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Patricia Babcock McGraw's Bio: Patricia Babcock McGraw is a women's basketball analyst for the Big Ten Network. Submit your comments below or e-mail her at the right, then come back all season for her views on all Big Ten women's hoops. |
| Feb 19 2009, 11:47 AM | Topic: Women's basketball | ||
It's getting down to the nitty gritty here, Big Ten fans. We're exactly two weeks out from the start of the Big Ten Tournament and yet nothing much has been decided in the race for the league title. Believe it or not, six teams are still in the hunt. Ohio State and Michigan State have an edge, but not by much. Tied at 11-3 in the conference standings, they are just one-half game ahead of a surging Purdue team that has won its last three games and seems to have an added bounce in its step now that point guard FahKara Malone is back from the finger injury that sidelined her for nine games mid-season. Then there's Minnesota, which is in fourth place but is only one game out of first. The Gophers seem to have some magic on their side. They stayed on pace thanks to Brittany McCoy's game-winning three-pointer last weekend at Michigan. Meanwhile, Iowa, which has won four of its last five games, is two games out of first place and Indiana is a half-game behind the Hawkeyes. Add it all up and the race to the finish line should be exhilarating. Perhaps never before have so many of the final regular-season conference games meant so much. Stay tuned to the Big Ten Network to see how it all plays out! Then, make sure to catch the Big Ten tournament on the network from March 5 to March 8. LUCKY SEVEN: Kudos to Ohio State for securing its seventh consecutive 20-win season with its victory over Northwestern on Sunday. It's the longest string of 20-win seasons in Ohio State history. Of course, the Buckeyes have also left an enduring imprint on the Big Ten, having won the last four consecutive Big Ten titles. But even though Ohio State has been the most dominant team in the league in recent years, it hasn't always been easy. Other teams have been pushing, and pushing hard. Ohio State will run up against one of those teams tonight in Minnesota (9 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network). Minnesota, just one game out of first place, is a gritty defensive team that forces a lot of turnovers and gets opposing offenses out of their comfort zones. Should be a good game overall, and I'm also looking forward to a couple of match-ups in particular. Jantel Lavender is the best center in the Big Ten but she told me at the beginning of the season that one of the toughest post players in the league to face is Minnesota's Ashley Ellis-Milan because she's so strong, physical and savvy in the paint. Look for a great battle there. And then at point guard, two of the best in the league will square of there. Emily Fox is a heads-up leader for the Gophers and Ohio State freshman Samantha Prahalis is so exciting to watch. I love the way she passes. As a side note, Fox and teammate Brittany McCoy each tallied their 100th assist of the season on Sunday. Minnesota is the only team in the Big Ten to boast two players with 100-plus assists. IN THE AIR: Ohio State will be getting a lot of TV time over the next few days. Not only is tonight's game against Minnesota on the Big Ten Network, but so is the Buckeyes' Sunday showdown at Indiana. That game will be shown on ESPN2 (4 p.m. ET). Like Minnesota, Indiana will throw the kitchen sink at Ohio State. The Hoosiers once sat atop the Big Ten standings but then hit a severe skid, losing five of six games, including four straight before Monday's overtime win over Wisconsin. BLOCK PARTY: Some players are lucky to get six blocks in a season. Michigan State's Allyssa DeHaan got that in one game last week against Indiana. As the 6-foot-9 DeHaan adds to her career blocks total in big chunks, she's getting closer and closer to making history. She is now second on the BigTen's all-time career blocks list with 373. That also puts her 11th on the NCAA's all-time list. COMEBACK KIDS: What an incredible rally Iowa made against Penn State last weekend. In fact, it was the biggest comeback in school history. The Hawkeyes were down by as many as 20 points early in the second half but outscored Penn State 41-14 over the final 20 minutes to get the win. Head coach Lisa Bluder has got to love the determination and energy her team showed. It would have been easy for the Hawkeyes to cash it in. The fact that they not only hung in there through the adversity but also had enough left over to win the game bodes well for a nice run through the grueling Big Ten tournament, which is an exercise like no other in mental and physical toughness. |
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