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3. BIG TEN


NCAA Tournament bid percentage: 64.3% (9-of-14) (second)
NCAA Tournament record: 8-9 (sixth)
Top 75 NBA Draft prospects: 8 (fifth)
Average NET ranking: 46.4 (first)
Average NET ranking excluding bottom two teams: 35.4 (second)

Looking at that average NET ranking and the sheer number of teams the Big Ten put in the NCAA Tournament explains quite a bit about why the Big Ten has been KenPom’s top league in each of the last two seasons. And the conference headed into the NCAA Tournament in a strong position to make serious noise with two No. 1 seeds and two No. 2 seeds. Instead, only one of those four teams made it out of the opening weekend. Ohio State, a No. 2 seed, fell victim to Oral Roberts’ Cinderella run, with the Golden Eagles topping the Buckeyes in overtime in the first round. The other three top seeds from the Big Ten all reached the second round, though Iowa (Oregon) and Illinois (Loyola Chicago) were both upset and sent home early by double digits. Wisconsin and Maryland, which showed up well in first-round victories, were sent home by double digits in the second round as well. Rutgers acquitted itself better, but lost to a heroic Houston comeback as the Cougars charged on to the Final Four. And a promising Purdue team and a First Four Michigan State team each lost their first contests.

That means, for all the conference’s regular season success, Michigan was the only team to reach the Sweet 16. And the Wolverines nearly gave the conference a winning tournament record but had a miserable offensive showing in a 51-49 loss to UCLA in the Elite Eight. No one can discount the regular season that the league had, and there were some circumstances that didn’t help the tournament showing (Michigan being without Isaiah Livers, Ohio State without Kyle Young, etc.). Even so, for the conference to produce four of the tournament’s top eight seeds and still wind up with a losing record was a shock — Cobb called it “a dismal showing” — and likely pushed the league down a spot or two here on this list.

Just sayin': Yeah, the B1G "laid an egg" in the NCAA tournament.

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Since opening his own consulting business last year, former Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany has now joined with DDSports Inc. Delaney was recently hired on as a special adviser on strategy and partnership for the company’s ShotTracker tool.

“Jim Delany has always been a big thinker who gets things done, and that thought process will be welcomed and crucial for us as we expand and grow,” ShotTracker co-founder and president Davyeon Ross said in a statement. “He has always been a fervent supporter of our work, and it is a pleasure to have him officially part of our team now.”

ShotTracker utilizes ball, court, and player sensors to deliver live statistics and analytics to teams and broadcast networks instantly. It currently partners with 63 men’s and women’s basketball programs across 12 conferences.

“Sub-second latency, seamless broadcast integration, and greater content options for millions of fans are going to be essential for any technology that wants to engage as a business these days, and ShotTracker has all of that and more,” Delany said in a statement. “This is a platform that has been built for where college sports is heading in the coming years, both from a team analytics side and from a commercial side, and I am excited to be able to help participate in the expansion of the business.”

Just sayin': If he wanted to keep working he should have stayed on as B1G Commissioner and then we wouldn't be stuck with Kevin Warren.

AKAK said:

We're at Willie Nelson in the Electric horseman now, right?

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It’s worth it, but a year later you’ve got a rusty trailer hitch.

Alex Rodriguez group to purchase Minnesota Timberwolves for $1.5 billion, sources say

Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has reached a verbal agreement on a $1.5 billion sale of the team to former baseball star Alex Rodriguez and e-commerce mogul Marc Lore, sources told ESPN, confirming multiple reports.

NBA approval of the deal was still pending, and neither side has publicly announced an agreement.

The two sides had entered an exclusive 30-day negotiating window April 10 that expired without an agreement, though the sides continued to negotiate in good faith, sources previously told ESPN's Brian Windhorst. Taylor previously said a deal was contingent on Lore and Rodriguez keeping the team in Minnesota. The team has a lease at the Target Center through 2035, but the buyout is just $50 million.

Lore and Rodriguez are 50-50 partners. They tried to buy the New York Mets last year but were beaten out for the Major League Baseball club by hedge fund manager Steve Cohen.

Any sale of an NBA club must be approved by the league's board of governors, which could come later Thursday. The Timberwolves would become the second NBA franchise sold this season. Gail Miller and her family struck an agreement in October to sell the Utah Jazz to Ryan Smith, a deal that was finalized after board of governors' approval in December.

Taylor, 80, a lifelong Minnesotan who bought the Timberwolves in 1994 for $88 million to save them from moving to New Orleans, has said he will continue to run the club for two more seasons until a handover in 2023. The Minnesota Lynx WNBA team is included in the sale.

"They've asked that I would be there for any decisions that would need to be made. I would enjoy that. I love teaching people," Taylor said an interview last month. "These are a couple of very bright guys, and I think it could be helpful to the club and I think I could be helpful to them so that they feel confident once they take over 100%."

Lore and Rodriguez met with Timberwolves personnel and toured team facilities in Minneapolis last month.

Entire article: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...minnesota-timberwolves-15-billion-per-reports

Just sayin': The escalating values of sports franchises in the US are unreal....

Ho.

Hum.

LordJeffBuck said:

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ScriptOhio said:

His younger brother Jake* is at Colorado; even though Jake is no longer on the football team, it still wouldn't surprise me to see him land there. Jake will undoubtedly be staying at Colorado since he'll still be on a full scholarship, etc.; now it just won't count against the Colorado football team's 85.

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Just sayin': I called that one a month ago.....

Committed to FSU

I am not sure if this is posted elsewhere yet, if it is, admin please delete. If it is not, then move it to where it should go. BUT IT IS A MUST WATCH!!!

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Me

NorthCoastKid said:

Traded Mike Freeman to the Reds for cash considerations today.

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I'm guessing it wasn't a lot of cash

DaddyBigBucks said:

I don't hate this, or any of the other proposals for that matter. But there was an Ohio State team that would not have been in the playoff in an 8-team field by those criteria, that WAS in the 4-team field. The committee considered PSU's win over Ohio State that year a fluke. And you know what? They were 100% right.

In spite of that though, it wouldn't kill me to see this come to pass. It also wouldn't kill me to see the status quo remain. The simple truth is, I haven't seen a single year where a single team was left out of the playoff that had a REASONABLE argument for being the best team in the country. Call me crazy, but I prefer a world where a team that is the best in the country is the one that wins the NC. Some might like a world where a wildcard team gets hot at the right time and wins the SuperBowl. That's just not my preference.

Another thing that I don't like about the "MUST have played in their CCG" criterion: that prevents the Buckeyes from crushing the cowards in the playoffs. What's the good of expanding the playoff if we can't pants the wolverines in it?

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I'm for whatever forces Notre Lame to JOIN A CONFERENCE

cincibuck said:

I don't know. The changes are coming awfully quick on the academic side of the house - increasing pressure on HS to create AP courses, more pressure on schools to allow HS students to take core curriculum classes in lieu of HS senior English and math. All of this with the idea to get students through college quicker. The college core curriculum itself has been reduced in favor of tech Vo Ed. From my perspective.

So what's this got to do with college football? How do you feel about the tuition your kid pays if you know that some of your tax dollars are being spent to provide a football program at Kent, Ohio U., Miami, Cincinnati, and Bowling Green?

Right now, Ohio State gets away with it because they make enough money to keep it all self-contained. I'm suggesting that as the cost of college increases, parents are going to be dipping deeper into their home equity, retirement savings, and other discretionary funds to give their kid the benefit. They are going to become increasingly more interested in examining where their tax dollars go - bread and circuses will be one of the items to be chucked.

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While your last sentence is probably true (that they'll chuck football before looking at other issues), the cost of football is a tiny spit into the incomprehensible ocean of tuition inflation. The price of higher education keeps going up, and they are going to price themselves right out of existence. There is already a lot of talk in America about reexamining our credentialing system from the ground up. People are learning how to code, for example, from private firms that are not even affiliated with universities, and some are translating that into 6 figure jobs right out of high school.

We already live in a world where no one asks to see your diploma except for your very first job out of college (true for me any every engineer I know anyway). And many of the best engineers I've known were guys who had zero formal education after high school. We already live in a world where my 2 most important credentials come from entirely outside of academia, and the same is true for my brother the OT. Some day soon the world will wake up and realize that academia has it's place, but that place no longer has (will have) anything to do with credentialing the vast majority of occupations... including most of what we call professions.

What college football looks like in that world remains to be seen. What's certain is that its administration will be very different than what currently exists.

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But. But. The Honey Chicken!!!!

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Zaid looked good in very limited action for Ohio State. He could be a force at the FCS level.

billmac91 said:

Not sure if this is right thread, but with OSU down to 82 scholarship players out of 85, I wonder if we see any transfer portal activity? I don’t have any current insight, although I’d think Kicker and DB’s would be top priorities.

Not sure what’s available at kicker, but Miami landed a stud in Jose Borregales last year in transfer portal....he made a huge difference for them.

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Just sayin': Then again, it's always nice to have a couple scholarships available to give as a "thank you/reward" to deserving senior walk-ons in appreciation for their 4 years of contributions to the team.

At this point, the only positive for him is he may get a free degree. And hopefully that can turn him into a responsible adult. Any chance at professional football career is out the window besides Arena or semi pro football

ScriptOhio said:

"Tell your wife that she looks pretty even if she looks like a truck." Ricky, age 10

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Ricky is a very smart young man.

Rooting for this guy!

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Yippers, I watched them (Dancing Bear, Bunny Rabbit, Captain Kangaroo, Grandfather Clock, Mr. Moose, and Mr. Greenjeans):



Note: The Super 70s Sports' photo of Captain Kangaroo is obviously from a "guest appearance" on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.

thanks. cooper shouldve left starters in like hayden frye did

I was cruising around YouTube looking at old games while recovering from COVUD shot and came across a couple of good copies of Terry Glenn in 1995.

If any of you are too young to remember this or if you are old enough and time has faded the memories like it did to me, invest the time. It's worth it.

Hard to describe how dominant he was.

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