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Mike Hall's Bio: Mike Hall does it all: He anchors "Big Ten Tonight," reports from sidelines during Big Ten games and serves as host of the Friday Night Tailgate. He also blogs right here and posts his very own video reports. |
On the road again ...
| Jan 28 2010, 11:03 AM | Topic: Big Ten basketball | ||
| Sitting up in a hotel bed in East Lansing and incredibly bored by a sports network's promotion of the Pro Bowl, trying my best to muster up empathy for those poor NFL players who are being forced to play in Miami instead of Hawaii. As I type this it's eight degrees here at Michigan State. And since I have a handful of hours until we shoot our latest "Hoops On Campus" show, thought I'd chime in on what the road has been like these last few weeks while doing this HOC program. I like it. If for nothing else, I like it just for a couple of minutes each week. For example, when I was at Ohio State, I found out Jon Diebler has mad game at Ping Pong. I also found out Dallas Lauderdale and David Lighty are taking a class in Swahili. Or at Northwestern, I learned that Kevin Coble does a killer impression of Bill Carmody. Side note, you may have seen Kevin on our air this past Tuesday. That was fun. He doesn't have to travel to many road games for NU since he's injured and out for the year, so he had time on his hands, and his former teammate Tim Doyle said he'd give Kevin a tour of the BTN studios if he'd like. Poor guy - once he got there he got bombarded as we had the idea it'd be fun to have him on as a special guest at halftime. Which turned into half, and the four- minute cut-in, and the postgame show. And by the way, that's not easy to do when you're barely in your 20s and have no TV experience. It can be intimidating, but he did well. And yes, we checked to make sure all was fine and no NCAA violations were created by his appearance on our air. Side note to the previous side note: How dedicated is Kevin's mom? While Kevin chose not to travel to the NU-Minnesota game since he wasn't playing, he told me even still his mom traveled there to support the team! And this week at Michigan State, much of my attention was focused on Draymond Green. He's become the x-factor in the Big Ten this season. His stats are good (10 points, 7 boards a game) but not amazing. Yet the reason he's making noise is he makes noise. He's the vocal leader on this team. You may remember that last year at the national title game, it was Draymond who was speaking up in the locker room ... when he was just a freshman! The nicknames have been flying around for him. Our Gus Johnson referred to him as the "Albert Einstein of college basketball." I asked Draymond when we sat down for our Rapid Fire questions what he thought of that. "I like it," he said. "That means I'm smart." But that's not his only nickname. He's known as "the Dancing Bear." Thing is, that one isn't really entirely traceable. I remember my co-anchor Rick Pizzo saying it before I heard anyone say that. But when I asked Rick he said he'd heard it somewhere else, but thought it applied to Draymond. Matt Larson, Michigan State's sports information director, told me a little while ago he heard Jim Nantz use it on CBS, but he hadn't heard it before then. Draymond's thoughts on that? "Um," he said. "I can't really dance." So what is the right thing to call him? Well, first off, don't do what I've done before, which is rhyme it with Raymond. Its Dray-MOND. Rhyming kinda like former cyclist Greg Lemond. Also don't do what teammate Isaiah Dahlman told me he likes to call him: "the Beached Whale." I brought that up to Mr. Green, and, yeah, he didn't seem too thrilled with that suggestion. But when I asked Draymond what he'd like me to call him during highlight reads, he said I should go with what his family calls him: "Day Day." On this week's episode we also get a tour of their basketball facilities. One of the cool things is that there are pictures everywhere. I mean everywhere. And not just from the Tom Izzo era, but from all over. Coach Izzo thinks its important for the players to understand the history of the school. But he certainly wants some pictures up from recent teams, like last year's Final Four run. Why? Because when you're in the Final Four, it just flies by. There's no time to remember it as it happens. As for on-the-court stuff, I'm overall very surprised by this conference. I thought it was going to be one of the greatest seasons in Big Ten history. It's not. Doesn't mean its bad, it just isn't living up to the crazy-high hype I had for it. As of right now, I think there are only four teams in the Dance (MSU, Purdue, OSU and Wisconsin). Northwestern, Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois are on the outside looking in. Now, its important to remember its WAY early! Still have all of February and March to go. But here's the scenario for the remaining teams that NEED wins: Michigan: You have to go at least 8-2 in your final 10 games. Its do-able but unlikely if you keep playing the way you have been because you're only 10-10 right now! So 8-2 would put you at 18 wins. You'd probably still need to win multiple games in the Big Ten Tournament. Illinois: They think they've turned things around mentally this week but they'll need that at only 13-8. The final 10 games are not easy ones for the orange and blue. They play MSU, Wisconsin twice, Ohio State twice, and they visit Purdue. They probably need to hope for 6-4, and then a win or two in the conference tourney. Minnesota: It's not as bleak as you might think. You already have 13 wins with 10 to go. So 7-3 in those remaining games is very possible. Getting a big one from your next one in Columbus would be a huge start. And starting that game by feeding the ball to The Hoff would be wise! Northwestern: The wild card team. The win against Purdue was huge because their NC State win doesn't look that great anymore. And that Notre Dame one should hold up come March. That gives them two pretty good wins, out of their 14 total so far. Of their remaining games they have two very hard ones ( at MSU and at WIS), but look beyond that. Michigan and Minnesota both visit Evanston. They play 8-13 Iowa twice, 8-12 Penn State twice, 9-10 Indiana twice, and have one more non-conference game at home against 5-13 Chicago State. I don't think its too much to ask them to go 8-3 in that stretch. And amazingly, that might be enough for their first dance ticket ever. Thing is, there's a lot of time left. And remember, without Kevin Coble, they're not as deep as they could be. That might affect their stamina as the season wears on. |
