So Far, So Good

As we catch our collective breath from the barn-burner last evening and acknowledge that 14 regular season games remain, not to mention the Big Ten Tournament and a likely high seed in the Dance, Bucky is a legitimate Final Four calliber team. On an evening when Tucker's shots weren't falling and he wasn't getting to the FT line, Kammron Taylor and Michael Flowers proved that UW has the guard play to make a deep run in the tournament, and Marcus Landry made a case on both ends of the floor, triggering a decisive run that put Bucky on top for good.

A few concerns remain:
1. Failure to close out shooters in the 3-point arc.
2. Too many offensive rebounds by OSU in the 1st Half.
3. Shaky FT shooting down the stretch.

I refuse to dwell on the negatives however in this season of parity with no single title contender. Bo Ryan has lost only two conference games at the Kohl Center during his tenure as coach, and has a 13-2 home record against ranked opponents. It would be a disappointment if Bucky failed to win the remaining six games on their home floor. I still contend that it will take 12-13 wins in league play to win the conference, and I like our chances with a projected outcome of the remaining 14 games to follow.

1/13 @NW (W)
1/17 Purdue (W)
1/20 @Illinois (W)*
1/24 Michigan (W)
1/28 @Iowa (W)
1/31 @Indiana (L)
2/3 Northwestern (W)
2/7 @Penn State (W)
2/10 Iowa (W)
2/14 @Minnesota (W)
2/17 Penn State (W)
2/20 @MSU (L)
2/25 @OSU (L)
2/3 MSU (W)

* I have the most doubt in making this pick, but can't ignore OSU's demolition job at Assembly Hall last Saturday. The games at Iowa and Penn State are other potential pitfalls. We can still lose one of these three and have a great chance to at least tie for the title.