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With the divisions announced tonight, obviously that idea was as enticing to Michigan fans as it was dreadful for Penn State fans:

Katz began back tracking shortly after his original article was published and understandably so. The number one issue that was emphasized throughout the Big Ten Network’s (far too long) prime time special was “competitive balance.” This divisional breakdown is anything but balanced – placing 5 traditional powerhouses in a 6 team division.

It would be a nice break for teams on Michigan’s half of the split but it’s just not fair. In the last 25 years — MSU has 7 shares of the regular season conference crown, Michigan has 2, and Minnesota just one (forfeited). The rest have all gone to Division X.

According to Jim Delany, it appears basketball will be spared from divisional misalignment:

“In basketball, they will start their own course,” Delany said. “The sport is structured completely differently.”

So how should the conference construct the schedule on the basketball side of things? I’m all for keeping things simple – stick with an 18 game schedule with 7 double plays and 4 single plays.

A 16 game divisional structure would be going in the wrong direction (fewer games and more imbalance) and a 20 game round robin is more balanced but would put the Big Ten at a disadvantage compared to other conferences.

Commissioner Delaney made it clear that the Big Ten along with  their athletic directors and basketball coaches would put together a plan that made sense specifically for basketball. Judging by their track record thus far, I’m confident that they will settle for the 18 game “round robin” sans divisions. It’s not perfect but it’s the best option.

It might sound disappointing for Michigan fans, who thought they would be blessed with the significantly weaker division, but looking at the situation rationally there’s really no other option.

Basketball has clearly been one of the last things driving conference expansion talk over the last couple months. Exhibit one: The Kansas Jayhawks – an all-time top 5 program that has barely been mentioned in conference expansion debates.

While basketball wasn’t driving the conversation, the outcomes will definitely have an effect on the hardwood. Most importantly for Big Ten fans, Nebraska has officially joined the conference and will begin to play Big Ten competition in 2011. So the question is, what kind of basketball program do the Cornhuskers have? The short answer is that they fit the mold of a stereotypical lower tier Big Ten team.

Nebraska is one of only three BCS teams that have never won an NCAA tournament game. The last time they won a conference title was 1950 (share of the Big 8 ) and they have only six NCAA appearances, the most recent in 1998.

Nebraska head coach Doc Saddler arrived in Lincoln in 2006 and has accumulated a 70-57 record in four seasons including two NIT berths. His most recent campaign was probably his worst as Nebraska went 15-18 and a meager 2-14 in Big 12 play. His best season was a 20-12 (7-9) campaign that saw Nebraska make the NIT 2nd round. Nebraska finished 7th in the conference that year, their highest finish under Saddler.

To try to get a sense of what Nebraska is all about under Doc Saddler I put together four year averages of the Cornhuskers’ KenPom statistics.

The numbers aren’t too glamorous, especially if you were looking for a new style of play in the conference. Nebraska has been one of the slowest teams in the country; playing mediocre to bad offense with generally solid defense. None of their offensive statistics rank in the top 75 and they are terrible on the offensive glass. Their defense appears to be much better than the offense and revolves around forcing turnovers. Over the last four years they have forced more turnovers on average than any Big Ten school forced last year. The Big Ten is the home of great defenses though and there were 6 Big Ten defenses that gave up fewer points per possessions last season than Nebraska’s 4-year average.

It’s pretty clear that Nebraska fits the Big Ten stereotype. They have a storied football program with an underwhelming basketball program that struggles to score points, slows the game down, and plays solid defense. Not really what Big Ten hoops junkies had in mind when we saw schools like Syracuse, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Kansas, and UConn thrown around in the last month as potential Big Ten candidates.

That’s not to say Nebraska doesn’t have any commitment to their hoops program. The Cornhuskers are in the process of building a new arena;  the $344 million, 16,000 seat Lincoln Haymarket Arena will open in 2013. And because one facility isn’t enough, they are also building the Hendricks Training Complex, a practice facility built alongside their current arena which will open in 2011-12.

Nebraska won’t be a game changer in the Big Ten, that much is clear. They haven’t been able to compete against the top tier of the Big 12 but despite their reputation they weren’t terrible. A quick look over Rivals rankings shows that recruiting under Saddler has been generally underwhelming which doesn’t bode well for the future. However, I suppose it is within the realm of possibility that Nebraska could parlay their new facilities and new conference into a little bit of hoops momentum. Who knows, they might even be breaking in a new coach in their first Big Ten tour of duty as well.