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Horsin' around
| Jan 22 2010, 9:20 AM | Topic: Big Ten basketball | |
| I, Mike Hall, decided to take on Iowa guard Devan Bawinkel in a game of H-O-R-S-E. Watch the results on the video here: |
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Hoops On Campus debuts
| Jan 9 2010, 6:23 PM | Topic: Campus chatter | |
Just got back from yet another trip to Bloomington. I feel for some reason I've spent more nights in the Hampton Inn near Assembly Hall than I have in my home the last few years. I was there for the debut of our new Friday night show "Hoops On Campus." We'll be doing this show for eight weeks, every Friday. Though the original idea was to make it a hoops version of our Friday Night Tailgate show, it has morphed into something different. It's got much more of a feel of ESPN's College Gameday. In that, we're on campus, doing interviews, showing some in-depth features on legends of that basketball program, learning about traditions, etc. If you didn't get to see our debut show, I'll give you a quick rundown. It's Jim Jackson and myself hosting this hour long show. We'll be joined by two reporters, Tiffany Simons and Natalie Kane. And we plan on talking to players and coaches on each campus. Plus, we'll try to have some extra surprises. For example this week, Verdell Jones referred to coach Tom Crean behind closed doors as "The Tazmanian Devil!"
Three things you missed this week: 1) The famous shot by Keith Smart that won the 1987 National Championship was not supposed to go to him. He told us he was the third option. You should go to YouTube and check out the highlight of it. Smart gets the ball a few times and keeps giving it up, before he finally chucks up the shot. In wonderful Bobby Knight style, no timeout was called. The play wasn't drawn up. It just happened. 2) I met a 91-year-old usher named Doc. He's been there on campus working basketball games since Assembly Hall opened in 1971. He only missed two games in those four decades. One for health reasons and one cause it was Christmas! He told a great story about one game when Bob Knight was so mad at his Hoosiers that he walked away from the bench and over to Doc. He asked Doc if he'd mind if he sat near him for a while. Doc said no problem. So Bob Knight sat down for a while on the bleachers and looked at the court with a scowl. After a bit he said to Doc, "It's not a damn bit better over here, I oughta head back." After that the NCAA made a rule that a coach can't leave the bench. Doc also told me about some stories of concerts he ushered. That included Elvis twice and one time when John Denver played there and apparently challenged anyone on the staff to a ping pong game. 3) Angelo Pizzo, the man who wrote the classic movies "Rudy" and "Hoosiers," sat and chatted with us. We learned that the Gene Hackman character was indeed based off of Bob Knight. And partly Woody Hayes. He said part of the motivation was, what if some bad incident happened early on in the career of either of those fellas, and they never got to be the legendary coaches they became. And then, what if they got a second chance and somehow made good on it. He also revealed to us that after Bob Knight saw the movie, he said to Angelo that he owed Bob a nice check. 1) I'll start with football. So very impressed with the way the conference performed in bowl games. Truly did not see a 4-3 performance coming. And remember, of their three losses, one came by one point, one came in overtime and one came to a team that due to suspensions was a fraction of its regular season self. And their 4 wins all came against teams ranked in the top 15. Remarkable. Now, I still think that many national pundits will want another season like that before they stop ripping on the conference. But it's a very nice step forward. And it makes the offseason a lot more enjoyable for me and my job! 2) In men's hoops, I'm equally astounded by the performance of 3) I love Evan Turner. Partly because in doing a game with him last year I asked how he handles playing so many minutes per game, and his response was before a game he eats boxes and boxes of breadsticks from a pizza joint. When I asked why, he said, "Cause I like the taste of bread." Love it. But also because of the way he handles himself. If you've had the pleasure of meeting him… well I won't go all "Tim Tebow" on you and say it'll change your life, but I dare you to not be impressed with the gentlemanly way he handles himself. Alright, another reason… the numbers. He's supposed to be out two months from his injury, and he comes back in practically half that time. What does he do in his second game back? 19 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists. A near triple double! Are you kidding me?! Kendall Gill told me his best guess is that Turner is playing right now at 75-percent health. And in his second game, against a good Golden Gopher team, he nearly gets a triple double. Silly, just silly. |
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With Bowl Season, is 1 greater than 2?
