while Kanye Clary is still on the mend. Clary at least looked a little healthier against Sparty with eight points and five assists in 23 minutes. Maybe this weekend he can return to the starting lineup.

This weekend promises to be another exciting one in the Big Ten with all 14 teams in action, but Thursday wasn’t so bad either. The night started with Northwestern visiting Rutgers and we got to see just how far Boo Buie can carry a team. Not only did we learn before the game that Ty Berry would miss the rest of the season with a torn meniscus, but Ryan Langborg was ejected on a Flagrant 2 foul in the first half when he elbowed Jamichael Davis in the ball sack. Chris Collins already ran a pretty shallow rotation, so now he had to dust off freshman guard Jordan Clayton and Justin Mullins, a sophomore wing who transferred from Denver.

Absolutely nuts that Ryan Langborg got ejected for this.

Northwestern got shafted. pic.twitter.com/wA45500Vld

— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) February 16, 2024

Northwestern fans have apparently been clamoring for Collins to play Mullins more all season. He showed off some skill and athleticism with eight points and four blocked shots while Boo Buie proved that it really is possible to shoot well inside Jersey Mike’s Arena. He led the Wildcats to a 34-27 halftime lead and finished with 27 points on 6-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, Buie only had one assist because no one else on his team could hit a shot. With Berry and Langborg out, Northwestern needed Brooks Barnhizer and Nick Martinelli to step up, but they combined to shoot 6-for-24 and score 17 points.

Despite the offensive struggles, Northwestern held off Rutgers for much of the second half. It looked like the Scarlet Knights were taking control when Clifford Omoruyi took a Derek Simpson pass and slammed the ball home while being fouled by Martinelli. The subsequent free throw tied the score at 44-44, but Northwestern countered with seven straight points. However, the Wildcats ended up being stuck on 51 points for more than six minutes while Rutgers rallied past them and took the lead on Simpson’s pull-up jumper with five minutes to play. The Knights would lead by as many as five, but Northwestern fought back and tied the game when Barnhizer knocked down a wide open three thanks to a defensive collapse by Rutgers. The Wildcats could not build on it, though. Aundre Hyatt answered with a triple of his own to send the fans home happy with a 63-60 Rutgers victory.

The Knights have now won four straight games since Jeremiah Williams made his season debut on February 3. Williams does a little bit of everything and his steady hand at point guard allows Simpson to work off the ball more. Against Northwestern, Williams led the Knights with 15 points and five assists while adding five rebounds and three blocks.

Our last Big Ten game before the weekend featured Minnesota and Purdue. I thought I would be able to turn it off early based on how dominant the Boilers have been at Mackey Arena, but the Gophers nearly pulled off the biggest upset of the conference slate. This game was wild with both teams leading by 10 points at different times. Purdue jumped out to a 16-5 lead in the first five minutes on a Lance Jones three-point shot, but Minnesota got hot from beyond the arc and stormed back to take an eight-point lead at halftime. The Boilers fell behind by 10 on the first possession of the second half thanks to Pharrel Payne’s layup, but they would never trail by more than that. Minnesota’s three-point shooting cooled off and Mason Gillis came up big off the bench for Purdue with four three-point field goals and three assists throughout the game.

The effort from Edey. 💪@zach_edey x @BoilerBall pic.twitter.com/XRlH7YYdcU

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 16, 2024

Dawson Garcia got hurt in the brutal collapse against Iowa, but he looked perfectly healthy in this one and scored 24 points while refusing to let the Gophers fade away. They closed within two points with four minutes to play, but Edey and Gillis countered with clutch buckets to finally close the door on Minnesota and keep Purdue undefeated at home this season.

Weekend of hoops

Has Wisconsin truly righted the ship after defeating the lowly Buckeyes? We’ll find out when the Badgers visit Iowa on Saturday to face a Hawkeyes team that cannot afford to lose. Like Iowa, Maryland is another squad that has a chance to defeat a ranked opponent at home and boost its NCAA Tournament chances. The Terps get a stiff test with Illinois in town.

On Sunday, Minnesota looks to bounce back from two tough road losses with a home game against Rutgers, but can the Scarlet Knights be cooled off? We’ll also get to see if Indiana can stick in the NCAA Tournament conversation. The Hoosiers can give their resume a boost by beating Northwestern, and the Wildcats have proven to be vulnerable on the road even with Ty Berry in the lineup.

Whether you loved or hated last week’s result, this week’s “Helter-Skelce” CDST Show may well be just the cathartic cleanse the Dr. ordered. This week we welcome Abe Miranda to the Hermosa Beach studios, along with Kansas City Chiefs superfan cousin Wayne, the Pickle Ball king of Lee’s Summit, who’s sitting on top of the world after this year’s title run. We’ll break down last week’s game, along with college b-ball and the NBA. Plus a little more Travis than you may have bargained for.

I thought Michigan State had a chance to be a home underdog against Illinois on Saturday afternoon. The Illini might be ranked 10th in the AP Poll, but Michigan State is not far behind in terms of talent and it was playing at home. I was ready to jump all over the Spartans if the line was close to zero. It’s hard to fool the books, though. Michigan State was favored by three and a half when I checked in on Saturday morning. I said “screw it” and took Sparty anyway. Tom Izzo’s team was rounding into form and needed this win for its NCAA Tournament resume.

Laying the points didn’t look like a great decision for much of the afternoon, especially when Marcus Domask knocked down a three-point shot to put Illinois ahead 72-64 with less than eight minutes to play. The Spartans owned the rest of the game, though. A.J. Hoggard stepped up with a three of his own in transition and then scored three the old fashioned way with a great head fake on Coleman Hawkins in the paint. The “and one” free throw tied the score at 72-72, but Michigan State wasn’t done. Malik Hall hit a big driving layup plus the foul to put Sparty ahead, and Tyson Walker stole the ball and put in a breakaway layup to help his team pull away and win 88-80. Great teams cover.

A.J. HOGGARD TIES IT UP AT 72 😤 pic.twitter.com/T1HYktWnb9

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 10, 2024

It was a rare performance by Michigan State that saw the Big Three of Walker, Hoggard, and Hall all play like a Big Three at the same time. Hoggard and Hall combined for 45 points with Hall going 7-for-9 from the field and Hoggard adding five assists. That meant that Walker didn’t have to break his back carrying the offense. The effort by Sparty was enough to overcome a 28-point, 7-rebound effort from Terrence Shannon Jr. Illinois might have been a little too perimeter-oriented in this one with half of its field goal attempts coming from three-point range. While the Illini shot 11-for-30 from beyond the arc, Michigan State got work done in the paint while going 5-for-8 from downtown. Efficiency!

The only other exciting game on Saturday came from a surprising place: Columbus, Ohio! Maryland had a chance to pick up an impressive road win against an Ohio State squad that is every bubble team’s dream. That’s because the Buckeyes are a lousy team that for some reason has a strong NET rating. Beating them will look good to the nerds on the NCAA Tournament selection committee even though it’s not that hard to do so. Even my Nittany Lions beat Ohio State (although we also lost to them on the road). Sounds like a great opportunity for the Terps, right! That is correct, but Maryland blew it anyway even though Ohio State only led for five minutes during the game that ended up going into double overtime.

It was a duel between shoot-first point guards as Jahmir Young and Bruce Thornton posted nearly identical stat lines. Young scored 26 points points with seven rebounds and four assists while Thornton had 24 points, seven rebounds, and four assists while shooting a better percentage. It was Thornton who was the most clutch performer, as well. He tied the game at 61-61 on a three-point shot with one minute left in regulation and also tied the score at 71-71 with a layup near the end of the first overtime. On both occasions, Maryland had a chance following Thornton’s equalizer to take the lead with free throws, but both times the Terps failed miserably. Donta Scott, who otherwise had a solid game with 19 points on 5-for-9 shooting, missed a pair at the end of the second half and Julian Reese clanked both of his at the end of the first overtime.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Maryland had a chance to send the game to triple overtime after Thornton came up big again and gave the Buckeyes a 77-75 lead, but Scott’s layup attempt was blocked by Zed Key. That led to a breakaway for Ohio State and a thunderous dunk by Roddy Gayle Jr. that put the game away. Brutal, brutal loss for the Terrapins.

Blowouts galore

The rest of the Saturday slate was filled with three blowouts, but at least one of them was somewhat surprising. I thought Wisconsin had a decent chance to end its three-game losing streak at Rutgers, but the beatings will continue for the Badgers as they fell 78-56 thanks to a surprisingly hot shooting day from the Scarlet Knights. They went 10-for-17 from beyond the arc with half the makes coming from Noah Fernandes, who has been very inconsistent this season. On Saturday, he was as consistent as you can possibly be, going 6-for-6 from the field for 17 points off the bench. Wisconsin fell behind 9-0 right from the jump and appeared rattled by the arena formerly known as the RAC. The Badgers had 11 of their 12 turnovers come in the first half and fell behind 37-28 at the break.

The second half didn’t go any better for Wisconsin thanks to Clifford Omoruyi blocking eight shots and grabbing 13 rebounds. That defense helped limit Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl to seven points each, and we just blogged last week about how Wisconsin needs to get more out of Wahl to snap this skid. While the Badgers are scuffling, the Knights are surging with three straight wins since my Lions crushed them by 15 points. A big reason why is the return of Jeremiah Williams, who missed all of last season with an Achilles injury at Iowa State and 20 games of this season due to a gambling suspension. Rutgers is still glad they called that guy, because he has scored in double figures in all three of his appearances, which have coincided with the winning streak. Against Wisconsin, Williams led Rutgers with 18 points and seven assists.

Purdue is beating Indiana so badly that Zach Edey hit his first career three-pointer to impress NBA scouts… hope he called bank. pic.twitter.com/NXouqWMM2W

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) February 11, 2024

The other two blowouts weren’t of the upset variety. Purdue and Nebraska both destroyed their feeble opponents by the score of 79-59, and both games weren’t really that close. Purdue beat Indiana so badly that Zach Edey fired off a three-point shot in the second half, and it went in off the backboard for his first career three-point field goal. The Hoosiers got a boost before the game when Kel’el Ware was healthy enough to play, and his dunk made the score 20-18 Purdue midway through the first half, but the Boilers went to break on a 15-1 run and exploded out of halftime with 10 more consecutive points to end the competitive portion of the contest. It was the first time since 1993-94 that Purdue has defeated Indiana twice in a season by 20 or more points. As ugly that is for Indiana, it can reenter the NCAA Tournament discussion if it wins its next two games against Northwestern and Nebraska. Both games are at Assembly Hall, and both opponents have struggled mightily on the road this season.

I supposed that brings us to Nebraska’s win over Michigan. The Huskers ended any sort of confidence boost the Wolverines might have gotten from their upset of Wisconsin and continued home dominance in Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska went up by double digits in the first seven minutes and led by 30 within 15 minutes. It was never close. Keisei Tominaga led everyone with 19 points and shot 8-for-14 from the field while Michigan as a team shot 32 percent. Olivier Nkamhoua had just three points on 1-for-10 shooting.

Not so fun Sunday

Sunday proved me right when it came to not entertaining any NCAA Tournament talk for Penn State. We lost 68-63 at Northwestern despite holding the Wildcats to 32 percent shooting. Remember, that’s what Michigan shot when it lost to Nebraska by a million. The rebounding monster reared its ugly head again for the Nittany Lions. Northwestern grabbed 13 of its missed compared to just three offensive boards for Penn State. Ty Berry was out of action for the Wildcats, but Kanye Clary is still clearly bothered by whatever injury he has because he went 0-for-3 with 0 points in just 14 minutes off the bench. Ace Baldwin Jr. continued to carry the load at point guard, but his shooting cooled off. He went 4-for-13 from the field and did not make a three until it was too late for the Lions to come back.

The silver lining for Penn State was Nick Kern Jr.’s great performance. He has shown the ability to get to the rim all season, but he really flashed it on Sunday with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting to go with seven rebounds and three assists. With four minutes to play, Baldwin stole the ball and set up Kern with a breakaway layup to bring Penn State to within a point at 54-53, but Northwestern got its act together following a timeout. First, Ryan Langborg got wide open for a three-point shot that turned a one-score game into a two-score game. Then, Baldwin through the ball away. The Wildcats got it back and Matthew Nicholson got a free path for a dunk when Qudus Wahab was too aggressive defending what he thought was a hand-off to Boo Buie.

Even the best teams have trouble in Welsh-Ryan Arena this season, but it is still a stinging loss for Penn State because the game was close late and you have to take advantage of a rare poor shooting game from Buie and company.

1⃣3⃣-0⃣ run 💥@IowaHoops has come all the way back to take its first lead since it was 2-0. pic.twitter.com/qkZhiE21Ej

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 11, 2024

At least Penn State’s loss was not as bad as Minnesota’s loss at Iowa later in the afternoon. The Gophers went up 62-42 on a Mike Mitchell Jr. three-point shot with 16 minutes left, but then Dawson Garcia left the game due to injury and everything fell apart for the road team. Garcia was having a ridiculous game with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. That is beyond dominant in just 25 minutes of game, but a 20-point lead is a 20-point lead and Minnesota still blew it. Payton Sandfort and Patrick McCaffery were the two biggest factors in Iowa’s wild comeback with Sandfort giving the Hawkeyes a 78-77 lead on a driving layup with four and a half minutes left. He followed that up with a three-point shot to cap a 16-0 Iowa run and the Gophers did not recover. Iowa won 90-85 with Minnesota only covering the 7.5-point spread because Mitchell hit a “meaningless” three-point shot in the final seconds. I don’t even know if that’s a bad beat for Iowa backers or a narrowly-avoided bad beat for Minnesota backers. Going from being up 20 in the second half to not covering a three-possession spread would be upsetting to say the least.

The week of ball

The Big Ten is back in action on Tuesday night with Michigan visiting Illinois and Ohio State heading to Wisconsin. The Illini are expected to hammer Michigan while the Badgers are still looking to break that losing streak. Ohio State is as good a team as there is for that to happen, but Wisconsin has had trouble with attacking guards like Kanye Clary and Dug McDaniel, and Bruce Thornton is a similar type of player. On the other hand, three of the four Wisconsin losses in this streak have come on the road, with only Purdue defeating the Badgers in Madison. Wisconsin has to take care of business tonight.

Wednesday features Michigan State at Penn State and Iowa at Maryland. The Lions have been tough at home, but it feels like Sparty is gearing up for March, so I think Tom Izzo’s team wins a close one. Iowa and Maryland are two teams that are running out of chances to make a run at the NCAA Tournament, and whoever loses this one will be heartbroken. I will go with Maryland’s defense and home court over Iowa’s offense.

On Thursday Northwestern looks to prove itself on the road against Rutgers and if the Knights win, we might have to pay some serious attention to them. On the other hand, their non-conference resume is almost as weak as Penn State’s, so I will probably have to pump the brakes on them as well. Keep watching Jeremiah Williams because he is a major factor in Rutgers’ turnaround. In the other Thursday game, Minnesota should get destroyed by Purdue, especially if Dawson Garcia is ruled out. If it gets out of hand, I will look for Edey to try another three and prop up his NBA Draft stock.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) celebrates after the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. The Kansas City Chiefs won 25-22 against the San Francisco 49ers. (AP Photo/John Locher)

SF didn’t close the barn door, and look what crept through… talk about getting shot by the foot, or on the foot… a title vanishes for the 0 for 3 in the 21st Century Niners, when the offense goes to sleep for just a little too long. And it was the little things, like kicking and special teams, along with having the best player on your side, that made all the difference. KC may well have made that touchdown on the final drive of regulation… we’ll never know. All we know is that missed extra point meant the Chiefs got into overtime, and that was all they needed. And yes, 3 in 4 years does make a dynasty.

FUCK YOU JACKSON MAHOMES, FUCK YOU TRAVIS KELCE & FUCK YOU TAYLOR SWIFT YOU FUCKING SCUMBAGS

SAN FRANCISCO -2 & HERE’S MY BETTING SLIP

(Courtesy of BetMGM Sports)

| | @darthvaber99

Tune in to ChabDog Sports Talk’s “Black Sunday Segue” Show. Your mind, it’ll blow. And before you go whole hog in with the Niners, fully consider the sidewinding destruction to be wrought by the sidearm slings of Sideshow bobbing and lobbing Phat Pat. Plus prop bets that will shock and appall you.
Plus A-ron’s on when it comes to Big 10 hoops, Abe previews a new tight fitting shirt themed circa 1990s, Well-read has a new doo, and Dorothy Dawn teaches us more about nutrition.

I’m still not entertaining any NCAA Tournament talk with regards to my Penn State Nittany Lions. Too much damage has been done to the resume from inexplicably losing a buy game to Bucknell to going winless in Disney World to dropping overtime games against Maryland and Georgia Tech. It’s going to take way more than a Big Ten record that is one or two games above .500, even though that would be an impressive accomplishment for Mike Rhoades in his first season as head coach.

That said, the three-game winning streak that Penn State is on has been an awesome ride, and it was a lot of fun to watch it continue as the Lions pulled away from Iowa during the final four minutes on Thursday night. Ace Baldwin Jr. took over the game with 13 points and a pair of huge steals during the stretch and Penn State outscored Iowa 18-8 to finish with an 89-79 victory. I don’t expect seniors like Baldwin to take massive leaps with their game, but Baldwin looks like a different player than he was at the start of the season. He’s in control of the offense and red hot from three-point range. What’s crazy is that Baldwin was 0-for-13 from beyond the arc from the win against Rider on December 29 to the blowout loss at Purdue on January 13. Since then, he’s gone 16-for-26 in six games. It makes a big difference when opponents have to respect a point guard’s three-point shot. Opportunities for other players have opened up, and Baldwin has no problem sharing the rock when he needs to.

Ace Baldwin dishing dimes out like he’s a bank teller pic.twitter.com/uoVEWV4dw2

— Barstool Penn State (@PSUBarstool) February 9, 2024

One of those players with more opportunities has been Qudus Wahab. He’s averaging 13 points per game over his last four games after a three-game stretch in which he scored exactly four points in each one. With Zach Hicks living on the perimeter and Nick Kern operating with the dribble drive, Wahab is the only Penn State big man who is a post threat, but he’s been an excellent one lately with 13 of his 16 field goals going in. Thanks to Baldwin finding some range and Wahab executing down low, the Lions have a pretty deep and versatile offense that will hopefully continue giving opponents problems down the stretch.

The defense is a different story, though. I was pleasantly surprised by Penn State’s rebounding against Iowa, but the Hawkeyes still shot 56 percent from the field with Ben Krikke going 10-for-18 on his way to 22 points. Iowa might have won if not for Payton Sandfort getting banged up and going 2-for-7 from deep. Iowa as a team only shot 27 percent from three-point range compared to 52 percent for Penn State, and it’s safe to say that was a difference maker. We saw from the Indiana game that defending big centers is an issue for Penn State that probably won’t be going away, but the Lions have shot the three so well lately that it hasn’t mattered. It also helps when you win the turnover battle as often as Penn State has this season.

While Penn State has won three straight, the mighty Wisconsin Badgers have lost three in a row. It wasn’t alarming when they dropped an overtime game at Nebraska. Sure, the Badgers blew a 16-point halftime lead, but no one wins at Pinnacle Bank Arena. It also wasn’t alarming when Wisconsin lost at home to Purdue because it was a close game and the Boilers are considered by some to be the best team in the land. What was alarming was when Wisconsin went into Ann Arbor on Wednesday night and lost 72-68 to a Michigan team that was on a five-game losing streak and couldn’t hold a halftime lead against anyone.

