Thad Motta – Rush The Court

Big Ten Morning Five: 03.23.12 Edition

Ryan Terpstra — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:00:26 +0000

Bad news for Big Ten fans last night, as Michigan State fell to Louisville, 57-44. Not only were the Spartans the best chance for the conference to claim a national championship, they also became the first #1 seed to fall. Michigan State looked sloppy and out of sync all game long, thanks to the swarming pressure defense of the Cardinals, and also the shot-blocking presence of Gorgui Dieng, who swatted 7 shots. Many other stats were disappointing for Spartan fans to look at, including the final score, 44, which is the lowest total point output by a 1-seed in the [...]

Five Bold Big Ten Predictions For the NCAA Tournament

Ryan Terpstra — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:22:39 +0000

It’s my favorite sports time of year! The NCAA Tournament is here!!! While we all feverishly try and figure out with first round upset to pick, I have some thoughts on how the Big Ten will perform. Will the best conference in the country find success in the Big Dance? Here are Five Bold Predictions…

Will Draymond Green have a chance to cut down the nets in another Final Four? (photo: Reuters)

#1 – Hello, Big Ten. Allow me to embrace you: The Big Ten was the best conference in college basketball this year, and while the league only got [...]

Big Ten Writer Roundtable: A look at the Big Ten Tourney

Ryan Terpstra — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:17:32 +0000

Big Ten contributors Joey Nowak (@joeynowak), Ryan Terpstra (@terphimself), and Deepak Jayanti (@10thyearseniors) put their heads together and discussed some key questions heading into the Big Ten Tournament. Here are their thoughts:

1.) What school playing on Thursday has the best shot to win the Big Ten Tournament?

Joey: I really think any team besides Nebraska and Penn State (though if Tim Frazier heats up, Penn State could have a repeat of last year) has a chance to do damage. Minnesota and Illinois both have talent and nothing to lose. Purdue is playing better, with the experienced Robbie Hummel at [...]

Big Ten Morning Five: 03.01.12 Edition

Ryan Terpstra — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:01:33 +0000

This season for Northwestern, heartbreak seems as associated with the team as purple and white. The school has suffered four losses by two points or less after falling to Ohio State 75-73 last night. It was a win the Wildcats desperately needed, and down 13 points in the second half, it looked like one they would not get. But a furious rally, capped by a Alex Marcotullio three-pointer with 7.7 seconds remaining, gave the fans at Welsh-Ryan Arena hope. But then, Jared Sullinger banked in a shot on the other end with 3.3 seconds left, and once again, Northwestern came [...]

Big Ten Morning Five: 02.16.12 Edition

Ryan Terpstra — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:00:02 +0000

Not only was Indiana‘s 71-66 win over Northwestern a good one for the Hoosiers in terms of the Big Ten race and their NCAA profile, it was an important milestone for Tom Crean. After the first couple years of Crean’s tenure at Indiana, he had a few 20-loss seasons on his resume, that that obviously was not good enough for the Indiana faithful. But Crean’s squad has turned the corner, and now boasts a 20-win season after their victory over the Wildcats. Not only should Hoosier fans be happy about the culture being changed back to a winning one, Indian [...]