B1G Pre-Holiday Scorecard

[throwback]

I try to follow other B1G teams during the non-conf season, but I know I don't follow them as closely as others on here, so would appreciate some thoughts. For me:

 

• Best team - Wisconsin (easily over OSU) - no brainer, although Wisky did lose its biggest game on the schedule at home against Duke
• Biggest surprise - Indiana (slightly over Maryland & PSU) - Yes, Indy has a loss to E Wash, but they've beaten Butler, Pitt & SMU relatively easily & also beat Tx Southern by 19 - Indy has been much better than I expected - Maryland is very, very close to the biggest surprise with that win over Iowa St but doesn't quite have the depth of wins of the Hoosiers for my money - PSU also has been better than expected but doesn't have the quality of wins of the other two
• Worst team - Rutgers - another no brainer
• Biggest disappointment - Michigan (over MSU) - what the hell is going on in Ann Arbor?
• Biggest Jekyll and Hyde - Iowa - how do you win at North Carolina and lose by 18 against N Iowa? Yeah, UNI is pretty good, but Iowa's offense is all over the map right now
• About where expected - Minn, Illinois, NW & Purdue - Minn has played well but schedule strength is a question mark - I thought Illinois would be a dark horse to challenge for league title, but after a good start, they've struggled a bit lately - NW & Pur look like bottom division teams, as expected
• Jury still out - Nebraska - Disappointing losses to IW and that blue team, but no one else in the league has a chance to prove something before league play starts like NU does out in Hawaii

Overall, it feels to me like the B1G has struggled more than expected thus far. Some absolutely hideous losses, and not enough big wins to offset them. Still a very good league, but not quite as elite as I was anticipating.

[Red Don]

Maybe it's just me, but it seems the B1G does not look quite as formidable this year as it did last year.

Don't get me wrong, it is still a Tough Conference, by any standard; but my point is that as we get into the crux of the schedule, it may not be quite the disaster for Nebraska that some pundits have been predicting.

[jimmykc]

Hard to figure college hoops any more. Big 10 looked good against ACC but will beat up on each other during the season and it will be hard for anyone except Wiskey and Maryland to be certain of finishing above .500 if each game is not taken seriously. At this point nothing is certain other than Kentucky being #1 unless someone pulls a "miracle upset" come tourney time.

[hhcmatt]

If you can figure out how 2-14 in the B1G is going to play out, you're a warlock

[AuroranHusker]

I'd say that Mich St has been equally as much of a disappointment as Mich. Just two yrs ago, Mich was 6-4 in non-conf & finished 28-9 as national runners-up. Ya never know who will improve 'more' over the course of the last 3 months of the season, Mich St or Mich?  If I had to guess, I'd say Mich will improve more than Mich St...