The Wolverines went ahead by nine in the first half because Wisconsin couldn’t stop Dug McDaniel from getting to the rim, but the Badgers narrowed the deficit to four before the break. It looked like a typical Michigan loss when AJ Storr made a layup to put Wisconsin ahead 48-44 with 13:47 to play, but Michigan showed some heart and regained the lead on a sweep Olivier Nkamhoua fade-away less than two minutes later. Juwan Howard’s team would hold the lead for the rest of the game thanks to a pair of big three-point shots from bench star Will Tschetter. Part of the reason for Wisconsin’s slump has been poor three-point shooting, and it showed in this one. The Badgers shot 26 percent from deep with only seven assists on 25 made baskets, so it wasn’t surprising when Chucky Hepburn missed his game-tying attempt from the top of the key with 27 seconds remaining.

A bright stop for Wisconsin has been Tyler Wahl, who was a beast with a career-high 20 points in the losing effort against Purdue. He was also very effective at Michigan with 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting, but that just makes me think he wasn’t involved enough. Either Wahl has to get the ball more often when he’s scoring that effectively, or he has to use his presence to find buckets for teammates. Against Purdue, Wahl got his points and also dished out five assists, but at Michigan, he only had two assists.

The Kohl Center is HYPED after this Tyler Wahl shot⚡ pic.twitter.com/smWzTHcV0G

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 4, 2024

It will be very interesting to see what Wisconsin looks like when it visits Rutgers on Saturday. The venue formerly known as the RAC is someplace you really don’t want to be when you’re not shooting the ball well. Pretty much no one hits shots in that arena, including the home team. However, Rutgers is coming off two straight road wins, so the fans should be more jacked up for an upset than usual. They will smell blood if Wisconsin gets off to a slow start.

Meanwhile, Michigan will try to build off its win, but good luck with that in Lincoln. There is a lot of pressure on Nebraska to keep winning at home since the team fails to win on the road time and time again. Now would be a very bad time for the Huskers to start losing at Pinnacle Bank Arena since they are coming off consecutive road defeats at Illinois and Northwestern.

While the loss in Champaign was a little encouraging because Nebraska was such a big underdog and it battled to force overtime, the loss in Evanston was not so much. Nebraska trailed for the entire game against Northwestern and the deficit was at least 10 points for the entire second half while playmakers Rienk Mast and Keisei Tominaga wilted under the bright lights of Welsh-Ryan Arena. When I took Nebraska +5.5, I expected much more from those two who were such key factors in the Huskers forcing overtime against the Illini. Instead, the dynamic pair combined for just 19 points and Juwan Gary and Brice Williams were forced to carry the load for Nebraska. It wasn’t enough with the Wildcats shooting 44 percent from three-point range and Northwestern won comfortably 80-68.

Weekend hoops

Beside Wisconsin at Rutgers and Michigan at Nebraska, there are five other Big Ten games on this weekend, with the two biggest being Illinois at Michigan State and Indiana at Purdue. For the latter, the Boilers will be heavily favored to crush the Hoosiers like they did when the two rivals met in Bloomington last month. Indiana is desperate for a win, though, and it showed some mettle in a comeback victory over Ohio State on Tuesday. A lot rides on the health of Kel’el Ware, though. If he’s healthy, Indiana has a snowball’s chance.

Illinois at Michigan State promises to be a much tighter game since the first meeting was also tight. The Illini won that exciting back-and-forth contest 71-68, but they were without the services of Terrence Shannon Jr. Is Shannon worth more than the Spartans’ home court, though? Michigan State has been money in the Breslin Center since the start of the new year. If the bookmakers make Sparty an underdog, that would be a gambling opportunity.

How is Purdue going to blow it this year? That question is getting tougher and tougher to figure out as the Boilermakers keep winning big games in the Big Ten. Their latest triumph came on Sunday with a 75-69 victory over second-place Wisconsin in Madison. Turns out it is really dumb to bet against the projected number one overall NCAA Tournament seed when it is getting points, even in a tough road environment. Purdue had its chances to wilt in this one, but Lance Jones came up big whenever the Badgers got close, and the Boilers were able to hold onto the lead for the entire second half. If Purdue makes the Final Four like it should, we’ll point to Jones as the key difference between this year’s team and last year’s team that flopped in the first round. Jones hit a huge three-point shot to double Purdue’s lead when Wisconsin got within 52-49 with 9:20 to play.

The Badgers got within two at the 4:50 mark when Tyler Wahl grabbed his own rebound and turned it into a layup. It looked like Wisconsin might stage a late rally when Zach Edey missed a free throw, but Mason Gillis picked up the rebound and kicked the ball out to Jones, who drove to the bucket for a layup that put Purdue up by multiple scores for the rest of the game. Wahl almost turned it into a one-score game with a minute to play, but after grabbing yet another offensive rebound (he had six in the game), he got trapped under the basket and his pass was intercepted by Jones, who put the game away with a breakaway layup.

Lance Jones is strong. 😤@LanceBUckets x @BoilerBall

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/YXrH5RbjEK

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 4, 2024

Not only did Jones lead the Boilers with 20 points, but his defense was important to locking down the Wisconsin backcourt. AJ Storr shot just 4-for-15 from the field and Chucky Hepburn was 1-for-6. Wahl might have been more impressive than Jones with all those offensive rebounds to go with 20 points, five assists, three steals, and two blocks. This guy went straight at Edey for much of the afternoon and still shot 10-for-16 from the field. It’s too bad for the Badgers that none of their other players stepped up in a big way, while Jones had plenty of help from Edey (18 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Braden Smith (19 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals).

The win moves Purdue to one game above Wisconsin and Illinois in the loss column with eight games left on the Boilers’ Big Ten slate. They’re in great position to win a second straight regular season title, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them end February at 15-2 with a relatively light schedule ahead.

Nebraska comes oh so close to a big road win

Nebraska would already be a lock for the NCAA Tournament if only it could pull out one of these road games. Alas, the Huskers stand at 6-6 in the conference with six wins at home and six losses on the road. Champaign usually isn’t a great place to go for road wins, but Nebraska stormed back from a 10-point deficit in the final three and a half minutes to take the lead on a Rienk Mast hook shot with nine seconds left. Marcus Domask drew a foul on the other end for Illinois, and he split the foul shots to send the game to overtime.

This is a Ty Rodgers appreciation post. 🙌@Ty_rodgers20 x @IlliniMBB pic.twitter.com/6WBMjQcfIE

— Illinois on BTN (@IllinoisOnBTN) February 5, 2024

The extra period got off to a good start for the Illini, as Coleman Hawkins found Quincy Guerrier on the wing for a three-point shot that put them up 79-75 with 3:40 on the clock. Keisei Tominaga struck back with perhaps his most beautiful three-point jumper of the night, and there were a lot of them. The Japanese sharpshooter has been dormant lately with just 14 combined points in his last three games, but against Illinois he erupted for 31 points on 5-for-7 shooting from deep. Tominaga’s heroics led the Huskers having a 43 percent to 27 percent advantage in three-point shooting, but Illinois made up for it by winning the offensive rebounding battle 17-5. The biggest factor in that category was Ty Rodgers, who grabbed five offensive rebounds and 14 overall to go with eight points, three assists, and three steals. Rodgers is a weird guard-forward hybrid who is the only member of Illinois’ starting five who can’t shoot the three, but he’s also a great defensive player and classic glue guy who does what his team needs to achieve victory.

Anyway, after Tominaga’s big shot, the Illini lead bounced back and forth between three and one until Terrence Shannon Jr. stole the ball from Rienk Mast in the final seconds. Shannon dribbled around until just over one second was remaining, and it’s a good thing he did, because he ended up missing both foul shots once the Huskers caught up with him. The two misses allowed Tominaga one last chance from beyond halfcourt, but he didn’t even get the shot away in time and Illinois escaped with an 87-84 win.

Michigan has its most impressive collapse yet

We’ve seen Michigan blow a second half lead before. In fact, this 69-59 loss to Rutgers that it suffered on Saturday was the 11th straight game in which it was outscored after the half. Still, there is something to be said for blowing a 15-point lead to the worst offense in the conference. The Wolverines ended the first half in style with an Olivier Nkamhoua buzzer-beating dunk following a steal by Terrance Williams II. The momentum continued in the second half, and Michigan took a 47-32 lead after Dug McDaniel hit a step-back three and Nkamhoua took a backdoor pass from Tarris Reed Jr. and turned it into a reverse layup plus the foul.

Rutgers’ usually dreadful offense got a lift from Derek Simpson, who scored 19 points in the game to double his scoring average with 14 of them coming in the second half. Simpson hit a big three with seven minutes left that narrowed the deficit to three points and started an 18-2 run that the Scarlet Knights ended the game with. During that span, Simpson came through again with an 18-foot jumper that he crushed while getting fouled for an old fashioned three-point play.

Even with Simpson playing some solid ball, Rutgers still only went 2-for-13 from beyond the arc and 40 percent overall. However, the Knights forced 19 turnovers and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, with five of them coming as part of Clifford Omoruyi’s 15-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Penn State might have ended Indiana’s hopes

It has been a rough season for Indiana, but Mike Woodson’s squad appeared to be getting back on track following three straight losses to the top three teams in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers took care of business at home against Iowa, and got off to a good start against Penn State. I thought my Nittany Lions were done for when Malik Reneau and Kel’el Ware scored three-point plays on consecutive possessions to put Indiana up 10 points with five minutes left in the first half. However, Penn State hung in the game thanks to some great point guard play by Ace Baldwin Jr. and some surprising accurate three-point shooting led by Jameel Brown going 4-for-5 from deep off the bench.

Even though Penn State only trailed by four at the break, it still felt like Indiana had a big advantage because of how unstoppable Ware was in the first half. That thought changed when Penn State came out like gangbusters and outscored the Hoosiers 25-10 in the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Lions held Ware to eight points in the second after he dominated for 17 in the first, and they were never threatened after D’Marco Dunn and Brown hit back-to-back threes to go up by 11 with 12 minutes left.

“Ok boys line up”..
First .. everyone bring your check book…all NIL money returned
Second.. we’re gonna practice until half of you quit…
Third..move your shit out of “Cook Hall”.. into the horseshit football facility
If your gonna play like that sorry ass program that’s where…

— Dan Dakich (@dandakich) February 3, 2024

The 85-71 win was Penn State’s first at Assembly Hall in 10 years, and Indiana fans did not take it well. This game was supposed to be a launching pad for the Hoosiers to get rolling and play their way onto the NCAA Tournament bubble. Instead, they still have a lot of work to do with a trip to Purdue coming up on Saturday. If Indiana doesn’t turn this around and make the big dance, Mike Woodson will be feeling the heat.

Woodson’s chair cooled down a little on Tuesday night when the Hoosiers overcome a 13-point halftime deficit and earned a huge 76-73 road win plus a season sweep over Ohio State. Malik Reneau (26 points, 14 rebounds) and Trey Galloway (25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) carried the Indiana offense for most of the second half, but it was hometown hero Anthony Leal who dealt the decisive blow with a tide-turning three-point shot from the corner after the Ohio State defense collapsed on Galloway. Leal’s clutch shot gave Indiana a one-point lead, and it held on for the desperately needed victory after Jamison Battle lost the ball off his foot on Ohio State’s penultimate possession.

Following Battle’s turnover, Galloway threw the ball ahead to Ware for an apparent breakaway layup, but he hurt his leg during his finger roll attempt and it fell off the rim. The good news is that Leal tracked down the ball to avoid Ohio State getting a chance to win the game. The bad news is that if Ware is injured again, that’s not great for Indiana’s chances against Purdue and beyond.

Minnesota is back to being frisky

Back in early January when the Gophers had rolled off seven straight wins and jumped out to a 3-1 start in Big Ten play, it looked like they had a chance at an NCAA Tournament run. Four straight losses did a lot to change that, especially since Minnesota has zero impressive wins outside of league play. The tide is starting to turn again, though. Minnesota picked up a comeback road win at Penn State to close out January, and on Saturday it defeated Northwestern 75-66 at home.

Ryan Langborg put Northwestern up by eight with less than six minutes to play by drilling two three-point shots in a row, but that wasn’t enough to kill Ben Johnson’s team. It battled back to take the lead on a Cam Christie three with 44 seconds left before Boo Buie sent the game to overtime with a pair of free throws. Buie had a typical 20 points and seven assists in The Barn, but Minnesota’s Elijah Hawkins provided his own solid point guard play with 13 points and 10 assists. However, it was Dawson Garcia who carried the Gophers to victory in overtime with seven straight points while the entire Northwestern team scored just five.

Garcia was back at it with 10 points in another Minnesota come-from-behind win on Tuesday against Michigan State, but it was Cam Christie who made the biggest difference. He scored 19 points and shot 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and helped the Gophers climb out of a 45-36 hole with 13 minutes to play. Garcia hit a three-point shot of his own to put Minnesota ahead 55-52 with 1:27 on the clock, but A.J. Hoggard was fouled while shooting a three to give Sparty an opportunity to tie the game. Hoggard hit the first two shots but missed the third, and the Gophers picked up a 59-56 win that is their strongest of the season.

Michigan State cooled off Maryland with a late rally

Maryland had a great chance to extend its two-game winning streak into February as it refused to go away in East Lansing. Jahmir Young poured in 31 points and led the Terps on a second half run that allowed them to briefly take the lead, but the Spartans struck back and pulled away in the final seven minutes. Tyson Walker and Malik Hall each scored 19 points for Michigan State while A.J. Hoggard handed out eight assists. Julian Reese is usually a major factor on the inside for Maryland with his scoring and rebounding ability, but he was limited to two points in just 14 minutes due to foul trouble.

Losing a tough road game at Michigan State wouldn’t be a big deal for Maryland, but it followed that up with a home defeat to Rutgers on Tuesday that is more damaging to the Terps’ NCAA Tournament chances. Reese was terrific in this one with 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting with 12 rebounds, but Jahmir Young shot just 3-for-17 from the field and Maryland was 17-for-54 overall against the excellent Rutgers defense. The Scarlet Knights’ offense wasn’t anything special, but it was enough to get the job done, and it got a boost from Jeremiah Williams, a transfer from Temple who just played his first game for Rutgers on Saturday due to an Achilles injury. Williams scored 14 points at Maryland and 10 at Michigan.

Rutgers took a 52-43 lead with three minutes left on a clutch Derek Simpson jumper, but it almost let the game get away after Simpson was hit with a ridiculous technical foul for shushing the crowd. The Terps pulled to within a point and trailed by three in the final seconds, but Donta Scott’s equalizing attempts was off the mark and the Knights held on 56-53.

Wednesday night slate

Tonight in the Big Ten, Wisconsin tries to avoid slipping up in Ann Arbor and creating a losing streak while Nebraska continues the search for a road win in a huge bubble battle at Northwestern. I like Wisconsin -5.5 and Nebraska +5.5 for my picks.

It does not get any more exciting than this in the Big Ten! On Wednesday night and again on Thursday night, we watched epic overtime battles play out between teams at the top of the conference and teams that are battling to earn NCAA Tournament bids. On Wednesday, Purdue narrowly avoided being swept by Northwestern thanks to some overtime heroics by the unstoppable Zach Edey. On Thursday, Nebraska engineered a massive comeback to defeat Wisconsin in overtime for the second season in a row. Winning in Lincoln these days is a seemingly impossible task for road teams.

Let’s start with the game in West Lafayette, though. Boo Buie was on a massive heater and it did not look like he was going to let Northwestern leave Mackey Arena without a win. He went 7-for-11 from beyond the arc and is playing like one of the top guards in the country. Buie also handed out eight assists to go with his 25 points and five rebounds. However, Buie was not the only one scorching the nets, as Lance Jones went 5-for-7 from distance and was responsible for answering Buie’s bombs with three huge triples in the final seven minutes. As well as Buie played, he fell one shot short of winning the game for Northwestern, as his buzzer-beating runner fell short, resulting in overtime.

And overtime is where Edey took over. College basketball’s top player scored the first 10 Purdue points of the extra period with Matthew Nicholson and Luke Hunger having already fouled out for Northwestern. The seldomly used forward Blake Preston did not have much of a chance on defense. With 30 or more points in four of his last six games, Edey is overwhelming for most opponents. Between his post game, the pick-and-roll with Braden Smith, and his ridiculous offensive rebound ability, there is just too much of Edey to deal with.

Braden Smith is really good. Broke down the whole defense to set up wide open Loyer. 16 assists for Smith in this game. pic.twitter.com/SRYebTDugv

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) February 1, 2024

Speaking of Smith, he made a couple of huge plays down the stretch of overtime to keep the Wildcats at bay. First, Smith made a driving layup when Edey got tired of dominating. Then, with Purdue clinging to a three-point lead in the final minute, Smith drove under the basket and drew the entire Northwestern defense to him before kicking the ball out to Fletcher Loyer, who crushed a wide-open three and put the Boilers up 96-90. They hung on to win 105-96 and added to their number one overall resume. Northwestern is still looking like a solid bet for the NCAA Tournament, but a second victory over Purdue could have made the Wildcats close to a lock.

Nebraska is also in good shape for an NCAA Tournament bid, and it just improved its chances considerably by overcoming a 16-point halftime deficit to “upset” Wisconsin in overtime. That’s right, it was technically not an upset since the betting line closed at Nebraska minus half a point. Don’t let those pesky Associated Press rankings fool you, this game was a toss up from the tip-off! Of course, it felt more like an upset when the Huskers fell behind by 19 points in the first half with the Phenomenal AJ Storr scoring at will and Chucky Hepburn scoring on back-to-back breakaway layups. The vibes in Pinnacle Bank Arena didn’t take long to flip in the second half. C.J. Wilcher caught fire, the Badgers committed some uncharacteristic turnovers, and before you knew it, Wilcher was hitting a baseline jumper to tie the score at 52-52 with 8:44 still left on the clock.

Wisconsin wouldn’t wilt so easily, though. Max Klesmit has made a habit of coming up big in the biggest moments, and he came out of nowhere to hit two three-point shots in a row and score 11 points over the course of four minutes. That burst temporarily reestablished Badger supremacy with a seven-point advantage, but meanwhile Rienk Mast was getting going for Nebraska. The big man from Finland revisited the superstar form that he showed against Ohio State and knocked down a pair of clutch three-point shots to ensure that Wisconsin would not escape Lincoln with victory. The second clutch three was a step-back beauty to tie the score at 65-65 with one minute to play. After Storr missed a three-point shot, Brice Williams gave Nebraska the lead with two free throws following an offensive rebound, but Storr sent us to overtime with a driving layup over Mast.

AND-1 ‼️@takflight24 x @HuskerMBB pic.twitter.com/L50I1RxZlh

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 2, 2024

Mast continued to shine in overtime with a pair of hook shots and a slick backdoor pass to set up a three-point play by Juwan Gary, who had missed the last three games due to an injury suffered at Rutgers. Nebraska’s solid play in the extra period gave security plenty of time to prepare for the court storming. As a court-storming gatekeeper, I’m not happy about it happening with the Huskers favored to win, but I’ll allow it because of the big comeback and because it’s a huge victory for the team’s NCAA Tournament chances. Wisconsin has now blown huge leads in Lincoln for two years in a row. Last February, the Badgers lost at Nebraska in overtime despite leading by 17 early in the second half.