Michigan heads to Madison on Wednesday to take on the pesky Badgers. Phil from Hoops Marinara, our favorite Wisconsin blog, was nice enough to answer a couple questions about Wisconsin thus far. I also answered some questions about Michigan, which you can read here.

What has Wisconsin done to cope with losing Jon Leuer to injury? Also, what’s the latest on Leuer’s injury status, when is he expected to return?

In the absence of Leuer, Wisconsin has committed to small ball. Bo Ryan is starting sophomore Jordan Taylor in a three-guard approach right now. The Badgers used this look a lot before, but now Taylor is being asked to take on about 10 of Leuer’s 28 mpg right off the top. Bo has also indicated his rotation will be more situational without Leuer, depending on the quickness and size of the opponent. Leuer will be replaced by committee.

Some are predicting Leuer could return in 4-6 weeks from last Tuesday’s surgery, but I really doubt you will see him back during the Big Ten regular season. The bone he broke in the left wrist is a tricky one medically (it’s complicated), so I think they will play it safe. But most people are expecting that he will be able to play in the Big Ten tournament.

Continue reading ‘Chatting with the Enemy: Hoops Marinara’

Before the season I predicted a Freshman All-Big Ten team which included Royce White, DJ Richardson, Christian Watford, Drew Crawford, and Maurice Creek. Since then, White has been arrested twice once and Maurice Creek suffered a season ending knee injury. Watford, Richardson and Crawford have all put together very solid freshmen campaigns thus far.

In an effort to look at freshmen across the conference, I pulled the data from Ken Pomeroy’s statistics to find all of the freshmen who have played over 35% of the minutes at their position. 16 players fit the bill and here are their basic tempo free stats sorted by usage% (number of possessions that a player users). Click any header to sort by that column. For explanations of the stats, read the player section here.

There’s plenty to note here, so let’s try to break down this list into some groups.
Continue reading ‘Revisiting the Freshman Class’

Big Ten Media Day is underway in Chicago. John Beilein, Manny Harris, and DeShawn Sims are there representing Michigan. The AP Preseason Top 25 and Naismith Preseason Top 50 lists are also due out sometime today.

Friday – Andy Katz looks at Beilein’s preparation and his passion for breaking down film.

Friday – The Daily profiles DeShawn Sims and his newfound maturity.

9:45 PM – Big Ten Media Day Coached Transcripts (PDF)

3:17 PM – In his breakdown of the top 25, Mike DeCourcy lists Michigan as his overrated team.

2:51 PM – DeShawn Sims speaks about expectations and the NBA. Video from Mike Rothstein of AnnArbor.com:

12:44 PM – The AP Poll was just released, similar to the Coaches’ poll, Michigan comes in at 15th. Other Big Ten teams include Michigan St (2), Purdue (7), Ohio State (16), Illinois (23), and Minnesota (25).

12:39 PM – Manny Harris stopped for a quick interview with the Big Ten Network:

10:05 AM – Some highlights from Beilein’s presser at Media Day. (Summary of tweets from @bigtenconf, @michdailysports, @dailydosesports, @freepwolverines, and @jonjkerr)

• This is one of the toughest schedules Michigan has played in sometime. Possibly one of the toughest in Beilein’s career.
• Beilein on rebuilding: “You have to build those relationships and then you have that trust.”
• Zack Novak is a leader on this team despite being a sophomore. Novak is a good glue guy, is in great shape, and is at the business school.
• Beilein wrote the team a letter this offseason telling them that they are still hunters, they haven’t achieved anything yet. When Michigan in the NCAAs is expected, then they will have the program turned around.
• Beilein says that the NBA can be a great motivator, tells Harris and Sims to practice everyday as if there are NBA scouts watching.
  

I’ll be retweeting updates throughout the day on my twitter page (@umhoops), you can also follow the hashtag #bbmd for more updates.

• 10:01 AM — Manny Harris was named to the Preseason Top 50 Naismith Watch List. JaJuan Johnson definitely got snubbed and I think DeShawn Sims deserves to be on the list as well.
• 8:34 AM — The USA Today Preseason Top 25 has been released, Michigan comes in at #15. Other ranked Big Ten schools include MSU 2, Purdue 7, OSU 17, and Minnesota 18.
• 8:34 AM — The Preseason All Big Ten team includes Kalin Lucas (POTY), Manny Harris, Evan Turner, Talor Battle, and Robbie Hummel.
• 8:34 AM — The media chose a top 3 in conference of Michigan St, Purdue, and Ohio State.

Here is John Beilein’s pre-Media Day interview with the Big Ten Network: