Wildcats and Hoosiers mix it up in Big Ten action
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/15/2012 - Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big Ten Conference rivals square off in Bloomington this evening, as the Northwestern Wildcats have come calling on the 18th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers.
Northwestern comes in sporting a 15-9 overall record, which includes a 5-7 mark in conference play. The Wildcats recently had a modest three-game win streak stopped in an 87-77 loss at Purdue, which dropped the team's record in true road games this year to 2-6. Following this clash, NU will play three of its final five regular-season games at home, where it is 10-3 on the year.
Indiana is an impressive 19-6 to this point in the campaign, and the team has won seven of its 13 Big Ten bouts. The Hoosiers claimed an 84-71 triumph over Illinois at home last Thursday in their most recent outing, giving them two straight wins and victories in three of their last four games overall. IU is a near-perfect 14-1 at home this season, its only loss in Bloomington coming against Minnesota back on January 12.
Indiana owns a commanding 109-46 lead in the all-time series with Northwestern, but the Wildcats have won six of the last seven meetings, including two of the last three in Bloomington.
John Shurna scored 30 points in leading four Wildcats in double figures, but still the visitors to Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana found themselves on the short end of an 87-77 final against the hometown Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday. Reggie Hearn finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, Drew Crawford tallied 14 points and Dave Sobolewski chipped in a dozen for Northwestern, which shot 49.1 percent from the field, making 10 three-pointers along the way. Unfortunately for the 'Cats, the Boilermakers nailed 11 treys, claimed a 24-11 edge in points from the foul line, and committed a mere five turnovers. Shurna has certainly proven himself to be one of the better players in the Big Ten, as he averages 19.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game to lead his team in both categories. Additionally, he paces the club in three-point baskets (65), blocked shots (37) and steals (28). Crawford is also having a stellar campaign, netting 16.8 ppg on the strength of his 41.0 percent effort from downtown, the team as a whole hitting its three-pointers 38.6 percent of the time.
Cody Zeller went 5-of-8 from the field and 12-of-14 at the free-throw line to finish with 22 points, as he led Indiana to its 13-point win over Illinois last week. In addition to Zeller's effort, Christian Watford and Victor Oladipo scored 18 points apiece, and Jordan Hulls tallied 15 points and seven assists for the Hoosiers, who drained half of their 42 field goal attempts, hitting 7-of-12 three-point tries for good measure. A huge 35-12 advantage in points from the foul line was clearly the difference, as IU attempted 42 free throws and the Illini just 15. Zeller (15.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg) leads the team in both scoring and rebounding this season, while Watford (12.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg), Hulls (12.2 ppg, 3.4 apg) and Oladipo (10.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg) have been consistent contributors as well. As a collective unit, Indiana is putting up 78.7 ppg in dropping 49.6 percent of its total shots and 43.6 percent of its long-range bombs, while at the defensive end giving up 65.9 ppg with its foes shooting 42.2 percent from the floor overall and 32.7 percent from beyond the arc.
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W
Teams that should be in: Stanford
Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds | |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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