Penn State wins a road game

The Huskers may be feeling themselves right now, but here’s something they haven’t done: win a Big Ten game on the road. I can now say that Penn State has accomplished that with a 61-46 win over Rutgers. The game was incredibly ugly and a hilarious contrast to the barnburner between Northwestern and Purdue that was played right before. Ugly is in the eye of the beholder, though, and I say there is no such thing as an ugly road win in this conference! I don’t care if Rutgers turned the ball over 20 times and shot 1-for-17 from beyond the arc. Penn State tried to match the Scarlet Knights with 16 turnovers and 5-for-23 three-point shooting. In the end, Rutgers was just a little more feeble.

Before the game I said that Penn State didn’t need to force so many turnovers since Rutgers is so bad at shooting. As long as the Lions rebounded the ball, they would be okay. Well, they impressed me by forcing turnovers AND rebounding the ball. They held Clifford Omoruyi to eight points and one offensive rebound, and he’s someone I thought would kill us. Instead, the best players on the floor were Penn State’s guard duo of Ace Baldwin Jr. and D’Marco Dunn. Baldwin did his usual thing with 15 points, seven assists, and five steals, while Dunn did a great job filling in for the injured Kanye Clary with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting with seven rebounds. Also, shout out to Qudus Wahab who grinded away for nine points and 11 rebounds to best Omoruyi in both categories. Penn State Basketball is not pretty, but the team showed a lot of grit in defeating a team that is usually the most gritty one on the floor.

Chalk wins in trio of Tuesday games

I thought I was asking for trouble when I bet all three favorites to cover on Tuesday’s Big Ten slate. It turned out I was just asking for money since Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan State all took care of business. Sometimes chalk is the answer. Let’s start with Indiana’s big win over Iowa that it needed to stay alive in the bubble chase. The Hoosiers overcame an early injury to Mailk Reneau and took a 17-point lead in the first half, only to see it evaporate by the time we were midway through the second half. Payton Sandfort had been slumping in January, but he turned in his second straight 26-point outing while going 5-for-12 from beyond the arc to fuel Iowa’s comeback. Tony Perkins also helped a ton with his fourth straight 20-point game. He scored 22 on 9-for-18 shooting and has been Iowa’s MVP as of late.

With Reneau out, Indiana needed Kel’el Ware to have a big game to hang on, and he was enormous both literally and figuratively. Ware had missed the last two games due to injury, and he was limping around in this one, but he still scored 23 points with 10 rebounds and three blocks while shooting 8-for-10 from the field. Ware doesn’t get the attention of Edey since Edey is on a better team in the same state, but Ware has a chance to make a massive impact on the Hoosiers and their NCAA Tournament hopes. He’s a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball, as Iowa big men Owen Freeman and Ben Krikke combined for just six points.

Even with Ware’s dominant play, Indiana might not pull out the win if not for benchwarmer and townie Anthony Leal coming off the pine and knocking down three shots from beyond the arc. Leal is a Bloomington native and former Mr. Indiana Basketball, so this was a storybook performance from him. Before this 13-point outburst, Leal played very sparingly and had a career high of nine points that he set as a freshman. In addition to the Reneau injury, Xavier Johnson hurt himself attempting a dunk in the final minutes, so there should be more minutes for Leal in the near future.

In the other two Tuesday games, Illinois won comfortably in Columbus and Michigan State used a strong second half to blow out Michigan in East Lansing. There is no such thing as an easy road win in the Big Ten, but Ohio State stinks right now, so taking the Illini and laying just two and a half was an easy decision. Brad Underwood’s team made it pay off by holding onto a multiple-possession lead for the entire second half. Terrence Shannon Jr. looks like he is rounding into form with 23 points and 3-for-7 three-point shooting. Roddy Gayle Jr. and Jamison Battle shot the ball well enough to keep Illinois from pulling away, but the Illini held Bruce Thornton to just seven points on 3-for-11 shooting.

Terrence Shannon Jr. leads Illinois to an 87-75 over Ohio State. 💪 pic.twitter.com/4xmGUSv2uL

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) January 31, 2024

During this stretch where the Buckeyes have lost seven of eight games, their biggest weaknesses have been defending the three-point line and forcing turnovers. In almost every game they are allowing opponents to shoot 40 percent or more from beyond the arc while getting fewer than 10 takeaways. That puts a lot of pressure on the offense, and it hasn’t been good enough to keep pace. Sure enough, Illinois shot 41 percent from three-point range and only turned the ball over six times in the win over Ohio State.

I’ll give the Buckeyes a little credit. On Friday night against Iowa, I bet against them again and they held the Hawkeyes to 3-for-10 shooting from distance and forced nine turnovers. That was good enough for Ohio State to cover the 5.5-point spread, but it still allowed Iowa to shoot 55-percent from the field, and the result was a 79-77 Iowa win. The end of this game was painful to watch with Fran McCaffery taking fouling up three to the extreme by doing so starting with 13 seconds left and executing the strategy three times in a row. I can’t blame McCaffery too much since the plan worked out, but that game was one of the biggest advocates for the Elam Ending I’ve ever seen.

Weekend hoops

None of the big ranked vs. ranked games on Saturday are between Big Ten teams, but Maryland vs. Michigan State should be interesting. The Terps have improved, but they don’t have an NCAA Tournament resume yet. A win in East Lansing would go a long way towards getting into the field. The Spartans have been dominant at home in the new year and they just beat Maryland on the road two weeks ago. I like Michigan State minus the six and a half.

There is no line for Purdue vs. Wisconsin yet, but the Sunday clash of Big Ten titans will be must-see television. Zach Edey has looked unstoppable lately, but Purdue has been vulnerable on the road. Wisconsin has shown that with AJ Storr and Max Klesmit in the backcourt, it doesn’t need to rely on its big men for scoring. That’s important when going up against Edey. I’m leaning Wisconsin, especially if I don’t have to lay a point.

…. and the winner is?

On the weekend before we see a repeat of Super Sunday 2020, ChabDog sees fit to focus more on College Basketball and maybe even the all-star skills competitions (nah!), and less on who’s going to be loaded with lipstick in Clark’s billion-dollar box, in CDST’s “Time for giving short thrift to one Taylor Swift” show. But not to worry, there will still be plenty of Super Bowl hype to go aground.

Congrats, Indiana! You finally did it. The Hoosiers finally won a home game that they were favored in after dropping their last three Assembly Hall games to Penn State, Northwestern, and Nebraska. If Indiana had just taken care of business, we’d be talking about its status on the NCAA Tournament bubble right now, but instead all we can say is that the 74-70 win over Wisconsin is too little and too late for Mike Woodson’s team. After the Hoosiers led for almost 30 minutes, it looked like they were going to blow the game when John Blackwell hit a driving layup for Wisconsin to tie the score at 54-54 midway through the second half, but someone or something (or perhaps divine intervention) pull a fire alarm at Assembly Hall, causing the action to halt for 25 minutes.

When play finally resumed, Tyler Wahl posted up and scored on a reverse layup to give Wisconsin its first lead, but Indiana punched back with Malik Reneau hitting a putback layup. The two red teams battled back and forth with neither leading for more than three points until the Hoosiers finally took control in the final minute. Reneau powered through Wahl for a layup and made the score 72-70 Indiana with 55 seconds left, and then the Hoosiers got a key stop when AJ Storr missed a three-point shot. Mackenzie Mgbako drew a foul and knocked down both free throws to finally put the home squad ahead by two possessions and end a four-game losing streak.

Kel'el Ware is on fire. 🔥@KelelWare x @IndianaMBB

💻: Peacock pic.twitter.com/zC8c7Jsc5h

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 28, 2024

As usual, Indiana didn’t get much scoring from its backcourt, but Trey Galloway handed out 12 assists to help feed Kel’el Ware, who is turning into the Hoosiers’ own version of Zach Edey. Ware scored 27 points and went 11-for-12 from the field with 11 rebounds, five blocks, and just one turnover. That is unstoppable as it gets against a Wisconsin team that has plenty of big men to throw his way on defense. We’ve talked plenty about how disappointing this season has been for Indiana, but there is major bounce-back potential this fall if Ware decides to stick around alongside Reneau and the quickly improving Mgbako.

That brings our attention to the Badgers, who have lost six of eight since completing a sweep of Michigan State on January 26. Five of those six losses have come on the road, but at Rutgers and at Michigan are games that we expect good basketball teams to take care of. Wisconsin hasn’t shot the three or defended as well as we got used to seeing them do under Greg Gard. Three-point defense has been a big problem, and it’s a bad sign when brick-laying teams like Indiana and Rutgers are finding the range against Wisconsin. We’ll see if the Badgers can get right when they return to the Kohl Center for two games against Illinois and Rutgers coming up, but the Illini have proven to be tough to beat no matter where they play.

Illinois has been almost impossible to slow down lately with at least 85 points scored in its last five games. And it would have swept all five if not for an embarrassing collapse in State College. The Illini posted their best offensive performance of the season in their last game against Minnesota. They won 105-97 in an NBA-style game that was hotly contested until Minnesota faded in the last few minutes. Both teams scorched the nets with Minnesota shooting 60 percent and Illinois shooting 61 percent while the Illini went over the century mark in regulation time for the first time in a Big Ten game since 1994. The Gophers were en fuego from three-point range with Cam Christie and Mike Mitchell leading them on a 14-for-20 performance that would have been enough to beat nearly any other opponent.

IT'S DAINJA TIME ‼️ @IlliniMBB pic.twitter.com/GWbt5p8KS5

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 29, 2024

Illinois is so balanced and deep, though, and it can beat you in many different ways. Terrence Shannon Jr. (29 points) got hot from beyond the arc while Marcus Domask (22 points) got work done in the paint. With Minnesota trying to hang in there, Domask powered through contact and scored while being fouled to put Illinois ahead 90-79 with five and a half minutes left. That ensured that the Illini would not have to sweat down the stretch. Illinois also got key bench buckets from Dain Dainja and Justin Harmon. They combined for 17 points while Minnesota got just three from its own bench. We saw Brad Underwood flex his team’s bench depth last Saturday against Iowa, and that depth will make Illinois tough to outlast in the Big Ten Tournament when everyone is playing for multiple days in a row.

Back-to-back road losses to Nebraska and Illinois probably means that Minnesota will have to win that Big Ten Tournament to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Ben Johnson’s team must win the rest of its regular season games against Penn State (home), Indiana (home), and Northwestern (away) just to give itself a chance at an at-large invitation.

Ohio State is another team that has made a lot of noise lately but probably won’t reach the big dance. On Thursday, the Buckeyes defeated Nebraska 78-69 in Columbus to win their third game in four tries with interim head coach Jake Diebler at the helm. This one was particularly impressive because team MVP Bruce Thornton sat out due to a migraine headache. With Thornton out, Jamison Battle, who missed the win at Michigan State due to injury, stepped up and scored 32 points on 9-for-18 field goals and 10-for-10 free throws. The charity stripe was key for the Buckeyes, as they went 24-for-28 from there compared to just 7-for-8 for Nebraska.

While Battle is a fifth-year senior, we know this Ohio State team is a young group, and it got big contributions from freshmen Devin Royal and Scotty Middleton. Royal was someone who emerged in the Michigan State game, and he followed up that 14-point performance with 13 points and five rebounds against Nebraska in 21 minutes. Middleton has come along more slowly that Buckeye fans would have liked, but he helped fill in for Thornton nicely with nine points on 3-for-5 three-point shooting.

Nebraska also got some nice bench contributions with Jamarques Lawrence scoring 14 points with five assists and C.J. Wilcher pitching in with eight points, but the starters left a lot to be desired. Juwan Gary and Keisei Tominaga were smothered by Ohio State’s defense and combined to shoot 6-for-24 with 17 points. Rienk Mast was the only Husker starter in double figures with 14 points to go with 12 rebounds.

Jamison Battle is unstoppable. 😱@battletime510 x @OhioStateHoops

📺: FS1/@CBBonFOX pic.twitter.com/hSm3Aob9sf

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 1, 2024

I am a Chris Holtmann guy, so I can going to say that this recent surge by Ohio State is proof that he had the young team headed in the right direction, but I can’t say for certain that the Buckeyes win three of four if he is still the head coach. That’s why we need a time machine to explore every timeline and settle all the hypothetical arguments. Without one, we’re left to say that this Ohio State team has a bright future if the key sophomores and freshmen stay with the new regime.

The Buckeyes have a great chance to end the regular season on a four-game winning streak since their next two are vs. Michigan and at Rutgers, but Iowa remains the Big Ten team that is mostly likely to be the conference’s seventh entry in the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes dropped a big game at Illinois last weekend, but bounced back nicely with a 90-81 win over my Nittany Lions. Plus, Iowa still has a game at Northwestern and a rematch at home with Illinois on the schedule and those are both Quad 1 opportunities. If Iowa wins one or both, it could get on the good side of the bubble before Championship Week begins.

If Iowa makes a run in March, it will probably be because of Payton Sandfort and Josh Dix. While Sandfort has been Iowa’s top player all season, Dix has emerged as a lethal mid-range shooter lately, and that continued against Penn State. Dix scored 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting with much of that coming in the first half. Those Dix buckets were how Payton Sandfort racked up a lot of his assists en route to the first triple-double in Iowa Men’s Basketball history. And make sure you say “Men’s Basketball” or else endure the wrath of Caitlin Clark fans, also known as the Swifties of college hoops. Yes, Clark is amazing. Yes, she is one of the best women to ever play. No, we don’t need a picture-in-picture stalking her every move on the court. I don’t know if I should route against her in the NCAA Tournament or root for her to turn heel. Maybe both.

Anyway, Sandfort got his triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. He didn’t get the final rebound until Ace Baldwin Jr. missed a free throw in garbage time even though Baldwin is a great free throw shooter. Sandfort shot just 3-for-11 from the field, but he was also 18-for-19 from the free throw line, but I’ll have you know that six of those free throws came in the game’s final minute and three more came on a dumb foul by Penn State when Sandfort was shooting from beyond the arc. So only about half the free throws were earned.

He knew he needed one more rebound.

He got it. He celebrated. And he talked about it.

Relive Payton Sandfort's historic triple-double. ⤵️@payton_20_ x @IowaHoops pic.twitter.com/0q3zooRCUs

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 28, 2024

Penn State fell behind early in this one despite a great first half by Qudus Wahab in which he scored 12 of his 18 points. Almost everyone else on Penn State underperformed on offense, with Baldwin shooting 5-for-15 despite a burst at the beginning of the second half that saw him score eight points in three minutes and bring Penn State within two points at 51-49. The Lions would get no closer, though, since Baldwin was hit with a technical foul for chirping at the referee. Sandfort hit the two penalty free throws (unearned again!) before Tony Perkins hit a runner in the paint to put Iowa back up by six. A Leo O’Boyle appearance led to the redhead hitting two threes and letting Penn State hang around, but Iowa had too much firepower for the Lions to withstand. Rayquawndis Mitchell randomly got going for 16 points, but Zach Hicks and Jameel Brown showed how inconsistent they are and combined to shoot 0-for-9 from deep.

Iowa’s win over Penn State sets up a showdown at Northwestern on Saturday that is a chance for the Hawkeyes to boost their resume. The Wildcats have won three in a row and five of six, but the schedule has been light and the team is banged up with Ty Berry out for the rest of the season. Plus, Ryan Langborg just sat out Northwestern’s last game against Maryland due to an ankle injury. You probably thought that the Cats needed a superhuman effort from Boo Buie in order to beat the Terps on the road with Langborg out, but nope! It was sophomore small forward Nick Martinelli who stepped up with a career-high 27 points with seven rebounds.

You have to hand it to Chris Collins. His Northwestern team is showing a lot of resiliency. It lost Berry and Langborg became a 20-point scorer. Then it lost Langborg and Martinelli has the best game of his career. Not only that, but he went 9-for-14 from the field, including two key buckets that held off Maryland when it drew within one possession in the second half. We don’t know yet if Langborg will play on Saturday, but either way, the Hawkeyes have a tough task in front of them.

The only other game that happened during the week was Rutgers shellacking Michigan 82-52. The good news for Michigan was that Dug McDaniel finally played in a road game for the first time in 2024 thanks to his academic suspension being lifted. He led the Wolverines with 13 points and four assists while shooting 5-for-9, but Michigan was crushed by a surprisingly efficient offensive performance by Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights shot 52 percent from the field while Clifford Omoruyi and Jeremiah Williams scored 19 points each. Rutgers didn’t score for the final five minutes of the first half, but Michigan still didn’t make it a close game. Michigan just looks like a doormat with Olivier Nkamhoua out of the lineup for the rest of the season.

Purdue vs. Rutgers was a great game to put on television before the football on Sunday. I figured it would be physical, intense, and have a final score that reminded me of a football score. That is just how Rutgers games at the arena formerly known as the RAC have been this season. The Scarlet Knights have one of the worst offenses and best defenses in Division I, and when they play at home, they tend to drag opponents down to their level. I knew that Rutgers +10.5 was a lock, but I couldn’t make money off of it because New Jersey is a fascist state that doesn’t allow citizens to bet on colleges within the state.

This law needs to be changed immediately @NJGov https://t.co/Zvu60AguhD

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) January 28, 2024

It also didn’t hurt that Purdue had lost three in a row at Rutgers and that Jersey Mike’s Arena was the only Big Ten venue in which Zach Edey had never won a game. Sure enough, even though Rutgers fell behind by 13 points at halftime, it clawed back to within two points thanks to some key buckets by freshmen Gavin Griffiths and Jamichael Davis. The Boilers had the answer each time and never surrendered the lead with Braden Smith scoring 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting to support Zach Edey’s 26 points and 12 rebounds. The Knights as usual did not shoot the ball very well, but they grabbed 15 offensive rebounds (Purdue only had six even though Edey had five himself) and might have pulled off the upset if not for a terrific defensive effort from Lance Jones. He only scored four points on 1-for-10 shooting, but he gave Rutgers’ guards fits and his five steals accounted for half of Rutgers’ 10 turnovers.

Purdue held on to win 68-60 with Rutgers covering the spread just like I foresaw. Please change the law, New Jersey.

Michigan keeps sinking

Now let’s talk about all the things I was wrong about this weekend. I really thought the Wolverines would get a home win over Iowa since they already won in Iowa City this season. Well, the game was close throughout, but Payton Sandfort picked a great time to pull out of his scoring slump and he helped the Hawkeyes pull away in the final 10 minutes. Sandfort was red hot from beyond the arc, and he finished with 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Iowa needs more games like that from him if it is going to make an NCAA Tournament push. Tony Perkins is upholding his end of the bargain with a third straight 20-point game. Michigan got balanced scoring with four starters in double figures, but its suspect defense let it down again. This is a nightmare season for Michigan and the schedule is not getting any easier up ahead.

Iowa, on the other hand, has a great chance to make a run with its next four games against Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, and Minnesota. Those might be the four worst teams in the league besides Michigan right now. If Iowa can get Sandfort and Ben Krikke going on offense alongside Perkins, Fran McCaffery’s team has a big chance to rack up some dubs.

