March 21, 2010
[ONE // hawkeyes earn another ncaa wrestling crown]
In yet another impressive NCAA Championship performance, the Iowa wrestling team captured its third consecutive national title, and this year, the Hawkeyes accomplished the feat a day early. Top-ranked Iowa claimed the team title on Friday night and went on to record three individual championships and total 134.5 points to clinch the win. Wisconsin finished fourth in the team standings with 70.5 points, while Minnesota was seventh with 63 points. Ohio State was eighth with 62 points and Penn State finished ninth with 49 points. In total five conference wrestlers won individual national championships, three of which came from an all-Big Ten final. Congrats to Iowa’s Matt McDonough (125 pounds), Brent Metcalf (149) and Jay Borschel (174), as well as Minnesota’s Jayson Ness (133) and Wisconsin’s Andrew Howe (165) on their weight-class titles.
[TWO // big ten represent in the ncaa pool]
Congratulations to Indiana senior swimmer Kate Fesenko and Minnesota sophomore diver Kelci Bryant on claiming individual NCAA titles at the 2010 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships this past weekend at Purdue. On Friday, Bryant became only the second NCAA champion in Gopher women’s swimming and diving history after capturing the three-meter crown, while Indiana’s Fesenko highlighted the final day of competition on Saturday with a winning performance in the 200 backstroke. Overall, the Hoosiers led all Big Ten teams competing at the national event, tallying 133 team points to collect their third-straight top 10 finish at the NCAA meet. Minnesota amassed 102 tallies to place 12th, followed by Wisconsin (88) and Michigan (76) in 14th and 15th place, respectively. Championships host Purdue (57) scored the highest national finish in program history by placing 16th. In addition, Ohio State (29) placed 22nd while Penn State (1) was 47th.
[THREE // tri-champs “sweet” in ncaa play]
They all earned a share of the Big Ten regular season title. They all earned the top seeds in the Big Ten Basketball Tournament. Now they – Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue – will be competing in next week’s Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. After getting past No. 12 New Mexico State, 70-67, in a game where Kalin Lucas scored a career-high 25 points, Michigan State managed to get past fourth-seeded Maryland 85-83 on Sunday without the services of Lucas. Instead, Korie Lucious emerged as the Spartans’ leader with a game-winning 3 at the buzzer to push MSU into the Sweet 16. Following a 72-64 victory over No. 13 Siena in the first round, Purdue needed overtime to get past No. 5 Texas A&M on Sunday. A Chris Kramer layup with 4.2 seconds left in OT gave the Boilermakers a 63-61 win and advancement into the Sweet 16. For Ohio State, first-round winners over No. 15 UC Santa Barbara, 68-51, the Buckeyes were led by Evan Turner’s 24 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists in a 75-66 victory over Georgia Tech. In other Big Ten action, No. 4 Wisconsin fell in second round play 87-69 to No. 12 Cornell, after defeating No. 13 Wofford 53-49 on Friday, while No. 11 Minnesota fell 65-54 to No. 6 Xavier in the first round Friday.
[FOUR // illini remain in nit action]
In NIT action, Illinois is prepared for its next opponent, No. 4 Kent State, after going on the road as the top seed and defeating No. 8 Stony Brook 76-66 on Wednesday. Mike Davis led Illinois with 17 points, while Demetri McCamey just missed a triple-double with 16 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds. D.J. Richardson also contributed 16 points and Mike Tisdale added 15 for the Fighting Illini, who now face Kent State in Champaign on Monday at 8 p.m. ET. In its first-round NIT game, Northwestern concluded its season with a 76-64 loss to Rhode Island. Michael Thompson scored a game-high 24 points for the Wildcats, who saw their season draw to a close with a 20-14 record.
