Daily Archives: February 15, 2011

>Wisconsin vs. Purdue

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>Wisconsin at Purdue (Purdue is a 4.5 pt favorite)

Wisconsin is coming off of the win of the year, after derailing Ohio State’s route to an undefeated season.  Their 32-10 run was one of the more impressive runs you’ll see all year.  Now they’re stuck with a tough road game and it will be interesting to see if they regain focus or the high from the upset is still there.

With the win over the weekend, the Badgers have now won eight of their last 10 games, including a seven-point home win over the Boilermakers 15 days ago.  Two players, Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor, are still the only players averaging double figures in scoring, with Leuer at 19 and Taylor at 18.  Taylor has been playing like one of the, if not the, top guards in the nation lately, scoring 30 and 27 points in two of the last three games, respectively.

Purdue’s next two games will most likely determine how they finish in the Big Ten, as they host Wisconsin and Ohio State this week.  They have yet to lose at home this season and will be looking for that home court advantage to fuel them to two upsets.  As has been the case all season, JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore lead the team, with pint-sized point guard Lewis Jackson coming on strong as of late.  Prediction: Purdue 79-78

>Michigan at Illinois

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>Michigan at Illinois (Illinois 9.5 favorite)

This game is huge for these two bubble teams, as they both come in needing to win to help improve their stock for the NCAA Tournament.  Michigan comes in on a hot streak, having won five of their last six games, while the Illini have lost six of their last nine, including Sunday’s game against Purdue, a game they led at halftime by 15.

Unlike other teams fighting for a tournament bid, three of the Wolverines top four players are either freshmen or sophomores.  Guard Darius Morris leads the team in both points and assists with 15.4 and seven.  Tim Hardaway Jr., sun of legend Tim Hardaway, is having quite the debut season, putting up 13 ppg and pulling down four boards. Zack Novak is scoring 9.3 points and a game and leads the team with six boards a game, while Jordan Morgan is getting nine and four.

Illinois needs to straighten up the ship now, because their time is running out.  The main key is getting Demetri McCamey interested in playing basketball again.  He seems to disappear in games and that’s not what a team is looking for from its senior.  Some good things for the Illini is that Brandon Paul, Jereme Richmond, Meyers Leonard and D.J. Richardson are now playing better and the future does look bright.  After scoring in double digits only five times in the teams’ first 17 games, Paul has now exploded by scoring in double digits in five of the last eight games, including three 20+ point outings.  Prediction: Michigan pulls out a 78-75 road win