Penn State and Ohio State are also trash

I was perplexed at the line of the Ohio State vs. Northwestern game with the Wildcats only being favored by three and a half. Northwestern was playing good ball, particularly at home, while Ohio State’s only wins this month were against Penn State and Rutgers in Columbus. The Buckeyes hadn’t won a road game all season and they still haven’t won a road game all season since Northwestern boat-raced them and cashed the easiest bet of the year. The game was never in question as the Wildcats clicked on offense with Boo Buie going for his typical 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists while Nick Martinelli and Luke Hunger combined for 23 points off the bench. Marcus Thornton and Roddy Gayle Jr. were fine for Ohio State, but this team is not very scary when Jamison Battle isn’t knocking down triples, and he has hit a dry spell recently. Battle has fewer than two three-point shots made in three of his last four games after hitting at least four of them in five straight games. I don’t think Ohio State is as hopeless as Michigan, but the Buckeyes obviously have to start winning game soon to get in the bubble conversation. Tonight against Illinois would be a great start.

Speaking of hopeless, Penn State lost to Minnesota in State College after leading by 14 at halftime. It did not even take the Gophers long to get back into the game, as they opened the second half on a 25-7 run that lasted seven minutes. Penn State’s defense has been horrible all season long, and it is very hard for this team to get stops when the opponent takes care of the ball. Minnesota had lost four straight coming in, but Dawson Garcia decided it was time for the steak to end and Penn State could do anything about it. Garcia had one of his best shooting nights of the season and scored 22 points in the 83-74 Minnesota win. A great first half should have been the start of a fun evening, but Penn State came out flat after the break and I am left wondering how many wins are left on the schedule.

Maryland finally gets some bench scoring

All season we’ve talked about how Maryland stinks because it has no shooting and no depth. Against Nebraska on Saturday, the Terps got both of those things and came away with a big blowout win. Jamie Kaiser Jr. and Jahari Long combined for 25 points and 7-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc with most of it coming in Maryland’s explosive 44-point first half. The Terps led by 17 points at the break despite falling behind 12-2 in the first four minutes. Yeah, my Nebraska +5.5 pick was looking pretty good until Maryland completely ran away with the game with a 16-2 run in the last seven minutes of the first half. The Cornhuskers still haven’t won a Big Ten road game and they aren’t going to get one if their entire starting lineup is held under 10 points like it was in College Park.

Indiana falls short of a major upset

You have to hand it to Indiana. It looked like Illinois was going to pull away when it rallied to take an eight-point lead on Coleman Hawkins’ layup in the final minute of the first half. Even without Kel’el Ware, who was out with an ankle injury, the Hoosiers battled the heavily favored Illini all the way through. It looked like Indiana might get out of Champaign with a win when Mackenzie Mgbako knocked down a 17-foot jumper to tie the score at 62-62 with 1:29 to play, but Illinois closed out the game with six Terrence Shannon Jr. free throws and a clutch runner by Justin Harmon to win 70-62.

Indiana got a nice 14-point performance from the inconsistent Xavier Johnson and Malik Reneau was nearly unstoppable in the post with 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting. The Hoosiers probably would have won this game if not for their 0-for-9 three-point shooting and dreadful 12-for-22 free throw showing. If this season wasn’t already frustrating enough for Indiana fans, this game probably sent them over the edge. Indiana isn’t the worst team in the Big Ten, but it is for sure the most disappointing. Maybe if Ware gets healthy, Mike Woodson’s team can turn the season around, but it has got to start with a win over Iowa at home.

WARRIORS CAME OUT TO PLAY, BUT LA PLAYED JUST A LITTLE HARDER AND LONGER.

KING WINS 145-144.

Roll into Conf. Championship Sunday with the “Will the road dogs really roll over” CDST NFL Preview Show…

If you’re wondering whether the No. 1 seed Niners and Ravens will just waltz into the upcoming Super Bowl, tune in to our big shooooow tomorrow as we try to eliminate any lingering uncertainties.  We welcome Lion lover Ian to the Hermosa Beach studios, and he’ll no doubt make lay out the case for a silver and blue, not gold, rush to glory.   And on a mid-afternoon that could be dreary, with the visiting Chiefs come rapping on the M&T with another Mahoming-pigeon toed nightmare… as we know Lamar is just well not real enthused about this quite concerning confrontation.

Plus, ChabDog will break down the action in this year’s first major tennis of the year, between one helluva Sinner and Russia’s sinewy spider, the czar of court coverage, Medvedev.   And of course, clips galore and much more.

Purdue, Michigan State, and now Illinois have all lost to Northwestern inside of Welsh-Ryan Arena. The home of the Wildcats is looking like the top home court advantage in the Big Ten. It might even be considered among the best in the country if not for Northwestern’s loss to Chicago State in December. That inexplicable defeat is a serious stain on Northwestern’s NCAA Tournament resume, but the good news is that the Wildcats are safely in the field thanks to their most recent triumph over the rival Illini.

A week ago, Northwestern failed to secure a road win at Nebraska because Boo Buie turned into Mr. Clank, but that wasn’t an issue at home against Illinois. The superstar point guard was in his bag as the kids say. He led everyone with 29 points and seven assists while leading Northwestern to the 96-91 overtime victory. The game might not have made it to overtime, but Buie answered Justin Harmon’s go-ahead runner with a drive past Terrence Shannon Jr. and a layup off a shot fake to tie the score at 76-76.

Who else but Boo Buie to tie it up. 👀 @NUMensBball pic.twitter.com/PDvBlLy5pB

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 25, 2024

Illinois had a chance to win in regulation, and Marcus Domask had a good look at being the hero, but his 15-foot jumper banged off the back of the rim. That turned out to be the Illini’s best shot at victory because Northwestern scored the first nine points of overtime thanks to a three by Buie and another one by Brooks Barnhizer that turned into a four-point play with Quincy Guerrier fouling on the shot.

Before taking that big lead in overtime, Northwestern’s largest lead in the entire game was just four points. Even though the Cats shot 55 percent from the field and 11-for-18 from beyond the arc, Illinois kept pace with 21 offensive rebounds on 45 missed shots. The biggest second chance provider was Coleman Hawkins, who continued his streak of great play with 22 points and 13 rebounds with seven coming on offense. The effort by Illinois will be enough to win most games, and the team can be even better once Shannon Jr. rounds into form. Northwestern’s hot shooting was just too much to overcome on Wednesday night.

The Illinois vs. Northwestern game was quite riveting, but we had already been warmed up by an exciting game in Iowa. Maryland picked up a key road win in its quest to build an NCAA Tournament resume around its upset victory at Illinois 10 days ago. Iowa appeared to be in control of the game when Tony Perkins hit a pair of free throws to put his team ahead 63-57 with just under five minutes to play. From that point, the Terps would close the game on a 12-4 run that included three monster buckets by Jahmir Young. Maryland’s most valuable player (by far) knocked down a step-back three with 1:24 on the clock to go ahead 64-63. After Iowa regained the lead, Young hit another triple, this one set up by a Julian Reese screen, to take the lead 67-65. Perkins responded with two free throws to tie the game, but with 28 seconds left Young just dribbled down the clock and blew past the Iowa defense to seal the game with a left-handed layup.

Jahmir Young FOR THE WIN pic.twitter.com/5asJokH8FA

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 25, 2024

The man could not be stopped with the game on the line, and that’s why Maryland still has a great chance to make the NCAA Tournament. The Terps have a formula. Just play great defense and let Young cook. It also helped that Maryland made almost half its three-point shots in this one while Reese did the dirty work and picked up five offensive rebounds, blocked five shots, and also scored 17 points. That kind of effort from Reese is just what Maryland needs to give it a paint presence and support Young’s scoring.

This game was right there for Iowa to finish off, but getting only nine points from Ben Krikke is not going to cut it, even with Perkins (20 points) and Owen Freeman (14 points, nine rebounds) playing as well as they are. It also doesn’t help that Payton Sandfort is slumping with fewer than 10 points in two of Iowa’s last three games, including his 0-for-4 night from beyond the arc against Maryland.

Wisconsin continues to dominate the Big Ten

The Badgers have now won three in a row since my Nittany Lions handed them their only loss of conference play. On Fright night, Greg Gard’s team finished off a sweep of Michigan State with a convincing 81-66 victory in Madison. Earlier this week on the B1G Spotlight podcast, I spoke about how the game between Michigan State and Wisconsin would be a battle between Sparty’s ability to force turnovers and score in transition and the Badgers’ low-tempo and low-turnover style. Michigan State needed to force Wisconsin into some uncharacteristic mistakes to win this one, and that did not happen. Wisconsin only turned it over six times while shooting 51 percent from the field and grabbing 12 offensive rebounds. The outcome is not very surprising given those numbers.

Wisconsin guard AJ Storr dropped 28 in a win over Michigan State tonight.

Storr is averaging 20 ppg over the last four games and Wisconsin sits atop the Big 10 👀 pic.twitter.com/EcODcGhI5v

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) January 27, 2024

What is a little surprising is how the Phenomenal AJ Storr has developed from a complimentary scorer into the main attraction of the Wisconsin offense. He scored 28 points in this one, and he’s just as comfortable shooting the three as driving to the basket. It’s not good for the rest of the Big Ten that Wisconsin can win so comfortably while Max Klesmit, Chucky Hepburn, and Tyler Wahl combine for just 16 points. In addition, to Storr, the Badgers’ bench with Connor Essegian and Nolan Winter each knocking down a pair of three-point shots. Illinois looks like the deepest team in the conference with Shannon Jr. back in the lineup, but Wisconsin isn’t far behind with the young talent it has in reserve.

Michigan State could have used some support from its own bench, but Tre Holloman, who has played so well lately, scored zero points in 17 minutes. Among the starters, A.J. Hoggard played one of his best games of the season with 19 points and four assists, but that was balanced out by Tyson Walker being limited to 11 points on 4-for-14 shooting with five assists. That can happen when he’s forced to operate in crowded halfcourt sets like he was in Madison.

Busy Big Ten Saturday

I love Northwestern today at home vs. Ohio State.

Sure, it's a letdown spot, but the Buckeyes stink and they have dropped all four of their away games this season, including at Penn State, at Indiana, and at Michigan. pic.twitter.com/xlx9Ii5AFP

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) January 27, 2024

Wow! There are five games on today and they are all staggered nicely so that you can watch them if you don’t have a three-year-old’s birthday party in the middle of the day like I do.

• Nebraska always wins at home but loses on the road. Maryland has been solid lately, but five points is a lot to cover for a team that is in one-possession games all the time. Nebraska should be able to cover after going to overtime at Rutgers in its last road challenge.
• Las Vegas disrespects Indiana even more than I do. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Hoosiers get blown out by Illinois, but it’s impossible to make a pick with Kel’el Ware’s status still up in the air. I would wait until close to tip-off when we might know more. Indiana has a good chance to cover if Ware plays.
• It’s a home game for Michigan, which means Dug McDaniel will be in the lineup. The Wolverines won in Iowa City back in December, and I like their chances today even though they have won one game since Christmas.
• Minnesota has lost four in a row, but Penn State is a step down in competition. Still, my Lions have quietly been very good in the Bryce Jordan Center this season. I think we can win by five.
• Northwestern is my favorite pick of the day. Ohio State has not won an away game and we just talked about how good Northwestern has been in Evanston.

No more Novak.  Sinner took care of that task, keeping him from a record 25th Men’s Grand Salami.

The Italian ran through the Serb like a knife through butter in Sets 1 and 2…

let Novak back in with a disappoingting tie breack ito close the 3rd, but slammed the door shut with a money 4th.

Never saw Novak look so disinterested…. and at times, disoriented. Somewhat disturbing, but utlmately beautiful.

Could be a harbinger of things to come this Sunday in terms of the real underdog prevailing.

Illinois fans got surprisingly good news last week when Terrence Shannon Jr. had his suspension overturned by U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Lawless. It turns out that Illinois suspending Shannon Jr. based on the rape and sexual battery charges against him violates his civil rights.

“Plaintiff’s participation in sports is vital to the development of his career as well as his current and future economic opportunities considering plaintiff’s intention to declare for the 2024 NBA Draft,” Lawless wrote in the order issued Friday. “Prior to his suspension, plaintiff was projected to be a lottery pick in the NBA. His participation in future games impact his prospects in the draft and his earning potential.”

Usually “innocent until proven guilty” only applies to the justice system and not to sports leagues (or in this case, schools) who suspend players in order to protect their precious family-friendly images. It was a pleasant surprise to see Shannon Jr. reinstated when we don’t know if he’s guilty of anything. The accusations against him are bad and disturbing, but there’s also very little evidence. I’m glad he gets to continue his final season of college basketball with the hope of impressing NBA scouts.

Terrence Shannon Jr. gets the steal and the big jam.@Sn1per_T x @IlliniMBB

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/vNTUjvl2sL

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 21, 2024

Illinois probably didn’t need Shannon Jr. to defeat Rutgers on Sunday, but he still scored 16 points with four assists in 28 minutes off the bench in his first game back. Rutgers got a great effort from Cliff Omoruyi, and he helped the Scarlet Knights claw to within four points at 55-51 with 10 minutes left, but the Illini pulled away and won 86-63. Guys like Marcus Domask and Quincy Guerrier were able to spread their wings a little with Shannon Jr. out of action, so you can make the argument that Illinois is better off now than they were before the suspension. Many people won’t be happy that a player allegedly sexually assaulting a woman resulted in increased team chemistry, but it is going to be tough to pick against Illinois going forward.

Another team with high preseason expectations that is round into form is Michigan State. The Spartans are on a three-game winning streak with the most recent victory coming on Sunday at Maryland. The Terps erased a 12-point halftime deficit with a 21-6 run that led to them taking a 53-50 lead on Jahmir Young’s three-point shot with 13 minutes to play. However, Sparty bounced back and escaped with the 61-59 win thanks to three big field goals by A.J. Hoggard in the final eight minutes as well as a clutch step-back three from Tyson Walker to put Michigan State up 61-57 in the final minute. Young appeared to answer with a step-back three of his own seconds later, but his foot was on the line. Maryland got one more chance to tie or win following a defensive stop, but Tre Holloman stripped Young of the ball to keep the Spartans in the win column.

Michigan State has found a formula for success lately: forcing turnovers and scoring in transition. In its last two wins, the Spartans won the turnover battle 19-5 vs. Minnesota and 18-8 at Maryland. When you combine that with Walker’s ability to navigate the open floor and get to the bucket or find his teammates, Michigan State gets a nice boost on offense. It also helps when Malik Hall is stepping up and scoring in the post. He has scored in double digits during his last four games since he laid a goose egg in a loss at Northwestern. Plus, Tre Holloman has provided some offense off the bench with 29 points in his last three games.

Northwestern and Nebraska battle on the bubble

The two “NU” schools are the two in the most precarious stop in the NCAA Tournament projections. According to ESPN, Northwestern is a 10 seed right now and Nebraska is a nine seed. Those could be reversed if Northwestern had found a way to win in Lincoln on Saturday, but the Cornhuskers stayed undefeated in home conference games thanks to a big three-point shot by Keisei Tominaga that extended Nebraska’s lead to two possession with 25 seconds left.

Northwestern overcame an 11-point deficit and tied the score at 65-65 with four minutes to play, but could not finish the job. Nebraska gave the Wildcats many chances to win with 18 turnovers, but Northwestern is not going to win many games when Boo Buie and Ty Berry combine to shoot 4-for-25 from the field. Nebraska followed up the 75-69 win over Northwestern with a 83-69 shellacking of the slumping Buckeyes on Tuesday night. Rienk Mast went nuclear with an incredible 34 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists on 13-for-17 shooting, including 6-for-8 from beyond the arc. Mast has been a nice pickup for Nebraska in the transfer portal this season, but this kind of output was not foreseen by anyone. On the season, Mast is a 35-percent three-point shooter with a little more than one make per game. If this shooting performance wasn’t a total fluke, the Cornhuskers will be even more difficult to guard.

It was Rienk Mast's night. 🤩

The Dutchman scored a career-high 34 points., and grabbed 10 rebounds, in @HuskerMBB's win over Ohio State.

Watch the scoring barrage. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/My9fiMa2Bl

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 24, 2024

Meanwhile, Ohio State has lost four of five, with the one win coming on Saturday at home against my Nittany Lions. Penn State did not look ready to play coming out of the gate, as it fell behind 16-0 in the first seven minutes. That was not what I was hoping for following Penn State’s big win over Wisconsin. I knew that winning on the road in the Big Ten is a different story than winning at home, but there is no excuse for the pathetic offensive performance to start that game in Columbus. I would say that the Lions were reading their press clippings, but there have not been press clippings about Penn State Basketball in a long time. Maybe from the student newspaper, but that’s it.

Anyway, Penn State played Ohio State pretty even the rest of the way and shot 46 percent from three-point range to avoid being completely humiliated, but the game was never very close. Ohio State won 79-67.

Purdue is still a juggernaut and Indiana is a tire fire

Not much to report on the Purdue front. It snapped Iowa’s three-game winning streak on Saturday with a decisive 84-70 win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Zach Edey furthered his Player of the Year case with 30 points, 18 rebounds, and four blocks. It was part of a Purdue performance that saw the Boilermakers grab 19 offensive rebounds on 37 missed field goals. It is nearly impossible to lose when you shoot 45 percent from the field and still pick up 19 offensive boards. On Tuesday, the Boilers returned home and smashed Michigan 99-67. This time, Edey only scored 16 points with 10 rebounds, as Purdue buried the Wolverines with 14-for-21 shooting from beyond the arc. Lance Jones went 5-for-9 from deep with 24 points to lead the way. Michigan was overwhelmed from the jump and none of the Purdue starters had to play 30 minutes.

That brings us to Indiana. After the Hoosiers were blown out by Purdue a week ago, they traveled to Madison and lost their 20th straight game in the Kohl Center. With Kel’el Ware out due to injury, Indiana had to throw multiple guys at Wisconsin center Steven Crowl. That opened up other opportunities for the Badgers, and Crowl finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists while Max Klesmit continued his hot streak and scored 26 points on just 11 field goal attempts. Malik Reneau carried Indiana on offense with 28 points and eight rebounds, but the Hoosiers could not keep pace with Wisconsin’s hot shooting. Midway through the second half, CJ Gunn was ejected for elbowing Klesmit in the face. It marked the third flagrant foul and second ejection for the Hoosiers in their last four games. You have to wonder if Mike Woodson has lost control of the locker room, as this is turning into a nightmare season for Indiana. It doesn’t get easier with a trip to Champaign looming on Saturday.

Wisconsin has bounced back nicely from its shocking defeat in State College last week. Not only did it crush Indiana, but it won a tough game in Minneapolis on Tuesday even though the Gophers played tough defense and overcame a Badger lead that peaked at 15 points in the first half. Minnesota took the lead late thanks to a pair of clutch buckets by Dawson Garcia. The Gophers had a two-point lead and the ball with two minutes left, but a huge steal by Klesmit and subsequent fast break dunk by A.J. Storr flipped the game in Wisconsin’s favor. Mike Mitchell Jr. had one last chance to send the game to overtime when he perfectly missed a free throw and grabbed his own rebound, but the put-back fell out, allowing Wisconsin to hold on with a 61-59 road win.

Amazing play by Mitchell Jr. Look at him run right to where the rebound is going. Just missed the easy part. pic.twitter.com/3YR274RBlZ

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) January 24, 2024

Wednesday is another big night in the Big Ten with Maryland and Iowa battling to stay relevant in the NCAA Tournament conversation when they play each other in Iowa City. After that, Northwestern looks to solidify its Tournament resume with an upset win at home over rival Illinois.

You got what you always wanted. The chance to beat the best, in front of the whole world. Time for action, Jackson.

