- Michigan State 9-0 The Spartan's conference record screams this is an elite team, but is it? They currently have the 18th ranked conference strength of schedule. They play Minnesota for the 2nd time tonight and then USC on Saturday. Which means in their first 10 conference games, they'll have played one team, Illinois, with a winning conference record. The next 3 weeks will tell us more about this squad than the first 12 have.
- Purdue 8-2 The Boilermakers are an interesting bunch. As we witnessed, when they're at home and they're motivated, I'm not sure any team in the country can beat them, but this squad isn't consistent. Their All American Point guard disappears far too often and they lack a prototypical Painter big, but they're well coached. I think this is Painter's best coaching job to date even with the 5 losses. Look for them to end Woodson's tenure tonight in Mackey. Purdue by 100+
- Michigan 7-2 The Wolverines are clearly in a lull right now. Does grinding out that home win against PSU with your best player under the weather snap them out of it? We'll find out tomorrow vs Rutgers. Wolf cannot be your secondary ball handler going forward in conference. Who does Dusty turn to? This will be the deciding factor if this season is special, or we limp into the tournament and exit early.
- Maryland 7-4. The terps are my surprise team to date. Derik Queen is a problem The 6ft 10in freshman is averaging 15ppg and 8.3reb. He's dropped 25 at Illinois and 26 at Purdue. The Terps are on a 4 game win streak and are currently enjoying a 6 day rest before taking on OSU. For you gambling folks out there, Maryland to win the conference may be worth some of your hard earned cash. They have the weakest schedule remainig. They get MSU at home and then at Michigan March 5th. Nobody left on their schedule has a winning conference record. They're in the driver seat from my vantage point.
- Wisconsin 6-4 You may not recognize this Wisconsin team based on their style of play this season. This is the fastest paced Wisconsin team in your lifetimes. What may look familiar is the lack of athleticism in their front court which has been their achilles heel this season. They have a gauntlet of a schedule in February. Good luck Badgers
- UCLA 6-4. The first thought you should have when reading that record is The Undertaker rising from the dead. They are currently on a 5 game winning streak with wins over #18 Wisconsin and #16 Oregon. It looks like Cronin had a point, 20 hours of flights to play 4 games was simply too much for college kids to handle. It's no surprise this 5 game winning streak all happened on the west coast.
- Illinois 6-4 The Illini have lost 4 of their last 6. Two of those losses are bad losses. Home vs USC and at Nebraska in OT last night. Illinois reminds me of Michigan right now. They are clearly in a lull. The only difference, they are losing the ugly games they are supposed to win. I'd rather be us than them right now. I'm not sure who agreed to play Duke at Madison Square Garden February 22nd but that is criminal. Illinois's last 7 games of the regular season are: UCLA, MSU, at Wisconsin, Duke at MSG, Iowa, At Michigan, Purdue. That is dreadful. R.I.P. to the soles on Coach Underwood's shoes.
Honorable mention for being relevant: Oregon. They have lost 3 of their last 4 but have a very manageable schedule in February. I predict they stay in the top 8 and are comfortably a tournament team when it's said and done.
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