Accountability

Before the season I predicted every game on the Big Ten Mens' Basketball Schedule. Here was my prediction for the final regular season standings:

1. Michigan St.: 16-2
2. Purdue: 14-4
2. Wisconsin: 14-4
4. Michigan: 12-6
4. Minnesota: 12-6
6. Ohio St.: 8-10
7. Illinois: 6-12
7. Northwestern: 6-12
7. Penn St.: 6-12
10. Iowa: 5-13
11. Indiana: 0-18



Here are the actual final regular season standings:


1. Michigan St.: 15-3
2. Illinois: 11-7
3. Purdue: 11-7
4. Wisconsin: 10-8
5. Ohio St.: 10-8
6. Penn St.: 10-8
7. Michigan: 9-9
8. Minnesota: 9-9
9. Northwestern: 8-10
10. Iowa: 5-13
11. Indiana: 1-17



So let's analyze my predictions John Wayne style:

The Good - Picking MSU to win the title and Indiana to finish dead last. However, I would have never predicted that MSU would have lost two home games, much less games to Northwestern and Penn St. I also thought that Iowa would be able to take Indiana at Bloomington -- silly me.

The Bad - Picking Minnesota and Michigan to each finish 12-6. I thought both of these teams were poised to make the leap in their second year with a new coach. Minnesota was actually closer to 7-11 if you consider the two "wins" vs. UW. I still contend that Carter committed goaltending on JBo's layup in the first meeting and UW's four corners approach in the second game was disappointing. Michigan was frisky at home, but could not deliver on the road until its final game at Minnesota. Plus Michigan relies too heavily on the 3 pointer. When they are on, they are hard to beat. When they are off, they are easy to defend.

The Ugly - Picking Illinois and Penn St. to each finish 6-12. Allow me to defend these predictions though - I still can't figure out how Illinois won 11 games. Ok, I guess they played pretty good defense, but that offense was offensive at times. And they should have lost at Northwestern had the Wildcats had any ability to score a basket in the last 5 minutes of that game. With respect to Penn St., the were actually outscored over the course of the Big Ten season, so that should have meant a below .500 record. But somehow the Nittany Lions won 10 games, including two gifts was Illinois and a win vs. a Purdue team without Hummel or Kramer (not as big a loss as Hummel).

On to the Big Ten Tournament.