Detroit is getting no respect… and look at how much of a weakling SF has lately been against the spread.

Determined Dan will definitely have something to say about that.

And on Expectant Eight Sunday:
–Nothing that special or unusual here, just more magic from Mahomes and a classic flub by Buffalo… 30 plus later, it’s still a wild, but apparently uncorrectible, wide right.
–Goff makes the recalitrant Buccs walk the plank, and Baker’s late game interception send Tampa into the bay… or should we say into the Detroit River. Kudos to the visitors for making it a pretty good game, but the homies just had too much talent, and the very serious faith of deterimned Dan.
— We all can unforutnately remember when we were as frustrated as Josh Allen.

Sunday Morning at 9 is high time for our “Tampa Bay of pigs, for the Lions?” CDST Show. Could it be, that Dorothy D’s Champions of the North, will have their energy Sapped by Baker Baker touchdown maker and the fabulous Bolwes-legged blitzers. Does Goff have a plan — other than that deer in the headlights look — when the pressure comes at him quick and frenzied, and the run option has been sufficiently snuffed out. And all that before we look at the rematch that has seemed way longer than 2 years in the making. It’s now or never for Josh Allen, and a classic opportunity for Mahomes to cement his legacy. Plus, maybe some tennis, a little basketball and god knows what else, including my ChabDog cousin, clumsy Clem.

I try to stay a little optimistic about this Penn State basketball team. Even after they killed their chances of sniffing the NCAA Tournament, they still pulled out comeback wins over Ohio State and Michigan. Chances of meaningful postseason basketball are zero, but chances of ruining someone else’s season have been pretty good. Still, I did not think that Penn State had a chance to upset Wisconsin on Tuesday night. Even after Penn State jumped out to a 12-2 lead and used pressure on defense to throw off the usually patient Badgers, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It looked like it did drop when Wisconsin chipped away and chipped away and finally took the lead on a Max Klesmit three-point shot with five minutes to play. However, my Lions kept attacking the basket for layups and free throws while Qudus Wahab had a couple of huge blocks that led to a pair of rare stops.

Alma Mater hits different after a court storm. pic.twitter.com/aPauqclAbR

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) January 17, 2024

When Penn State held on for the 87-83 win, it was time for the students to rush the court. And we got a surprisingly good court storming for a game that started at 9:00 p.m. on a weeknight after a snowstorm. This was a win that Mike Rhoades can build on, and when Kanye Clary and Ace Baldwin Jr. are both scoring as efficiently as they did against Wisconsin, Penn State is going to be tough to beat.

Purdue established dominance over Indiana

I thought that Indiana had a great chance to cover the 9.5 points because Purdue had been shaky outside of West Lafayette. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The Boilermakers absolutely crushed their rivals 87-66 to ensure that they would not be swept by Indiana for the second straight season. Zach Edey really wanted to win in Bloomington before his ridiculous college career is over, and he showed it with 33 points and 14 rebounds while making more free throws than Indiana attempted as a team.

You don't see 7-4 dudes doing this very often. 😲@zach_edey x @BoilerBall

💻: Peacock pic.twitter.com/1smPMIScyH

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 17, 2024

Purdue held Kel’el Ware and Malik Reneau to 13 points combined, but they weren’t nearly as bad as Xavier Johnson. He has been a walking nightmare since coming back from a foot injury apart from a great game against Ohio State in which he scored 18 points to lead the Hoosiers to a much-needed win. In his other four games of 2024, Johnson has a total of four points and two flagrant fouls. Not a great ratio. In this one, Johnson went 0-for-5 from the field while scoring no points. May G-d have mercy on his soul.

Nebraska still can’t win on the road

When it comes to home vs. road performance, Nebraska might be the most bipolar team in the country. In conference play, the Cornhuskers are 3-0 in Lincoln with wins over Michigan State, Indiana, and Purdue. Away from Pinnacle Bank Arena, has been a different story. Nebraska has yet to record a Big Ten road win, and it blew a big opportunity to get one when it fell to Rutgers 87-82 in overtime on Wednesday night. The Cornhuskers were head by double digits in both the first half and the second half, but both times Rutgers came back and tied the score. Nebraska might have held on if it could get a damn rebound on defense, but in a performance that reminded me of my Nittany Lions, it allowed the Scarlet Knights to grab 25 rebounds on 48 missed field goals.

That is just disgusting, but you have to give some credit to Cliff Omoruyi and his freakishly long arms for battling and keeping Rutgers in the game despite its horrible shooting. Omoruyi grabbed 15 rebounds with six coming on offense and also blocked four shots to ensure that Nebraska shot the ball just as poorly as the Knights. The major rebounding advantage should have made it possible for the Knights to win this game in regulation, but they instead tortured their fans with missed free throws that kept Nebraska alive for five extra minutes. We were also treated to back-to-back turnovers in the final three seconds of regulation with a lengthy replay review added for good measure.

I don’t think this is what Fred Hoiberg had in mind drawing up Nebraska’s final play in regulation… pic.twitter.com/rOpaymobM1

— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) January 18, 2024

It looked like Nebraska would get a chance to win with the score tied, but Rienk Mast tried to grab a ball on the sideline that clearly went off of Omoruyi’s shoe. If Mast had just let the ball go, the Huskers would have maintained possession, but replay showed that he touched the ball just before it went out of bounds. Rutgers then had a chance, but Nebraska trapped Derek Simpson as soon as he caught the inbounds pass, and he ended up traveling with almost no time coming off the clock. Given another chance, Fred Hoiberg in his infinite wisdom drew up a lob to C.J. Wilcher (a 6’5″ guard) instead of trying to get the ball to Keisei Tominaga, one of the best three-point shooters in the country. The play failed miserably, and Rutgers won in overtime.

Jahmir Young has no help

Maryland had a chance to build off its awesome win at Illinois with a win at Northwestern on Wednesday night, but stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Jahmir Young did not get any help and nearly broke his back trying to carry the Maryland offense. The super senior scored 36 points on 12-for-19 shooting with five assists, but thanks to zero points from the bench and subpar outings from Julian Reese and Donta Scott, the Terps fell to Northwestern, 72-69. Young even hit a clutch three-point shot to put Maryland ahead by one with 30 seconds left, but Boo Buie answered with a driving layup that would end up being the winning bucket.

BOO BUIE TAKES IT TO THE HOOP TO GO UP ONE! 😤 @NUMensBball x @booboo_buie pic.twitter.com/fyoZFfWXXc

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 18, 2024

Buie finished with 20 points and seven assists for a more balanced Northwestern team. While the Terrapin reserves were doing nothing, Matthew Nicholson came off the bench for the Wildcats and scored 10 points with five offensive rebounds.

Thursday’s results

Michigan State beat Minnesota in East Lansing and Illinois beat Michigan in Ann Arbor on Thursday night. Neither result was particularly surprising, but the Gophers impressed on the road by hanging with the Spartans for the first 35 minutes of the game. Michigan State finally pulled away (and nearly covered the 11.5-point spread) thanks to some strong transition offense led by Tyson Walker. When Sparty has success this season, it’s been because the team forces turnovers and scores quickly off of them. Minnesota would have had a chance to score a major upset if not for the 19-5 turnover disparity.

This is only January @JonRothstein pic.twitter.com/dj4YSYnxpp

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) January 19, 2024

In the late game, I thought that Illinois -2.5 looked like a trap, but I took it anyway because Illinois is a much better team than Michigan. The Illini came through and pulled away in the second half for a solid road win with much thanks to peak Coleman Hawkins. If Illinois can get this version of Hawkins in March, it can go far in the NCAA Tournament. The versatile center had 21 points, 10 rebounds (three on offense), four assists, and six steals while leading the Illini in all of those categories except for rebounds since Quincy Guerrier had 14. Hawkins also knocked down three shots from beyond the arc. There is not much this guy can’t do when he is at the top of his game.

• Bills have loved the idea, for a long time, of having Mahomes come into their home for a playoff game.  I think we know happens next.
• Does Goff have a plan for the two-headed monster that is the TB run defense and blitz machine.  Not sure the Rams game is a preview of things to come here.  Going big on the fab Baker-boy Buccs.
• Packers are the taste of the day, but they’re about to be given the Rice a Roni treatment … a real San Francisco treat when all is said and done.
• Lamar to come out weak and worthless after a little R and R.  No way, jose.  Just enough beaked havoc in Ravens haven for a tight win.

The Big Ten never rests. Just when you think you can write a team like Maryland off because it can’t put the ball in the hoop, the Terps go on the road and beat Illinois for their first quality win of the season. That might be the best road win that any Big Ten team gets this season based on how Purdue and Wisconsin are playing at home. Maryland has had to rely on its defense because of how putrid its offense has been, but on Sunday in Champaign, Jahmir Young and Julian Reese played in tandem and looked like a dynamic duo as they set up each other for good looks at the hoop. Young missed all four of his three-point shots, but he finished 11-for-24 with 28 points and eight assists because of how great he was a driving to the bucket and using his teammates as screens. When the game came down to the wire, Reese bullied the Illini in the paint and picked up enough points to hold off Marcus Domask and company while forcing Coleman Hawkins to foul out. Maryland has a long way to go because of how bare its resume is, but now Kevin Willard’s team has a signature win and a formula to build around. Young and Reese scoring in the paint plus hounding defense that leads to transition points.

Geronimo!! Seals the win for the Terps!! 🙌 @TerrapinHoops pic.twitter.com/iyiuuDOFYg

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 14, 2024

By the way, Domask was a dawg in this one with some tough shots down the stretch to keep Illinois in the game while the rest of his team was shooting 12-for-45 (26 percent). Justin Harmon has been a key player for Illinois with Terrence Shannon Jr. suspended, but he was a big let down in this one, going 0-for-7 from the field. It will be interesting to see if the Terps can keep the good times rolling at Northwestern on Wednesday while Illinois looks to rebound on Thursday at Michigan, where the Wolverines finally broke their losing streak.

Yes, the Maize and Blue found another way to own their rivals with a win over Ohio State, this time on the basketball court. Dug McDaniel was back in action after serving one game of his bizarre road-only suspension, and he showed some of his old tricks by shooting 3-for-6 from beyond the arc on the way to 15 points and four assists. Terrance Williams II continued his senior-year breakout season with five three-point shots made on five attempts, including the dagger with about 30 seconds left. I will give Michigan credit. It did the thing where again where it blows a second-half lead, but it showed some mettle and bounced back to pick up the win. It looked like curtains for the Wolverines when Ohio State went on a 16-0 run to turn a 12-point deficit into a four-point lead with Bruce Thornton heating up.

Congrats to Michigan for finally holding a 2nd half lead! Only took a 40-percent disparity in three-point shooting 😬

Terrace Williams II hit all five of his shots from deep. Ohio State went 3-for-25. pic.twitter.com/DobEAY5aRb

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) January 15, 2024

Juwan Howard being back in the head coach’s chair following offseason heart surgery might have made the difference. Either that or it was the Fab Five being in the house. Maybe it was just Ohio State shooting 12 percent from three-point range thanks to a rare dud from Jamison Battle. No matter what, it was a much-needed win for Michigan.

Iowa is creeping into NCAA Tournament contention

Depending on who you ask, the Big Ten has six or seven schools in the NCAA Tournament field as of this moment. There are some schools with potential to move up, though. Indiana is 4-2 in league play and has a few big resume-building opportunities coming up. Iowa is another team that is building a case thanks to three straight wins over Rutgers, Nebraska, and Minnesota with more than 85 points scored in all of those games. Ben Krikke was carrying Iowa’s offense earlier in the season, but freshman Owen Freeman and sophomore Josh Dix have made major contributions lately to gas up the attack. Freeman is turning into a double-double machine who seems to win the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award almost every time. He was nigh unstoppable against a Nebraska team that was coming off a huge win over Purdue. Freeman turned into a miniature Zach Edey against them with 22 points on 11-for-13 shooting and 10 rebounds.

Josh Dix was COOKING! 🔥 @J0shDix x @IowaHoops pic.twitter.com/QSZ4JrEKHZ

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 16, 2024

Meanwhile, Dix has seen his role grow in a big way over the past two games thanks to some spicy three-point shooting. Against Nebraska on Friday, he came off the bench and sunk five triples to score a season-high 16 points. He topped that against Minnesota when he stepped into the starting five with Patrick McCaffrey dealing with an injury. Inside The Barn, Dix scored 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting with five assists. Iowa hasn’t gotten a ton of three-point shooting beyond Payton Sandfort this season, so Dix emerging should help spread out opposing defenses while giving Krikke and Freeman more room to operate in the paint. Don’t sleep on the Hawkeyes at home against Purdue this Saturday!

• The real moment of truth in this 4th quarter laugher was, most ironically,
  the breakdown of the one thing that the Eagles had heretofore been
  able to execute. The soft comfortable old reliable tush push. But not tonight.
  Not from a mere one yard, with the defense only preventing 1 point.
  No not tonight. Tonight was the perfect storm for the reveling Buccs.
  Tonight, the very solid run defense was a beast, combined with tried and true blitzing bonanza from Bowles.
  And the poor Eagles could not really come back with anything, except the heroics of D. Smith.
  Jalen was a sitting, quacking with fear, duck, and for Baker, this was like shooting birds in a barrel.
• Shakir shakes himself free at the 15 and bounds home
  with the dagger TD, sealing Pittsburgh’s fate in a game
  where the visitors took way too long to get aclamated to
  the charming surroundings.

• Lions and Goff hold off late charging Rams.
  Another great job by McVay, other than punting
  back to Detroit from around mid-field, and never
  seeing the ball again.
• This was like the hyenas decimating an unlucky Wildebeast.
  Thank you very little Dallas for conning me once again.
  You couldn’t even begin to get the ABCEEDEEs right for
  defending your home turf. America’s Team thoroughly
  dominated by LOVE LOVE LOVE… AMERICAN STYLE.

Check out tomorrow’s show, at chabdog.com. It’s the “Say Goodbye To Free Playoff Peacock” CDST Show, and it don’t cost nuttin.
You’ll get our slanted, sometimes warped, but always adverturous take of Saturday’s action, plus what’s in store for us on holy Sunday and on now-manic MLK Monday. Plus, ChabDog’s tips on how to increase business connectivity.

To review Day 1–‘s results:

• Browns started like champs on offense, but the defense played like clowns from out of town; say it ain’t so, Joe.
• To win, the finished Fins needed to have either a great team with a good leader, or a good team with a great leader; today at the Geha, they had neitha.

Fuck you NFL for selling them the rights and fuck you Peacock for putting this game behind a paywall

• Hard knocks takes a hard fall on fridged bed of Arrowhead
• Bully ball in Houston, as the Browns barrell on in an extended tush push engineered by highly prepared Preration H Joe.

The other day I wondered if Wisconsin could build on its two impressive home wins that it opened the January portion of Big Ten play with. If the Badgers could beat Ohio State on the road, it would prove they have what it takes to compete for the Big Ten title. Well, what do you know? Greg Gard’s team came through for me and made me look like I know ball. I would later find out on Thursday night that I don’t really know ball, but I’ll take my wins where I can get them. Wisconsin and Ohio State went back and forth throughout the evening, but the Badgers pulled ahead at the end thanks to the unlikely heroics of Max Klesmit! He erupted for 18 points, all in the second half, and he helped Wisconsin close the game on a 19-4 run.

Wisconsin had gone seven minutes without a FG… all of a sudden Max Klesmit goes three, driving layup, three to put @BadgerMBB up six! pic.twitter.com/zcUdLfjrUf

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) January 11, 2024

This is what happens when you have a team as deep and talented as Wisconsin’s. Your top players don’t need to be at their best all the time if you’re going to win. Just look at Maryland. If Jahmir Young doesn’t score 30 points every night, the Terps are going to lose (unless Donta Scott goes nuts like he did to kill my Michigan spread bet). With the Badgers, they don’t need Chucky Hepburn or Tyler Wahl to carry the load all the time. It’s okay that Steven Crowl is banged up with a knee contusion. Someone like Klesmit or Connor Essegian can take over for a while and lift the team to victory. By the way, shout out to Jamison Battle of Ohio State, who continues to be the hottest shooter in the conference. He went 4-for-5 from deep for 18 points in a losing effort.

Penn State is back to frustrating me

If Penn State is not overcoming double-digit second half deficits in the Big Ten, it is giving up double-digit second half leads. That is what it seems like these days. Both of our conference wins featured big comebacks, while the Maryland loss was painful because of how many chances Penn State had to put the Terps away. Now we get to the Northwestern loss. It was a game that Penn State needed to have if I was going to entertain the notion of a winning conference campaign. With Purdue coming up, the Lions are likely to be below .500 the rest of the way because they blew a 10-point lead in the second half. The Wildcats went on a 19-2 run that was mostly due to two themes.

Here comes @NUMensBball. 😤 pic.twitter.com/cx0PbSGc6i

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 11, 2024

First, Penn State could not hit a three-point shot all night. The team shot 3-for-17 from beyond the arc with two of the makes coming from D’Marco Dunn, who still does not play enough. He played 23 minutes, while Zach Hicks went 0-for-6 from deep in his 25 minutes. Those guys don’t play the same position, but Penn State should just go small since its defense stinks anyway. That brings us to the second reason for Northwestern’s run. Penn State cannot get a stop without a turnover. The Lions did a good job forcing 18 of them in this game, but they couldn’t stop the Wildcats from hitting 61 percent of their field goals. Boo Buie got wherever he wanted on the court, and when he was cut off, he found Ty Berry for a three-point shot or Brooks Barnhizer for a layup. The one good thing Penn State did was rebound the ball with 21 on defense compared to just two on offense for Northwestern. But it didn’t matter much when so many Northwestern shots were going in the bucket.

My Thursday night bets were a disaster

Michigan +6.5 was a catastrophe. Wolverines are the worst team in the Big Ten. No defense, no heart, and now no Dug McDaniel for a few games.

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) January 12, 2024

Michigan +6.5 and Illinois -3.5 each missed by half a point. And Michigan was leading for a good portion of the game while covering for the entire game until Maryland’s free throws in the final seconds. I found out before the game that Dug McDaniel had been suspended for the next six road games, but I still thought that the Wolverines would come through. It sure looked that way when Olivier Nkamhoua cut Michigan’s deficit to one with two and a half minutes left, but those were the last points his team would score and the Terps iced the game at the charity stripe.

I talk all the time about how Jahmir Young doesn’t get any help. Well, someone else finally stepped up while Young scored just 12 points on 3-for-11 shooting. Donta Scott scored 22 points with 20 of them coming the second half while Maryland outscored Michigan 43-24 to erase the 12-point lead that the Wolverines held at halftime. That is now two straight games in which Michigan has lost to one of the worst teams in the conference after leading by double digits at the half. It is a good thing that Michigan won that football title or its fans would be teetering on the edge of insanity. I am going to go out on a limb and say that McDaniel could have made a difference in this one since backup point guard Jaelin Llewellyn went 3-for-11 from the field with nine points while his backcourt mate Nimari Burnett was 2-for-9 with seven points.

The Michigan State vs. Illinois game was at least more entertaining. I was not counting on Michigan State playing so well on the road after it dropped its last two away games to Nebraska and Northwestern. Sparty still came up short in this one, but it looked more like an NCAA Tournament team this time around as it played with heart and fire throughout. A.J. Hoggard missed a three-point shot that could have tied the game in the final seconds, and then Jaden Akins grabbed the rebound and threw up a meaningless two-point shot so that Michigan State couldn’t foul one more time.

