My Belated Christmas Present

Rashard Mendenhall is going to the NFL.


WOOO HOOO!

Big 4, Little 7

With the Big Ten mens' basketball regular season underway and 4 games in the books, the race for the top of the standings is starting to take shape. By my estimation, there are four good-to-great teams in the Big Ten and 7 average-to-bad teams. Here is one fan's prediction of what the final regular season standings will look like on March 9th (I have indicated each team's predicted wins and losses and included the results already in the books):

1. Michigan St. = 17-1 (WWWWWWWWWWWLWWWWWW)
2. Indiana = 16-2 (WWWWWWLWWWWWWWWLWW)
3. Wisconsin = 14-4 (WWWWWWWWLWWLWWLLWW)
4. Ohio St. = 13-5 (WWWLLWWWWWLWWWLWWL)
5. Purdue = 10-8 (WLWWWLLWLWLLWLWWLW)
6. Penn St. = 8-10 (WLWLLWWLLLWWLLWWLL)
7. Minnesota = 7-11 (LWLLLLLWWWWLWWLLLL)
8. Illinois = 6-12 (LWLLWLLWLWLLLLLWLW)
9. Michigan = 5-13 (LLLWLWLLWLLLLLWWLL)
10. Iowa = 2-16 (LLLLLLLLLLLLWWLLLL)
11. Northwestern = 1-17 (LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLWL)

Notes: I predict that Michigan St. will lose only 1 game, at Indiana. I predict Wisconsin will lose at Indiana, at Minnesota, at Ohio St. and vs. Michigan St. If the regular season standings end up as predicted, the Big Ten will receive four NCAA bids, with Michigan St. receiving at least a 2 seed, Indiana receiving a 3 or 4 seed and Ohio St. and Wisconsin receiving 4 or 5 seeds.

The games I changed my mind on (resulting in the 14-4 prediction vs. the 11-7 prediction) included vs. Indiana, at Purdue and at Illinois.

Reason to Believe

Fellow Badger fans looking for some good news after the football team's loss to Tenneesee will be interested to know that kenpom.com predicts the Wisconsin mens' basketball team will finish with only one loss during Big Ten play.

Wed Jan 2 Wisconsin vs. (138) Michigan (sr) Away W, 69-53
Sat Jan 5 Wisconsin vs. (153) Iowa (sr) Home W, 62-42
Thu Jan 10 Wisconsin vs. (35) Illinois (sr) Home W, 60-49
Tue Jan 15 Wisconsin vs. (71) Penn St. (sr) Away W, 64-55
Sat Jan 19 Wisconsin vs. (177) Northwestern (sr) Home W, 75-48
Tue Jan 22 Wisconsin vs. (138) Michigan (sr) Home W, 73-50
Sat Jan 26 Wisconsin vs. (83) Purdue (sr) Away W, 65-54
Thu Jan 31 Wisconsin vs. (11) Indiana (sr) Home W, 66-60
Sun Feb 3 Wisconsin vs. (31) Minnesota (sr) Away W, 63-58
Wed Feb 6 Wisconsin vs. (153) Iowa (sr) Away W, 59-44
Sat Feb 9 Wisconsin vs. (83) Purdue (sr) Home W, 69-51
Wed Feb 13 Wisconsin vs. (11) Indiana (sr) Away L, 64-63
Sat Feb 16 Wisconsin vs. (31) Minnesota (sr) Home W, 67-55
Wed Feb 20 Wisconsin vs. (35) Illinois (sr) Away W, 57-52
Sun Feb 24 Wisconsin vs. (42) Ohio St. (sr) Away W, 58-53
Thu Feb 28 Wisconsin vs. (14) Michigan St. (sr) Home W, 64-56
Wed Mar 5 Wisconsin vs. (71) Penn St. (sr) Home W, 68-52
Sat Mar 8 Wisconsin vs. (177) Northwestern (sr) Away W, 71-51



I am predicting an 11-7 campaign. I plan on predicting each game after seeing how the team performs in Ann Arbor tomorrow night.