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Women's Basketball
Buckeyes Dominating Big Ten Standings again, But League is on the Upswing
By Tony GerdemanDespite the fact that the Buckeyes (23-3, 11-2) haven’t had an easy win in two weeks, Ohio State currently sits atop the Big Ten by three games over second-place Purdue (13-11, 8-5), with five games remaining.
And while a win Thursday night against Purdue would clinch a share of a record-setting sixth-consecutive Big Ten Championship for the Buckeyes, the standings don’t really tell the story of how difficult this conference season has been for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes are 11-2 in Big Ten play so far, and while there were a few blowouts back in December, since the calendar has turned to 2010, the only laugher for this team came in an 81-58 win over Minnesota (11-12, 4-8) a couple of weeks ago.
In fact, four of Ohio State’s last eight wins have come by four points or less. And as teams cycle through the conference schedule for a second time, things get more difficult for everybody involved. That shouldn’t be a surprise since ten of the eleven teams in the conference currently have winning records overall, and the only team with a losing record (Minnesota) is sitting at 11-12.
Ohio State may be the only ranked team in the conference currently, but the second-place team and the ninth-place team are only separated by two games in the loss column. That ninth-place team, by the way, is Iowa (12-11, 5-7) and they walked out of the Schottenstein Center with a heartbreaking 86-82 loss one week ago.
Buckeye Head Coach Jim Foster isn’t surprised that the conference as a whole has grown more difficult.
“The bottom is better. And therefore the middle is better. And therefore the top has to work harder," said Foster.
"There were places that needed a little refresher course in winning.
"So now you’re pushing. You’re talking about the 10th and 11th place teams who are much better.”
With teams pushing their way back up, the Buckeyes have to continue pushing other teams down. Think of it as university-sanctioned “Whack-A-Mole”. And we can expect Ohio State to come out with mallets a’blazing’. T hey hold a 4-1 record against their five remaining opponents this season, and can avenge one of their two conference losses against Purdue tonight.
After Thursday’s Purdue game, the Buckeyes go on the road for consecutive games against Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Badgers are currently tied for third in the conference (17-7, 7-6) and will be looking to improve upon their 70-55 loss to the Buckeyes back in December. Minnesota (11-12, 4-8) will also be looking to get back at the Buckeyes, but with the Gophers sitting on a six-game losing streak, it may not matter.
The Buckeyes will then finish up the season with home games against Michigan State (15-8, 6-6) and Northwestern (14-9, 5-7) before the Big Ten Tournament gets started on March 4th.
Ohio State may not have any immediate challengers to their conference supremacy yet, but the young talent in the league is improving and eventually the conference-wide parity will give way to a couple of very good teams.
But Foster isn’t worried about other teams so much as his own. When his team isn’t playing well, he will tell you there are usually simple solutions to making things right. And when they are playing well, it’s those same simple solutions that tend to stand out.
“We work hard and share the ball. Common things. Not anything out of the ordinary.
"They understand how to practice.
"They’re starting to understand how efficient and effective we are when we move the ball. They continue to improve, which is an encouraging thing at this stage of ‘The Winter Festival‘.”
And maybe with a strong finish in The Winter Festival, it will lead to good things in The Spring Festival, i.e. The NCAA Tournament.
Big Ten Standings
|------CONFERENCE-------| |--------OVERALL--------|
STANDINGS W-L Pct PF PA W-L Pct PF PA
--------- --- --- -- -- --- --- -- --
Ohio State.......... 11-2 .846 72.5 61.8 23-3 .885 79.4 61.5
Purdue.............. 8-5 .615 59.6 60.8 13-11 .542 60.5 58.0
Wisconsin........... 7-6 .538 58.1 56.5 17-7 .708 60.2 53.9
Penn State.......... 7-6 .538 66.5 66.5 15-8 .652 67.8 63.7
Michigan State...... 6-6 .500 62.3 59.2 15-8 .652 68.4 61.1
Indiana............. 6-6 .500 60.2 62.8 13-10 .565 66.9 64.7
Michigan............ 6-7 .462 61.6 58.7 14-9 .609 67.3 60.3
Northwestern........ 5-7 .417 60.6 66.2 14-9 .609 64.1 60.7
Iowa................ 5-7 .417 66.8 66.8 12-11 .522 68.9 66.7
Minnesota........... 4-8 .333 59.8 63.6 11-12 .478 65.1 61.1
Illinois............ 4-9 .308 56.5 62.4 12-11 .522 61.2 59.5
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