Illinois holds off the Spartans! pic.twitter.com/dfeqzRTk2K

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 12, 2024

Oh, and right before Hoggard’s game-tying attempt, Illinois’ Luke Goode missed the front end of a one-and-one that would have covered the spread. Betting is fun. Also, it turns out that Michigan State is pretty good when Tyson Walker gets some support and doesn’t have to be Superman. Malik Hall in particular made some plays for the Spartans and finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and three assists after being a total no-show against Northwestern. Michigan State didn’t shoot the three well (5-for-19), and that turned out to be the difference in a game that went back and forth in the second half.

Illinois, meanwhile, got another Swiss Army Knife performance from Coleman Hawkins. He went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, grabbed seven rebounds, and blocked four shots. Hawkins is one of the most versatile players in the college game, and he’ll be at least a useful player in the NBA due to his wide variety of skills. I was also impressed by Ty Rodgers, who is perpetually invisible on offense. However, in this game he found his way into the paint and scored 15 points while carrying Illinois’ offense in the early going. This Illini squad is a force to be reckoned with and if Terrence Shannon Jr. ever has his suspension lifted, it could make a run for the national title.

All fans in New England owe the master puppeteer a debt of gratitude, for a whopping 6 rings and two plus decades of total excellence. He’ll just have to set the record for all time wins with another team. And press conferences will never be the same.

The Big Ten is a grind and almost every team will have its ups and downs. Just look and what happened in the Big Ten over the weekend. Purdue got a big win over Illinois, one of its top competitors for the conference title. Based on how the Boilers responded to that loss at Northwestern in January, I thought it was fair to wonder if Matt Painter’s team would lose another game this season. That was stupid. Purdue got hammered by Nebraska on Tuesday, and just a couple of days earlier, the Huskers were humbled by Wisconsin. I should really start to take into account that even the best teams are vulnerable on the road and even the worst teams (not Nebraska, who is looking like an NCAA Tournament team; I’m talking about someone else…) can topple giants at home. The same was apparent in the other Tuesday game with Indiana fresh off a big win over Ohio State in Bloomington and Rutgers reeling from getting crushed by Iowa. So what happened? With the game in Piscataway, Rutgers easily handled Indiana. Here is what else we learned about the Big Ten since last Friday, besides the fact that home court is important.

Austin Williams will be an important factor for Rutgers going forward

Offense is a major issue for Rutgers. Steve Pikiell has relied on stifling defense to win games since arriving in New Jersey seven years ago, but this season getting stops is especially important because the Scarlet Knights are one of the worst shooting teams in the country. Even in the win over Indiana on Tuesday night, Rutgers only shot 32 percent from the field and 23 percent from three-point range. You can play elite defense and still lose by a dozen if you shoot the ball like that. It turned out that the Hoosiers were even more incompetent with 18 turnovers and an unbelievable performance from the free throw line that saw them go 4-for-15. That is so bad that a random fan from the stands could have easily done better.

Anyway, Williams is an experienced guard who played two seasons at Marist and two at Hartford before this year. He has played sparingly for Rutgers, but over the last two games, he has been featured more and has given the team a lift by shooting 11-for-17 with 24 points. He’s not a superstar by any means, but someone needs to score consistently for the Knights, and fans have to be sick of seeing Noah Fernandes disappear in every other game while Derek Simpson chucks up shots that go “clank.”

Wisconsin looks like Purdue’s top competitor with Connor Essegian back in the fold

I might as well talk about Wisconsin now since I just talked about how the Big Ten makes teams look so different depending on whether they are playing at home and on the road. Well, the Badgers have won four straight with all those coming in the Kohl Center. Plus, the last time they played on the road, they were spanked by Arizona 98-73 on December 9. Wisconsin also was crushed at Providence back in November. However, Wisconsin did win its one Big Ten road game at Michigan State, so maybe there is hope that this team can give Purdue a run for its money. It helps that the Badgers are 3-0 in the league after stomping Nebraska over the weekend.

A confident and healthy Connor Essegian is a dangerous man
pic.twitter.com/wAmLyHIJhF

— Mark Titus Show (@MarkTitusShow) January 6, 2024

Another boost that Wisconsin gets is Connor Essegian, who was a big weapon last season when he scored 11.7 points per game as a freshman. This season, Essegian has barely played because of a back injury, but during the win over Nebraska, he finally looked like his old self with 12 points off the bench in just 12 minutes. The Badgers were doing fine with Essegian thanks to their usual efficient offense and stingy defense that doesn’t give away offensive rebounds. Plus, head coach Greg Gard brought back a ton of talent from a team that just missed the NCAA Tournament in 2023. With Essegian healthy again, Wisconsin can compete for the Big Ten Championship. Now please don’t lose to Ohio State tonight and make me look like an idiot.

Xavier Johnson coming back from injury is huge for Indiana

This Indiana team is way too talented to be on the NCAA Tournament bubble, but that’s where it is right now. That horrendous performance at Rutgers isn’t going to help matters, but the Hoosiers got a nice win at home against Ohio State on Saturday night, and there are plenty of opportunities to rack up wins. I think the return of Xavier Johnson from a foot injury will help a lot. He is a sixth-year super senior who Indiana does not have a legitimate replacement for at point guard. When Johnson missed all of December with the injury, Indiana was blown out by Auburn in Atlanta and dropped a close home game to Kansas that could have really boosted the IU resume. To Indiana’s credit, it won its two Big Ten games without Johnson, but those were against Michigan and Maryland, and we are about to talk about how much they suck.

Johnson looked very rusty in his return to action at Nebraska in a game that the Hoosiers lost, but against Ohio State, he was a major factor with 18 points while knocking down both of his three-point attempts and going 8-for-11 from the free throw line. That is the kind of production that Indiana needs from Johnson and if he plays like that, IU could jump into the upper tier of the league. Unfortunately, during the Rutgers game, Johnson had five turnovers compared to just two points and he got ejected for grabbing an opponent’s ball sack. Indiana fans would like to see more of the good Johnson during crucial upcoming home games against Minnesota and Purdue.

Michigan and Maryland will battle for who is the biggest disappointment in the Big Ten

Oh boy do these guys stink. I really thought Michigan was going to get hot in January with a favorable schedule, but instead it lost to Minnesota at home and to my Nittany Lions in Philadelphia. Michigan’s offense is very good thanks to Olivier Nkamhoua (“Cum-Hwah”) and his ability to stretch out the defense while scoring from multiple spots. Point guard Dug McDaniel has looked like a star at times, but he has not shot the ball well lately and has totaled just 20 points in Michigan’s last two games. The Wolverines also need to stop turning the ball over. They did so 19 times against Penn State and that helped them blow a 10-point halftime lead to a team they are more talented than. Michigan also turned the ball over 15 times in a surprising home loss to McNeese State while only forcing the Cowboys into four turnovers. Losing the turnover battle by 10 or more makes it hard to win games. It’s science.

If Michigan can get its head out of its ass, maybe it can earn a much-needed road win against Maryland this Thursday night. The Terps have a better record than Michigan, but at least Michigan can say it beat somebody. All of Maryland’s nine wins come against teams outside of the KenPom top 100, and only Penn State and UCLA are inside the top 200. Back in December, the road win over UCLA looked pretty decent, but the Bruins are playing like garbage with seven losses in their last eight.

Maryland’ defense has been good this year, and it held Purdue and Minnesota under 70 points, but the Terps have been shooting like Rutgers, and that should not happen when you have someone like Julian Reese who can score close to the basket. When Reese isn’t scoring his points in the post, way too much falls on the shoulders of Jahmir Young. That was apparent in the Purdue game, when Young scored 26 points, but that turned out to be just under half of Maryland’s total because Reese got shut out. The Terps had a chance to get right against Minnesota, and they led 29-22 at halftime, but 17 turnovers and a poor shooting night from Young (5-for-17) wasted solid effort from Reese and Donta Scott, who both scored 14 points. The Gophers won 65-62.

Keisei Tominaga is the Big Ten’s most electric player

Speaking of Minnesota, and before I get to Tominaga, let’s give a shout out to Elijah Hawkins, who has come out of nowhere to be one of the top point guards in the Big Ten. And by “come out of nowhere,” I mean he transferred from Howard, so that is almost literally accurate. You’d think that Hawkins would take some time to adjust to the higher level of play, but he has looked like a Big Ten veteran by the way he sees the court and knows when to call his own number. Hawkins is second in the country with 7.8 assists per game, and he totaled 16 assists in recent wins over Michigan and Maryland. Plus, he’s connecting on 39 percent of his three-point shots, so opponents cannot just stand back and cover the passing lanes. Minnesota’s non-conference schedule was super soft, but with Hawkins and Dawson Garcia, this team has the talent to make a run towards the NCAA Tournament.

OMG KEISEI TOMINAGA!!!! 💥 😱 He can't be stopped!@KeiseiTominaga x @HuskerMBB pic.twitter.com/5y7KBCIHTo

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 10, 2024

Now it is time to acknowledge the real king of the Big Ten. Keisei Tominaga has unlimited range and he showed on Tuesday night against Purdue that it doesn’t matter if you get a hand in his face. The man is just a walking and talking bucket who you have to base your whole defense around. In three Big Ten games since the calendar turned, Tominaga has totaled 64 points while shooting 12-for-25 from beyond the arc. Nebraska did not do much during non-conference play to build a resume, but it already has wins over Michigan State and Purdue at home, and that is enough to put it in the NCAA Tournament conversation. Now we get to see if Tominaga can hit daggers with opposing fans screaming at him because his next two games are at Iowa and at Rutgers. I would love to see the guy become a massive heel by celebrating in road arenas like he did against Purdue in Lincoln.

THE LINES AS SEEN BY ACE CHAB-STEIN:

• CLEVELAND -3.5 @ HOUSTON  (sorry, but the Browns are well-rested, and the Texans are looking vulnerable on both sides of the line)
• MIAMI +4.5 @ KC) (have fun Fins in what will be frigid conditions at the home of Mahomes)
• PITTSBURGH +3 @ BUFFALO (go ahead and make us 3 pt dogs on the road… we love it and know how to handle oh my Gosh Josh…. keep him in front of you and watch him try to do too much)
• GB +3 @ DALLAS (Dallas will jump out to nice lead courtesy of that Big D line, and then will hold on for dear life)
• LAR +2 @ DETROIT (Has Goff ever won a really big game?  Stafford has and still can… and that’s why this spread is moving in the wrong direction for the Lions)
• PHILLY -4 @ TB (the very sick Eagles are so grateful to be treated to this case of TB in Round 1, but will they still feel that way when they put their masks on)

• How sweep it its. Steelers didn’t steal this one…. no they grabbed it in full view, as Mason closes the deal in the 2nd half with a Bradshaw-like rocket down the middle, Najee has his best game as a pro, and the defense goes on a successful hunt for Huntley.
• Colts cut things a little too close as time dwindles, which leaves no room for error for their spark from the trailer park.

Hello everyone and welcome to another Chabdog Sports Blog of me making scrumdidilyumptious NFL picks based on very flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and a spidey sense that may or may not be functioning well based on the amount and quality of tacos I ate today since my current record is:

Week 1: 6 Week 2: 8 Week 3: 6 Week 4: 8 Week 5: 6 Week 6: 11 Week 7: 4 Week 8: 7 Week 9: 10 Week 10: 9 Week 11: 4 Week 12: 9 Week 13: 7 Week 14: 7 Week 15: 3 Week 16: 9 Week 17: 8

SATURDAY PICKS

 STEELERS -3 | RAVENS

TEXANS -1 | COLTS

SUNDAE PICKS

  BUCCANEERS -4.5 | PANTHERS

  BROWNS | BENGALS -7

  VIKINGS | LIONS -3.5

  JETS | PATRIOTS -1.5

  FALCONS | SAINTS -2.5

  JAGUARS -3.5 | TITANS

  SEAHAWKS -3.5 | CARDINALS

  BEARS | PACKERS -2.5

  CHIEFS +3.5 | CHARGERS

  BRONCOS | RAIDERS -2.5

  EAGLES -4.5 | GIANTS

  RAMS | 49ERS +4

  COWBOYS | COMMANDERS +12.5

  BILLS -2.5 | DOLPHINS

*All odds courtesy of Bet MGM on 01/05/2024

Let me know in the comments your thoughts below, or where posted on the socials

| | @darthvaber99

I really thought that Michigan would take advantage of its three-game stretch against Minnesota, Penn State, and Maryland. It had a chance to start 2024 with three straight wins and build some momentum after a disappointing non-conference slate that saw it lose to Long Beach State and McNeese State, as well as four major conference teams. Instead, the Wolverines fell at home to a Minnesota team that has zero quality wins outside of Big Ten play. However, the Gophers clearly have talent and the win in Ann Arbor makes them a dark horse NCAA Tournament contender.

Minnesota 73, Minnesota 71

I hadn’t seen much of Minnesota before Thursday night because of their very low-profile schedule, and because of that schedule, it has a lot of work to do in Big Ten play to get the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s attention. Still, this win over Michigan wasn’t a fluke, and it was impressive how the Gophers limited Dug McDaniel and got balanced scoring to make up for superstar forward Dawson Garcia shooting 5-for-17 from the field. Mike Mitchell Jr. and Elijah Hawkins combined to shoot 8-for-14 from beyond the arc, and the defense was boosted by Pharrel Payne coming off the bench and protecting the rim with four blocked shots.

Michigan was SO CLOSE to tying the game, but the Gophers escape with a win in Ann Arbor. pic.twitter.com/2WGUaS04vL

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) January 5, 2024

Defense hasn’t been a strong point for the Gophers this season, but in Ann Arbor they held McDaniel to nine points on 3-for-11 shooting. McDaniel missed a runner at the buzzer that could have sent the game into overtime, and Michigan probably would have pulled the game out if he had his typical game. Instead, I was impressed with Minnesota’s point guard. Hawkins transferred from Howard, but he looks like he has played in the Big Ten for years. He knows when to pass and when to call his own number, and that’s why he’s averaging an incredible 7.7 assists per game. Hawkins is a diamond in the rough and I give Gophers head coach Ben Johnson a lot of credit for discovering him.

Michigan State 92, Penn State 61

I will start with the one positive and say that Penn State did a nice job rebounding the ball for once. Unfortunately, there were not many rebounds to be had because Michigan State knocked down 56 percent of its shots. This game was doomed from the beginning as my Nittany Lions could not stop turning the ball over and allowing Sparty to score in transition. As usual, Kanye Clary did his thing with 21 points on 5-for-10 shooting and five assists, but the supporting cast was mostly dreadful. Ace Baldwin Jr. was 0-for-7 from the field and the team as a whole shot 10 percent from three-point range. The most telling thing about this game was Jon Rothstein doing the Michigan State victory tweet at halftime.

Strong defense leads to easy offense.@MSU_Basketball pic.twitter.com/6CZN7X2GP8

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) January 5, 2024

Tyson Walker (22 points, 5 assists, 6 steals) and Malik Hall (24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) pretty much did whatever they wanted, and Sparty got a nice momentum-building win as it heads into 2024. Tom Izzo’s team is looking more formidable since the breakthrough win against Baylor.

Purdue 83, Illinois 78

You have to hand it to Brad Underwood. His Illinois team did not give up after falling behind 20-4 in the first half and 66-45 in the second half. The whole way it looked like this game was in Purdue’s pocket, but the Illini battled back and got to within one score when Coleman Hawkins hit a clutch three-point shot with 14 seconds to play. Sure, Illinois only got that close because of a bizarre flagrant foul called on Lance Jones when Quincy Guerrier fell over his back while Jones was boxing out, but it was still a decent showing for an Illinois team that has only played three games since the suspension of Terrence Shannon Jr.

💯 TKR was everywhere tonight.

Season-high 23 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. pic.twitter.com/AzrjswKGP7

— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) January 6, 2024

Underwood’s defense did a great job forcing the ball out of Zach Edey’s hands, and the superstar big man only scored 10 points. Instead, it was Trey Kaufman-Renn who stepped up and scored down low with a season-high 23 points. What really killed Illinois in this game was Purdue’s offensive rebounding. Even with Edey off the floor, Purdue was able to slap the ball around and keep possessions alive after misses. In fact, out of 33 missed shots by Purdue, 18 of them ended up back in the Boilers’ hands. That is a tough figure to overcome, even when Marcus Domask came alive for Illinois in the second half. Overall, he scored 26 points with five assists while proving to be the straw that stirs the drink for Illinois. I love how Domask is an old-school player who starts backing down his defender at the three-point line. Once Domask gets within 15 feet of the basket, his jumper is tough to stop. Illinois’ opponents will have a tough time getting Domask out of his office this season.

For Purdue, this game was another example of why it is the best team in the country, but keeping Edey out of foul trouble will continue to be a tricky obstacle. It was encouraging to see Illinois fight its way out of an early hole, while Domask and Guerrier are showing that they can put the ball in the bucket to make up for Shannon Jr.’s absence.

The Big Ten action will stay hot all weekend with three games on Saturday and three on Sunday. Rutgers and Iowa clash in a battle of NCAA Tournament hopefuls that desperately need a conference win. Nebraska looks to keep surprising the country with a win at Wisconsin. Indiana has a chance to boost its bubble resume with Ohio State in town. Michigan can probably kiss its hopes and dreams goodbye if it loses to Penn State. Minnesota can prove itself again with a win over Maryland. Finally, Michigan State will try to keep its winning streak alive in the place where Purdue suffered its only loss.

Well-read hasn’t yet put up the number of points Pittsburgh is getting, but irregardless I’m going with my Steelers in Game 1 to beat whatever spread the world says awaits.  My decision came to me in a vision, after listening to this song for about the 50th time in the last two weeks, my favorite off of the Stones’ latest album.

When the whole wide world’s against you
And you’re standing in the rain
When all your friends have let you down
And treat you with disdain
When the whole wide world’s against you
And that’s got you on the run
And you think the party is over
But it’s only just, only just begun

Yes, the playoff party’s only just begun… when Mike’s minions take down some purple birds who will mostly sit Lamar and lay some eggs.

I have loved following Big Ten Basketball ever since I was a freshman at Penn State and I realized that while my Nittany Lions were incompetent, there were some other fun teams in the conference. In later years, Penn State would be one of those fun teams, and that was very cool for a bit. In 2024, it looks like that will not be the case, but there is still plenty of excitement in the Big Ten. I guess I’ll try to turn it into content.

There have been five games played since conference play started back up on January 2. Here’s what happened.

Purdue 67, Maryland 53

The Terps tried to fool us with a five-game winning streak in December which included an overtime victory over my Nittany Lions that we practically gave away with our pathetic lack of rebounding as well as an actual quality road win over UCLA. However, it turns out that the Terps still can’t shoot and they still stink. Maybe that is a little harsh since Maryland was playing the best team in the country, but I expected a little more fight from Kevin Willard’s team. Instead, Purdue jumped out to a 16-4 lead and stayed on top throughout the game, while Maryland got very little from anyone not named Jahmir Young. The super senior scored a ridiculous 26 of Maryland’s 53 points, and he shot 12-for-23 while the rest of the team was just 9-for-40. No wonder Young had zero assists on the night. He had almost no help, including a goose egg from Julian Reese, who averages 13.3 points per game! And Purdue is a team you need help against.

