The Colts roll the Super Bears in Miami, Indianapolis hijacks the Big Ten tournament from Chicago . . . what’s going on here?
On second thought, after nine games of mostly dreadful shooting and barely point-a-minute basketball at the United Center this weekend, maybe Indy can have the Big Ten hoops fest.
Sunday’s title game, the rubber match between heavyweights Ohio State and Wisconsin, looks enticing enough, but it has to be a really good one if it’s to offset three days worth of clunker preliminaries.
Oh, conference coaches will cite defense in explaining away cumulative 41 percent shooting, and the defenders have been vigorous. Only Michigan State (22-for-38, 57.9 percent against Northwestern) had a truly exceptional shooting night, while Wisconsin (23-for-45 vs. Michigan State), Purdue (25-for-50 vs. Iowa) and Ohio State (26-for-52 vs. Michigan) each managed a 50 percent game.
And the league expects how many NCAA tournament bids?
It’s not so much that teams are shooting poorly, it’s that they’re not shooting at all. True, Illinois was playing its third game in three days against Wisconsin on Saturday, which partly explains its 33 percent accuracy. But the Illini took only 39 shots, fewer than one per minute. They made 13. That’s entertainment?
Friday’s quarterfinal victory over Indiana was even harder on the eyes. It went to overtime, which gave the teams five extra minutes to hoist up 104 total shots. The Hoosiers made 16 of their 51, or one about every three minutes.
Somewhere, Jimmy Rayl wept.
The Big Ten of my youth was a gunner’s league: Terry Dischinger, Dave Schellhase, Gary Bradds, Cazzie Russell. Heck, Rick Mount was a threat to match Indiana’s 54-point Friday output every time he took the floor. Can you imagine Mount or Rayl or Terry Furlow with a three-point line?
Bob Knight’s Indiana teams were known for step-on-your-throat defense, but he always had at least one go-to guy who could light it up.
Meanwhile, in the Muscle Beach Big East, Notre Dame was putting up 82 points in Friday’s thoroughly entertaining two-point loss to Georgetown. ND’s season average is 81.5 The Irish, colleague Skip Myslenski observes, “play like Argentina–they run, they move the ball and they can all shoot.”
They’re fun to watch. Their style is fun to play. And they’re going to the NCAA tournament. There’s a lesson for the Big Ten.
Guys, use your time in Indy to work on your shooting. Then we’ll be glad to have you back.