[FIVE // nine women’s teams selected for postseason action]
For the third consecutive year and the 17th time in the last 18 seasons, at least four Big Ten teams were named to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. Iowa, Michigan State and Ohio State, all of which made trips to the 2009 NCAA Tournament, were joined in the field Monday by Wisconsin, which received its first NCAA invitation since 2002. The Big Ten was one of five conferences with four or more NCAA bids. But perhaps more significant was that the Big Ten sent five additional teams -- Illinois, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State and Purdue -- to the WNIT, giving the league nine postseason teams, tying a conference record. The Big Ten record for postseason teams was set in 2002, when six squads made the NCAA bracket and three more earned trips to the WNIT. The record was tied in 2008 when four teams advanced to the NCAA and five played in the WNIT. The Big Ten has a higher percentage of its teams (82 percent) competing in the NCAA or WNIT than any other conference in the country.
[SIX // buckeyes, hawkeyes and spartans roll in ncaa opener]
Congratulations to Iowa, Michigan State and Ohio State on their first round wins in the NCAA Tournament this past week. No. 2 Ohio State was dominant in a 93-59 win over No. 15 St. Francis (Pa.), led by Jantel Lavender’s 23 points and 16 rebounds. Aisha Jefferson paced Michigan State with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in a 72-62 victory against No. 12 Bowling Green, while No. 8 Iowa defeated No. 9 Rutgers and former Hawkeye coach C. Vivian Stringer, 70-63. No. 7 Wisconsin saw its season come to a close on Sunday with a 64-55 first round loss to No. 10 Vermont. Alyssa Karel led the Badgers with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
[SEVEN // several still alive in wnit]
Big Ten women’s basketball teams also took to the hardwood in WNIT action this week and Michigan was the first conference squad to advance past the second round. The Wolverines earned a 69-34 win over Kent State in first round action and then backed it up Sunday with a 72-57 victory over Toledo. It was a matter of runs for Michigan, having gone on a 23-2 run against Kent State and 21-2 run to open the second half against Toledo. Other first round winners included Illinois (68-51 over Western Kentucky), Northwestern (79-72 over Duquesne) and Purdue (56-50 against Eastern Michigan). Purdue lost 59-57 Sunday to Illinois State, while Penn State fell to Hofstra, 76-68, in first round play.
[EIGHT // men’s hoops game breaks big ten network records]
The Big Ten Network's Minnesota-Michigan State Big Ten Tournament overtime thriller at the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis was the day's top-rated cable program throughout the network's eight metered markets, the BTN announced this past week. It also was the network's highest rated basketball game in its three-year history. The game averaged a combined 2.2 household rating (HH) in the eight metered markets. In addition, based on Nielsen metered market data, the game had an estimated total audience of well over half a million viewers across the country.
[NINE // ohio state’s turner named naismith finalist]
Big Ten Player of the Year Evan Turner of Ohio State has been named as one of four finalists for the 2010 Naismith Men's College Player of the Year Award presented by AT&T, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Sunday. Turner joins Sherron Collins (Kansas), Wes Johnson (Syracuse), and John Wall (Kentucky) on the final ballot. The winner will be named at the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Guardians of the Game awards program at the Murat Theatre on Sunday, April 4 in Indianapolis.
[TEN // iowa’s zust throws a no-no]
A “job well done” to Iowa softball pitcher Amanda Zust on throwing her second career no-hitter in a six-inning 8-0 shutout over South Dakota this weekend. The Hawkeye senior struck out a season-high eight batters while facing just two hitters over the six-inning minimum. Senior Katie Brown backed up Zust's pitching performance with a season-high four hits and three RBI in the win.
[ELEVEN // big ten takes to the ncaa ice]
Finally this week, in the midst of focusing on Big Ten basketball teams, the conference also had teams selected for the NCAA Men’s Hockey Championship. Among the 16 teams selected Sunday, Wisconsin earned a No. 1 seed and Michigan earned a No. 3 seed. The Badgers and Wolverines will have their eyes set on the Frozen Four, a goal accomplished this week by the Minnesota women’s team. The Golden Gophers fell 3-2 to event NCAA Champion Minnesota Duluth on Friday in the semifinals.