Ball movement on 💯. All night. pic.twitter.com/tobVaECayL

— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) January 3, 2024

The Boilers were not even that good on offense, although they did shoot 9-for-20 from beyond the arc. Zach Edey had his typical game with 23 points and 12 rebounds on 8-for-13 shooting, while Braden Smith pitched in with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. It was an easy win for Purdue, who can now focus on the Friday night showdown with Illinois coming up.

Wisconsin 83, Iowa 72

We should have known that Wisconsin would cover the five-point spread when the team held a moment of silence for Herb Kohl before the game. He was the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and a U.S. senator, but more importantly in this case, he was the man who the Kohl Center was named after. It was only fitting that Wisconsin’s home-court advantage would be on full display the week after Kohl passed away. The game was tied 32-32 at halftime, but the Badgers pulled away in the final 20 minutes thanks to the 26 free throws they attempted in the second half. Iowa got called for a ton of fouls, and that resulted in its best player Ben Krikke being limited to 20 minutes while Wisconsin’s Tyler Wahl scored 11 of his team-high 19 points from the charity stripe.

WHAT A SEQUENCE❗@BadgerMBB just turned defense into highlight baskets on back-to-back possessions. 👀

📺: Big Ten Network pic.twitter.com/HE8MmkGXR7

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 3, 2024

Tony Perkins (25 points) and freshman sensation Owen Freeman (14 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks) stood out for Iowa, but it was not enough to keep up with Wisconsin’s second half surge. The Badgers are now 2-0 in Big Ten play, while the Hawkeyes fell to 0-3 and they are in desperate need of a win at home against Rutgers on Saturday.

Illinois 96, Northwestern 66

Illinois has now played two games since Terrence Shannon Jr. was charged with rape in Kansas and suspended by the university. In those two games, the Illini have scored a total of 200 points. The first game was against Fairleigh Dickinson, but this one against a Northwestern team that has already beaten Purdue is impressive. We knew that someone would have to step up with Shannon Jr. out indefinitely, and Marcus Domask showed that his superstar performance against Florida Atlantic last month was not a fluke. He scored 32 points on 11-for-15 shooting with six assists. Unlike Shannon Jr., Domask is not someone who will blow you away with his athleticism, but he’s a great technician who can score from anywhere on the floor. Plus, he’s got experience out the wazoo since he was a double-figure scorer in all four of his years at Southern Illinois.

Highlights of No. 9 Illinois' 96-66 victory vs. Northwestern#Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/bkndeBajdd

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) January 3, 2024

Domask wasn’t the only transfer to step up against Northwestern, though. Justin Harmon scored 20 off the bench and went 4-for-5 from beyond the arc despite averaging just 6.4 points per game this season. Harmon has come along slowly for Illinois, but he was a major scorer for Utah Valley and he clearly knows how to put the ball in the hoop if given room to operate. For Northwestern, this was a big setback defensively. Chris Collins’ team allowed just 46 points each in back-to-back wins over DePaul and Arizona State in December, but Illinois is a different animal. I like what Collins said after the game: “We can’t take this game and flush it, forget about it. We have to understand why we couldn’t guard them and fix the problems.”

It’s easy as a fan to say you want to burn the game tape and forget about it, but the coach needs to figure out what went wrong and fix it if Northwestern is going to return to the NCAA Tournament. The Cats’ win over Purdue will help that cause, but they also have a shocking loss to Chicago State as a stain on their resume, so there is work to be done.

Ohio State 76, Rutgers 72

We had to wait until Wednesday to get our first highly competitive Big Ten game of the new year. Rutgers fell behind by 13 at halftime thanks to Jamison Battle’s hot shooting. He hit five three-point shots in the first half and scored 17 of his 22 points before the break. However, the Scarlet Knights fought back in the second half and trailed by just a point with 3:20 to play. If not for a rare bucket by Evan Mahaffey and a huge three-point shot by Roddy Gayle Jr., Rutgers might have pulled off the sorely-needed upset. It would have been the second straight Big Ten collapse for the Buckeyes, as they lost to my Nittany Lions back on December 9 despite leading by 18 in the second half. Instead, Ohio State is looking like a good bet to redeem itself after a 5-15 conference slate in 2023. A lot of that is thanks to Bruce Thornton, who is one of the most underrated guards in the Big Ten. He scored 24 points against Rutgers with 7 assists.

Have a NIGHT, @battletime510 😤👏

12 points so far in the first half for @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/2UeRQ17jwL

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 4, 2024

The Knights, meanwhile, got some solid guard play from Derek Simpson (23 points, 8 rebounds) and Noah Fernandes (17 points), but offense continues to be a struggle for them. Rutgers shot just 6-for-24 from three-point range and had 7 assists on 27 made baskets. There is no pure point guard on the roster, and that is going to make scoring an uphill battle.

Nebraska 86, Indiana 70

In the biggest surprise of the early Big Ten slate, Nebraska not only upset Indiana, but it boat raced the Hoosiers and led comfortably throughout the second half. I expected the Indiana offense to get a boost from the return of Xavier Johnson to the backcourt, but he might have come back too soon from his foot injury. Johnson played only 14 minutes and finished with zero points, 4 turnovers, and 3 assists. Big man Kel’el Ware was a beast for Indiana with 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals, but it was not enough to keep up with Nebraska’s Japanese shooting star Keisei Tominaga. Tominaga Time was in full effect with a game-high 28 points on 4-for-10 three-point shooting. Twice in the second half Indiana appeared on the verge of narrowing the deficit to single digits only for Tominaga to nail a triple right in its face. The Hoosiers were also demoralized by 19 turnovers.

Nebraska's Keisei Tominaga dropped 28 to lead the Cornhuskers to their first win over Indiana since the 2017-18 season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/V6luIwcb2B

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) January 4, 2024

I didn’t take Nebraska very seriously when it was plowing through tomato cans in November, and I took it even less seriously when it followed up that 7-0 start with losses to Creighton and Minnesota. However, the Cornhuskers have since defeated Michigan State, Kansas State, and Indiana to put themselves on pace for the NCAA Tournament. Their new frontcourt duo of Rienk Mast and Josiah Allick give them the grit to balance out the scoring prowess of Tominaga and Brice Williams. Fred Hoiberg just might have stumbled onto something with his latest transfer portal crop.

but were afraid to ask…

All you ever wanted to know about something almost as good as sex, … a Steeler playoff berth (or is it birth)… the position for me that is the best is the one where we get a playoff climax, from a Steeler loss, accompanied by a Cougar, no Jaguar, taming, combined with a Bronco busting win and something between the Colts and the Texans that doesn’t involve handcuffs or a tie.

https://steelersdepot.com/2023/12/heres-the-pittsburgh-steelers-week-18-path-to-the-playoffs/

• Michigan’s code of decorum seemed to loosen up when Corum cruised home, leading to outright jubilation when Milroe’s run into the line in OT fell harmlessly short. All signs appear to point to the Wolverines as the team of destiny.
• Yes, it’s Purple Penix Jr. and his pretty talented pass of pass catchers, who move on; and you gotta wonder what Sark will be thinking tonight later in the dark as he ponders how those last two minutes might have been re-played?  What about going for that initial three a bit sooner.  Whether it really made sense to do the on-sides kick, as opposed to kicking deep with two time outs in his back pocket.  And what might have been if the refs had called penalties on those late hits and pass interferences that apparently never happened.  But who knew they’d nearly be saved by that fortuitiously timed injury.

THAT WOULD BE WAIVING THE TERRIBLE TOWEL OF SURRENDER. OVER MY DEAD BODY!

SATURDAY JANUARY 6, 2024:
1. 4:30 PM (EST) STEELERS @ RAVENS — I’m going down this year and out of the funny money (in this particular affair), so I might as well go Steelers. Baltimore ain’t playing for squat, so they just won’t have the mojo they need. We beat’m before and we’ll do it again. STEELERS ALL THE WAY WITHOUT A DOUBT!!!!
2.- 8:15 PM (EST) TEXANS @ COLTS — Colts got lucky last week and in their perverse minds think they are in anyway. Texans will take this one. TEXANS.
SUNDAY JANUARY 7, 2024:
3. 1 PM JAGUARS @ TITANS — Jags win, unfortunately for my Stillers.
4. 1 PM FALCONS @ SAINTS — This why the Saints drive me crazy. They should win this game, but isn’t this the classic trap. GOING SAINTS NONETHELESS
5. 1 PM JETS @ PATS (just for the hell of it) — Going with the PATS.
6. 1 PM BUCCANEERS @ PANTHERS –Seems to catastrophicly obvious… Going BUCS!!!!
7. 4:25 PM COWBOYS @ COMMANDERS (Commadores now got #2 draft pick!!! Dont blow it guys) — This game used to be worth televising. Now it isn’t worth even commenting on. COWBOYS WIN.
8. 4:25 PM EAGLES @ GIANTS — Can the Eagles beat anyone anymore? Still going EAGLES.
9. 4:25 PM BEARS @ PACKERS — Packers can’t afford to lose this, but could. Still going PACKERS.
10. SNF- BILLS @ DOLPHINS (Winner takes AL East – Miami in regardless-Bills could be in or out with loss, depending on others) –Never rooted this hard for Miami. And I’ll be rewarded, god willing. MIAMI wins.

Hello everyone and welcome to another Chabdog Sports Blog of me making scrumdidilyumptious NFL picks based on very flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and a spidey sense that may or may not be functioning well based on the amount and quality of tacos I ate today since my current record is:

Week 1: 6 Week 2: 8 Week 3: 6 Week 4: 8 Week 5: 6 Week 6: 11 Week 7: 4 Week 8: 7 Week 9: 10 Week 10: 9 Week 11: 4 Week 12: 9 Week 13: 7 Week 14: 7 Week 15: 3 Week 16: 9

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PICK

JETS | BROWNS -7.5

SATURDAY PICK

LIONS | COWBOYS -6

SUNDAE PICKS

PATRIOTS +13 | BILLS

 DOLPHINS | RAVENS -3.5

 TITANS | TEXANS -4.5

 RAIDERS | COLTS -3.5

 PANTHERS +6.5 | JAGUARS

RAMS -4.5 | GIANTS

 CARDINALS | EAGLES -10.5

 49ERS | COMMANDER +13.5

 FALCONS | BEARS -3

 SAINTS | BUCCANEERS -2.5

 BENGALS | CHIEFS -7

 STEELERS | SEAHAWKS -4

 CHARGERS | BRONCOS -3.5

 PACKERS +2.5 | VIKINGS

*All odds courtesy of Bet MGM on 12/27/2023 

Let me know in the comments your thoughts below, or where posted on the socials

| | @darthvaber99

I learned the truth week 17
That love was meant for Brock Purdy
And Detroit Lions with clear skinned smiles
Barry quit and then retired

The Superbowls I never knew
The Monday night charades of youth
Were spent on one more parlay
Week 17 I learned the truth

And those of us with ravaged bets
Lacking in winning ways
Desperately kept betting Cards
Inventing bookies on the phone

Who called to say, “You won today”
And murmured Rams obscenities
It isn’t about Stafford’s injuries
Week 17

The Cleveland Browns in hand-me-downs
Okoronkwo’s name I never could pronounce
Said, “Pity please Deshaun Watson
He only gets what he deserves”

And the rich relationed Cowboy’s queen
Marries into Jerry’s team
With a guarantee of Mike McCarthy
And haven for Rafael Septien

To those Vikings fans who knew the pain
Of Superbowls that never came
And Colin Kaepernick was never called
By the Jets, Pats, or Bennnngals

It was long ago and far away
The NFL was younger than today
And dreams were all they gave for free
To Redskins fans like me

Bills fans play the game when they dare
To cheat themselves at Edwards-Helaire
Becoming losers on Mahomes
Loosing over and over wins unknown

They call and say, “You won today”
And murmur Rams obscenities
At ugly Redskins like me
Week 17

Lions (Lions are just better, pure and simple), Patriots (Bills are still overrated), Ravens (Best team in the AFC … by far), Texans (Titans are a titanic flop), Raiders (that defense will chew up and spit out Minchew), Panthers (Panthers are on the rise, Jags have hit a major snag), Rams (cuz the Giants just suck), Eagles (don’t deserve that spread, but whatever.. cannot bring myself to go Cards), Commanders (Niners bubble was burst a bit last week and that margin is just too rich), Bears (they’ve been playing better… and FFing Falcons can suck my arse on the road), Buccs (I’m like butter… on a roll against the stinking Saints), Bengals (who’s afraid of the Chiefs… not me!), Steelers (they have to win and will keep it close), Broncos (Sean Payton, Sean Payton, Sean Payton LOL), Vikings (Pick Mullens over Love Child)

Pray for the Raiders next week against Indy,

pray for the Ravens next week against Miami,

pray for Indy the following week against the Texans, …

and start drinking heavily.

— The Ravens took apart the Niners today, exposing their “issues” with mobile quarterbacks. But the red alert on this group goes beyond that. Brock Purdy again showed us his inexperienced, unsteady side … the side we had a glimpse of last year in the playoffs… real problems dealing with physical and fast linebackers and a beastly pass rush. I hope the Rams were taking notes on this game. And the Steelers just got a big hand out from their AFC North buddies.

— Eagles push back the G-men, maintain their sanity, but didn’t look that convincing in the process.
The tush push is still money, but the defense is steadily becoming devalued and the offense seems to be
strangely pass heavy and impatient; sounds like it needs a therapist.

–Give the Raiders a lot credit … character I wasn’t positive they had … in stuffing that dysfunctional Chiefs offense all day, and in adding another wrinkle to what is shaping up to be an incredibly complicated AFC Wild Card picture. Baltimore may well have nothing to gain in that season ending finale against Pittsburgh, and LV should play that much harder against the Colts, knowing that they could, conceivably catch the Chiefs for the division. Just sayin.

— Just like Harry Christmas, Bailey Zappe is more than happy to totally redeem himself
for a shining Christmas in Colorado.
— In the end, it was Masterful Mullens giving way to Nick The Pick, and determined Dan’s Detroit clinched the Norris Division title with two weeks to spare.
— Tampa keeps on making hay with Baker May…. meanwhile, it appears the Jags have hit more than a snag
— Hold your head up Mr. Young, progress is being made and Bryce guys can finish first… but today you lost to the Packer attackers.
— Tough tough loss for a Commanders’ squad that fought back so effectively. And contrats to a Jet’s’ team that just keep scrapping for their dignity and respect.
— Seattle didn’t in any way knock the cover off the ball, but it did cover.
— This appears to be a tailor-made situation for mending by Taylor.

Hello everyone and welcome to another Chabdog Sports Blog of me making scrumdidilyumptious NFL picks based on very flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and a spidey sense that may or may not be functioning well based on the amount and quality of tacos I ate today since my current record is:

Week 1: 6 Week 2: 8 Week 3: 6 Week 4: 8 Week 5: 6 Week 6: 11 Week 7: 4 Week 8: 7 Week 9: 10 Week 10: 9 Week 11: 4 Week 12: 9 Week 13: 7 Week 14: 7 Week 15: 3

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PICK

 SAINTS | RAMS -4

SATURDAY PICKS

 BENGALS -2 | STEELERS

BILLS -12 | CHARGERS

My post-game reaction to the Bengals losing to the Steelers and the Chargers covering the spread against the Bills…

SUNDAE PICKS

COMMANDERS +3 | JETS

BROWNS -2.5 | TEXANS

SEAHAWKS -2.5 | TITANS

LIONS -3 | VIKINGS

COLTS +1 | FALCONS

PACKERS -4.5 | PANTHERS

 JAGUARS | BUCCANEERS -1

COWBOYS +1.5 | DOLPHINS

CARDINALS | BEARS -4

PATRIOTS | BRONCOS -6.5

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PICKS

RAIDERS +10 | CHIEFS

GIANTS +12 | EAGLES

RAVENS | 49ERS -5.5

*All odds courtesy of Bet MGM on 12/20/2023 

Let me know in the comments your thoughts below, or where posted on the socials

| | @darthvaber99

— Thanks god, on behalf of all Steeler fans, for reminding us what a really good Henry Steeler game looks like. Speaking of looks, has anybody seen these two guys aka Henry Steeler in the same room.

— In the end, the Bills did what they had to do, and that was it. Nothing very fancy, and the win raises some old questions about Buffalo’s quite obvious attention deficit disorder condition.  That nothwithstanding, they’re still standing, and it’s now time for McDaniel’s Miami to… perform. And Charger chariot performed pretty good, at least for a while, with drive in Stick and Giff.

find out whether we blow out the competition or blow ourselves up in the chaotic uncertainty that is addressing and assessing the pro football spreads….

Can the Ravens surprise on the upside against the favored Forty Niners?  Will the real Lions come out to play? Can the Bills continue to stomp on the graves of the dead men not charging Chargers? Why the Falcons should have nothing to worry about, since I’m picking against them.  And of course, the prospects that last week’s weak Cowboys have against the homestanding Dolphins blessed with Tyreek.

And as for our intramural competitions, Well-read tries in vain to inch ahead, in a titanic struggle with Dorothy D, while A-ron, Abe and a chagrined ChabDog vie for the prized scraps in the second cluster.

Give me the saints +4 tonite in the bukake fest at Inglewood @chabdogsports pic.twitter.com/Mtm5w1jVE4

— Well Read Producer ChabDog.com (@NewportBest_) December 21, 2023

I am hearing and seeing lots of stories about team infighting, people saying this, people saying that. Used to be our team did less talking and more doing… on the field. This team’s brand equity has taken a serious hit, and more damage can be done if we continue to adhere to the philosophy that a record barely above .500 is commensurate with what Steeler Nation deserves, and should expect.

In the words of Maggie from Caddyshack, “here goes nuttin”:
1 TNF- SAINTS @ RAMS — Aaron Donald must be licking his chops with Carr coming to town. GOING RAMS! JUST RAM IT, BABY!!!
(Due Thurs Noon)
Sat. Dec 23 (PacTime):
2 1:30PM- BENGALS @ STEELERS (Oh No- not Pitt again?)– Thank you Brian for continuing this public shaming; once again, the Steelers cannot be saved from their dysfunctional offense, this time directed by Henry Steeler. GOING BENGALS.
3 5PM- BILLS @ CHARGERS (a pair of inconsistant teams that consistantly under-achieve) — Too bad this game couldn’t be flexed out of peacock. Josh Allen will be strutting around like a peacock after the Bills trample the Chargers. GOING BIG WITH THE BILLS.
(Sat Picks due Fri 9PM)
Sun. “Christmas Eve” Dec 24:
4 10AM WASHINGTON @ JETS — Washington in a worthless win over the now completely irrelevant Jets. GOING WITH THE ‘SKINS!
5 1:25PM- DALLAS @ MIAMI (Thank You Gidget) — Dallas must smell blood in the water after the latest Eagles implosion. I gotta believe they can pull out a win in Miami. GOING WITH DALLAS.
Mon. “Christmas Day-3” Dec 25:
6 10AM- RAIDERS @ CHIEFS — This is a Christmas gift. OF COURSE GOING CHIEFS.
7 1:30PM- GIANTS @ EAGLES — Giants are in the wrong place at the wrong time. GOING EGGLES.
8 5PM- RAVENS @ NINERS — Cliffhanger goes to …THE RAVENS… why not? GOING RAVENS…

Hurts did a lot right in this game, and showed
true grit in going out there and almost getting it done,
but look who executed in the end and who got executed.
Say what you want about Pete Carroll, but his players have his
back and vice versa. Where have we seen this before … the team that has to win does, at the expense of the less desperate, favored guy. In the melee that ensued, Pete pushed the
right bottons, while Siriani picked the wrong time to go deep.
With two timeouts and needing only 10-15 yards for a decent field goal attempt, Jalen threw it up for grabs, something he hadn’t really been able to do all night.
This game hurt the Eagles a lot more than the additional entry in the loss column. Just as with KC, the generalized fear around the league seems to be done.

• Hey Denver, yo, where did your mojo go? The Lions made you look weak, worthless, and stuck in motion that is oh so slow.
• Steelers continue their slide into playoff irrelevance with a very unimpressive day at the office against the improving Colts. Once again, Minshew came through when his team needed him, while Trubisky did nearly nothing … other than a few signs of life in the first quarter and a quarter. Same problems we all know … zero urgency on offense, no running game, a very limited guy at the helm (both in terms of the field general and the guy calling the plays on the sidelines).
  Change is something that the Steelers instinctively resist, but change is needed here in the worst way. Meanwhile, Tomlin does nothing but watch his team’s prospects burn up like Nero watching Rome go up in smoke. So be it.
• Vikings fall short a few inches on fourth and inches in OT, and then get toyed with by Browning to Boyd. It certainly could be that nobody in the AFC wants to mess with them, come January.

Hello everyone and welcome to another Chabdog Sports Blog of me making scrumdidilyumptious NFL picks based on very flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and a spidey sense that may or may not be functioning well based on the amount and quality of tacos I ate today since my current record is:

Week 1: 6 Week 2: 8 Week 3: 6 Week 4: 8 Week 5: 6 Week 6: 11 Week 7: 4 Week 8: 7 Week 9: 10 Week 10: 9 Week 11: 4 Week 12: 9 Week 13: 7 Week 14: 7

Also, need to honorably mention that you have exactly a 50/50 chance of making any money off my picks based on my past 14-week performance.  Is this good? Well, if this were straight win-or-loss picks then it simply be par for the course. However, since I’m playing against a Vegas points spread, I would say it’s more like shooting a birdie. Not a hole-in-one, not an eagle, but maybe a birdie (with a little wind to push the ball in).  The goal for me is to clock over 50% by the end of the season and fortunately, I have a few more weeks to hit this goal. With that, let us open the doors to this amazing candy factory and reveal Week 15’s NFL picks (AST).

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PICK

CHARGERS | RAIDERS -3

SATURDAY PICKS

 VIKINGS | BENGALS -3

 STEELERS | COLTS -1.5

BRONCOS +4 | LIONS

SUNDAE PICKS

 BEARS | BROWNS -3

FALCONS -3 | PANTHERS

 JETS +8.5 | DOLPHINS

 TEXANS | TITANS -3

 BUCCANEERS | PACKERS

GIANTS +6 | SAINTS

 49ERS | CARDINALS +12.5

 COMMANDERS | RAMS -6.5

COWBOYS +2 | BILLS

RAVENS -3 | JAGUARS

 CHIEFS | PATRIOTS +7.5

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PICK

 EAGLES -4 | SEAHAWKS

*All odds courtesy of Bet MGM on 12/14/2023 

Let me know in the comments your thoughts below, or where posted on the socials

| | @darthvaber99

It’s that extra good time of year, when Saturday goes from sleepy to intensely physical, if not violent, wetting our appetite for the intensity of super Sunday. We discuss it all on this week’s CDST “Taking a shine to Tommy Devito’s shine box?, NFL Week 15 Preview Show.” We’ll do some accident reconstruction from the day before, and look ahead to whether the Ex-Texans will teach Houston a lesson, whether the Jets get grounded in South Beach, whether catching the Chiefs on the rebound is still dangerous, and whether the thought of Sean Payton is making the Lions cowardly.
This and many other sub-plots, including Well-read’s concerted effort to bravely pull-away from the rest of the group’s gravitational pull, and ChabDog’s barely audible barking from the basement.

Chargers taken hostage in the Black Hole, and emerge
with a car that might just be in Stick shift. That being said the driver is about to be changed. Mr. Spanos this is becoming ridiculous. The coach has completely lost his team.

First let me preface this by saying I don’t have access to Phil Kissfan Dunn’s one of a kind ranking system, including the ass and superass categories. All I know is the Steelers ARE Iowa. Here goes —

THUR. DEC 14:
1. TNF- CHARGERS @ RAIDERS — Gotta go with the Chargers…. The guy from Purdue is the superass of all QBs.
(Pick due THUR by Noon)
SAT. DEC 16:
2. 1PM (ET)- VIKINGS @ BENGALS — You gotta be freaking kidding that the Vikes are favored. I’d be seriously mulling the soundness of any assumption that you can rely on Mullens.
3. 4:30PM- STEELERS @ COLTS — Computer models are saying Colts by about 3… so who am I to argue. COLTS.
4. 8:15PM- BRONCOS @ LIONS — I’ll go with the Lions, quite meekly into the night and without much conviction. Lions win by a whisker.
(These Picks due FRIDAY Dec 15 by 9 PM)
SUN. DEC 17:
5. 1PM- BUCCANEERS @ PACKERS– Packers will live to fight another day after being gutted like the deer in Goodfellas. I’ve been picking against the Buccs are year. Why stop now. Packers.
6. 1PM- FALCONS @ PANTHERS — So hate the prospect of picking the Falcons for anything, after they picked me apart last week in Atlanta. But the Panthers are super bowl champion ass when it comes to offense, which suits the Falcons just fine. Falcons.
7. 4:05PM- COMMANDERS @ RAMS — Finally one that I don’t have to think about… yeah right. RAMS.
8. 4:25PM- COWBOYS @ BILLS (c/o Douglas-TY)– Bills are favored by 2 here, which in mind isn’t justified. Going Cowboys on this one. COWBOYS.
9. SNF- RAVENS @ JAGUARS– Jackson will juke and zag around the Jags, who lose their third in a row overall, and second in a row at home. RAVENS
MON. DEC 18:
10. MNF- EAGLES @ SEAHAWKS
(SUN & MON Picks are due SAT Dec 16 by 9 PM) — Eagles need to save some face. And they will against the Hawks. EAGLES.

• Quite a tribute given to the pride of MD, former star tight end/tough guy Frank Wycheck, by his Tennessee Ti-tans…. who’d have thunk, with a 14 point lead and under four minutes left, the sputtering Dolphins were not just going to win, THEY WERE COVERING… then it all fell apart like a house of cards. When Henry rumbled in standing, the guys in baby blue had the lead, and even though the Fins had almost two minutes and two timeouts to work with, you could see the uncertainty in their eyes. Mike McDaniel didn’t show any emotion, but you could see he saw things slipping away and he couldn’t do anything but watch … the slow motion car crash was on.  The game ends, with Tua denied, and the reality of a pretty tough finishing schedule is now setting in.
• I just got the sensation, of A-ron Yorke’s prediction becoming immediately apparent. Tommy D. deontates
  his most explosive work to date right in the face of Coach Lafleur.
  What a game, what an expensive loss … but what a privilege to have 2 or 3 hours for the pure entertainment, drama and
  roller coaster of emotions I was provded with.

Hello everyone and welcome to another Chabdog Sports Blog of me making scrumdidilyumptious NFL picks based on very flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and a spidey sense that may or may not be turned on based on the amount and quality of tacos I ate today since my current record is:

Week 1: 6 Week 2: 8 Week 3: 6 Week 4: 8 Week 5: 6 Week 6: 11 Week 7: 4 Week 8: 7 Week 9: 10 Week 10: 9 Week 11: 4 Week 12: 9 Week 13: 7

Also, need to honorably mention that you have exactly a 50/50 chance of making any money off my picks based on my past performance.  Is this good? Well, if this were straight win-or-loss picks then it simply be par for the course. However, since I’m playing against a Vegas points spread, I would say it’s more like shooting a birdie. Not a hole-in-one, not an eagle, but maybe a birdie (with a little wind to push the ball in).  The goal for me is to clock over 50% by the end of the season and fortunately, I have a few more weeks to hit this goal. With that, let us open the doors to this amazing candy factory and reveal Week 14’s NFL picks (AST).

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PICK

Need you to know I handled losing this pick very well & why you should follow me on X @darthvaber99

SUNDAE PICKS

TEXANS -5.5 | JETS

RAMS +7 | RAVENS

 COLTS | BENGALS +1

JAGUARS +3 | BROWNS

LIONS -3.5 | BEARS

BUCS +2.5 | FALCONS

PANTHERS +5.5 | SAINTS

VIKINGS -3 | RAIDERS

 SEAHAWKS | 49ERS -10.5

 BILLS +2.5 | CHIEFS

BRONCOS +3 | CHARGERS

 EAGLES | COWBOYS -3

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PICK

 TITANS | DOLPHINS -13.5

PACKERS -6.5 | GIANTS

*All odds courtesy of Bet MGM on 12/06/2023 

Let me know in the comments your thoughts below, or where posted on the socials

| | @darthvaber99

Tune in this Sunday at 9 am sharp for the “Bay City Controllers: Week 14 NFL Preview Show. ” ChabDog explains why this year, the Lombardi Trophy will return at long last to San Francisco. This year, the game should be played on SSSSaturday Night.
Other points of interest include:
Can Kansas City continue its charmed life?
Can Allen redeem himself? Ever? Truly?
Can the Saints ever cover?
Can the Eagles get a little more time off?
Can Browning continue to sizzle?
Can Well-read finally make his move on Dorothy.
Can ChabDog make it back to .see level.
As for Karaoke: Don’t Ask Me No Questions… about that

Another excruciating humuliation for the Steelers, who only witsh they had been this close.  Tonight’s victims of Belichick’s handcuffs needed another 30 yards,… which seemed more like a mile. The defense did what it needed to do … not its best work, but clearly good enough.  The offense was often listless, never reliable and definitely sputtering.  The running game was running on empty, and the Steelers don’t thrive or survive well in that environment.  The Legend of Jesse James is alive and well in Acrisure.

For the record @BrandonChabner1 is betting against his beloved @steelers again for the second week in a row and I'm joining in Patriots +6 @AaronPYorke @DarthVaber99 @DorothyDawn @chabdogsports pic.twitter.com/VZRIsaUvzO

— Well Read Producer ChabDog.com (@NewportBest_) December 7, 2023

Drops more bombs than a B-52 pic.twitter.com/wvEfXAk7nN

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 7, 2023

FILE PHOTO – Members of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd backstage after performing in the 47th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on February 13, 2005. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

THU DEC 7:
1.TNF- PATRIOTS @ STEELERS – Ooh that smell. Can’t you smell that smell. That was some rank stank from both of this Thursday night’s offenses. Nonetheless, I’ve gotta believe Pittsburgh’s defense does have ability to impose its will on Mack “Home alone on an island” Jones. STEELERS .
(Pick due Thursday Noon)
SUN DEC 10:
2. 1PM (EST)- LIONS @ BEARS — Rumor has it the Lions are a less than five point favorite in this one. Seriously, did the Bears’ stock rise so much with the Dobbs debacle. You can certainly call the Lions the breeze when that speed gets going. LIONS ALL OVER THE BEARS.
3 1PM- COLTS @ BENGALS — Gotta admit this hurts getting burned by the stache with the panache… Gardner the QB. But I’ve gotta go with Cincy. They may’be found something last week with Jack Browning. Browning might not have rifle, but he’s quick, accurate and in terms of composure seemed to have something special,,, not Saturday Night Special… but the one for Sunday afternoon. BENGALS
4 4:05PM-VIKINGS @ RAIDERS — Raider Haiders will hate this one. RRRAIDERS WIN.
5 4:25PM- BILLS @ CHIEFS (Noelani’s Choice) -No .. something tells me the Bills are gonna give the Chiefs a few more than 3 steps of buffer. MAJOMES wins this game with his legs. CHIEFS.
6. SNF- EAGLES @ COWBOYS — Freebirds, they are not. Eagles still look somewhat spent, and Cowboys have been wating for this game for some time. HOW BOUT THEM WINNING COWBOYS!!!!
MON DEC 11 (There are 2):
7. MNF {ESPN}- TITANS @ DOLPHINS -Sweet home Miami. Another rather dull blowout for the FINS..
8. MNF {ABC}- PACKERS @ GIANTS — Packers just keep looking better and better. Even a downhome simple man can see the G-men don’t have a snowball in hell’s chance to win this.
BOTH @ 8:15PM EST
(Sun & Mon Due Saturday Dec 9 @ 9 PM EST)

• “Nails” McPherson nailed a few more, and Browning was sizzling.
  If not for a somewhat miracle catch and a gadget play that blew a major gasket, this game would not have been this close. Shows you what an experienced back-up QB can do in one week to improve his performance. This guy was accurate, confident, and uncommonly cool under pressure. Maybe the Bengals aren’t really done for this year.
• Losing Chiefs had their usual beefs with the officiating, but let’s face it, the Packers are up and coming and lately
  you guys have just looked flat. Kelce is not involved enough, there is no serious speed at receiver, and the Packers were running
  and throwing on you all day… in damaging spurts. Yes, you’re winning the AFC West and going to the playoffs, but what then?
• Niners had the times of their collective lives. trashing Philly’s Eagles without mercy and casting some doubt on last year’s conf. champion returning to the big game. Maybe this was just an example of a team in need of a bye (or did they already have that?). The team in green just looked a bit hungover and was getting out-physicalled all over the field. Hey Nick, what’s with all those missed tackles?
• Good overall work by Flacco in a rather remarkable return, but in the end, Aaron Donald had his happy meal, Stafford was
  in control and effective and the Rams offense was back in good working order. Rams can, and should make the playoffs, and
  might cause problems from there.
• Wasn’t it the Commodores who said “I’m easy like Sunday morning….” These Commydores are definitely “Easy on Sunday Afternoon….”
• Steelers knuckle under to the Cardinals at home for the first time since 1969, but the Patriots are coming to town in four days, and there’s not much time to lick your wounds.
• Not much took flight in this battle of air powers. Most of the damage happened on the ground, with Atlanta getting its Falcons on a couple of costly Jet fumbles.
• Saints go down in classic Saints fashion, with Carr going down after leading a frantic and often fantastic
  comeback. In the end, the cold truth was a Lion receiver running free and easy, through the NO secondary in the Big Easy.
•  Chargers taser the Patriots with nothing more than a couple ofdinky Dicker field goals; imagine what Mel Gibson would say.
• Colts thank Gardner the QB for being there, as well as Ryan T. for spinning the ball the wrong direction on that critical PAT.
• No CJ wasn’t in over his pay grade, and no Payton didn’t appear to have all the anwers in today’s showdown, particularly at the very end when Denver got so close to taking the lead. These two could meet in the playoffs.

Hello everyone and welcome to another blog of me making scrumdidilyumptious NFL picks based on very flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and a spidey-sense that may or may not be turned on based on the amount and quality of tacos I ate today since my current record is:

Week 1: 6 Week 2: 8 Week 3: 6 Week 4: 8 Week 5: 6 Week 6: 11 Week 7: 4 Week 8: 7 Week 9: 10 Week 10: 9 Week 11: 4 Week 12: 9

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PICK

SUNDAE PICKS

CHARGERS -5.5 | PATRIOTS

FALCONS -2.5 | JETS

 CARDINALS | STEELERS -5.5

 COLTS -1 | TITANS

DOLPHINS -9.5 | COMMANDERS

LIONS -4 | SAINTS

 PANTHERS | BUCS -5.5

BRONCOS +3.5 | TEXANS

 49ERS | EAGLES +3

BROWNS | RAMS -3.5

CHIEFS | PACKERS +6

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PICK

BENGALS | JAGUARS -8.5

*All odds courtesy of Bet MGM on 11/29/2023 

Let me know in the comments your thoughts below, or where posted on the socials

| | @darthvaber99

ChabDog’s Pre-visioned history of pigskni, Week 13 —
– The Chargers and the Rams win on the same day. You thought a lot of statues fell during the Summer of Love,
but nothing will fall harder and faster than Joe Flack Jacket Flacco when Aaron Donald decides he wants a Happy Meal.
And the Chargers will take out last week’s psychological beating by pulverizing the pathetic P-men.
— The Lions in the Big Easy is definitely the psycho game of the day. God knows there are almost no limits to what the
Saints could do, at home against an opposing QB who lately has had that deer in headlights look. But I always over-estimate
the Saints,and refuse to go to the island for them in this situation. The Lions figure out how to cut the Saints’ defense down
to size and that is end of story.
— Falcons finally find a team they can handle on the road
— Steelers will win, but by 5.5. Are you kidding? They will win by 5.
— Titans can man up at home, like they often do, and will force feed
a loss to the somewhat laissez-faire Colts
— Wonder what the Commies did with their 2 weeks off. Not enough to stay within 9 of the Dolphins, who
are pissed off they could not be at home.
— Texans/Broncos will be the best game of the day, bar none. In the end, CJ vs. Russell goes like
Mondale vs. Reagan.
— Buccs finally put a good game together, putting them at or near the top of their insignificant division.
— Niners are just playing better than the Eagles. Enough is enough, the Eagles look relieved as they
leave the field with a 10 point loss.
— The Packers didn’t lack for much last week, and lately Love has looked strangely comfortable in the pocket.
Like he expects something good to happen. The Chiefs pulled away from the Raiders last week (if you
want to call it that), but they still don’t look right, or dominant in any sense of the word. Chiefs will probably escape
with a win, but it’s not very impressive.
— OMG, why wasn’t an;ything with the Bungles flexed out on MNF? Speaking of flex, Trevor is tremendous.

…with another disappointing loss by the potent Cowboys, including
the thundering thighs of TE Jake (almost Jay) Ferguson.

the Chargers… 24% chance of rain in New England when the Chargers come to town. So LAC may go from being terrorized at home by the Ravens (like Tippi Hendren in the Birds) to rolling around in the mud and muck with the Patriots. I would take the latter.

I PRE-VISIONED IT!!!

1. TNF- SEAHAWKS @ COWBOYS –Cowboys will win by over a touchdown. Might be the easiest game of the day. COWBOYS BY 8
(Thu Pick due Thu by Noon)
SUN DEC 3:
2. 10AM- BRONCOS @ TEXANS –The Texans still don’t have a real kicker, and the kicker is that the Broncos are just playing better. Going with the team with the better kicker. Going Broncos by 2.
3. 10AM- COLTS @ TITANS — 2 in a row for the suddenly competent Titans? Colts don’t typically do much away from wherever they cal home, but in this situation, they should win by 1. COLTS BY 1.
4. 10AM- CARDINALS @ STEELERS — Steelers roar back against a tougher than expected bunch of Cardinals, and win by 5. STEELERS BY A HANDFUL.
5. 1:25PM- 49ERS @ EAGLES — Really interesting game. The Niners are playing better right now, and will beat up the Eagles by 4. NINERS BY 4.
6. 1:25PM- BROWNS @ RAMS — Ramming speed is all the rage, and Stafford and Co. should expunge the Brown stains by 3.5… or more. RAMS WIN BY 8.
7. SNF- CHIEFS @ PACKERS
MON DEC 4: This will probably be closer than most people think. The Chiefs just don’t scare me that much anymore. CHIEFS BY 4.
8. MNF- BENGALS @ JAGUARS — This is capcake game of the No. 2. The Bengals have dentures, not teeth, with no Burrow. JAGS WILL WIN BY 11.