| Nov 24 2009, 2:44 PM | Topic: Campus chatter |
| With exception of the two Illini games and one Badger game, the Big Ten regular season is over. And hence, my eyes are on the bowls. I had a conversation late Saturday night with Gerry DiNardo about the league and the bowls and we did not see eye to eye. My argument was the best thing for the conference as a whole was to NOT get two teams into the BCS. Before I even start… Gerry's counterargument is obvious and has solid ground. You want two teams in the BCS because it brings in more money to the conference. It provides more exposure to the conference with spotlight games. And a win in a BCS game is more valuable than a win in any other bowl game. Plus as Gerry put it 'you want to put yourself on the main stage at all times, its that simple.' But here's the thing… wins in BCS games have been hard to come by for the Big Ten recently. In fact, bowl games haven't been that easy to win either. The last time the conference had a winning bowl year was 2002. That year, they went 5-2. In the following years, the conference has gone 3-5 in 03, 3-3 in 04, 3-4 in 05, 2-5 in 06, 3-5 in 07 and 1-6 in 08. And on the main stage, the record is even worse. In the last six BCS bowl games the conference has gone 0-6. Now the biggest way to prove your league is better than others is by beating the teams from other conferences. That mostly means Bowl games. And those numbers I just mentioned are why the Big Ten hasn't had the most flattering reputation in the last few years. The Big Ten Conference isn't as bad as a 1-6 postseason record would indicate. Part of the reason we know this is because some of these bowl game situations are off balance. All the bowl games the conference is associated with, with exception of Detroit's Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (formerly Motor City Bowl), are in foreign territory. The conference plays postseason games versus the SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Pac-10 … and plays them in their home states. So that's already a strike against the Big Ten. But also… and most importantly, almost always the Big Ten is playing up. Because they're getting two teams in the BCS, they're not playing the matchups that the bowl games are designed to have. Lets look at the top two non-BCS bowl games. Generally speaking the Capital One Bowl is supposed to be the #2 team in the Big Ten versus the #2 team in the SEC. The Outback Bowl is supposed to be #3 vs #3 (or sometimes the SEC's #4). But with two Big Ten bowl teams in the BCS, basically the Capital One gets the #3 Big Ten team and the Outback the #4. Granted, often times the SEC has two BCS bowl teams too which balances it out. But… if the Big Ten does NOT have to play up in bowl games, that's an advantage in these two games vs the SEC, because then the SEC is the only one playing up. So you'd have your #2 Big Ten team (Iowa) playing the #3 SEC team (LSU) instead of the #2 SEC team (let's say Alabama). And in the Outback, the Big Ten would pit its #3 team (Penn State) against the SEC's 4th team (Ole Miss at 8-3). If those examples panned out, you'd have to think the Big Ten would at worst split those games. Trickle it down. The Champs Sports Bowl gets the Big Ten's fourth team (lets say Wisconsin 8-3) and it would meet the ACC's fourth team (lets say Miami Fla 8-3). The Alamo Bowl gets the fifth team (lets say Northwestern) vs the Big 12's fourth team (Texas Tech 7-4). The Insight Bowl gets the sixth team (Michigan State) vs the Big 12's 5th team (Missouri 7-4). And then the Little Ceasars Pizza Bowl gets the Big Ten's seventh team (Minnesota) vs the MAC (Central Michigan or Temple). Out of those matchups… what would be an honest, realistic expectation for the conference's record? 5-2? 4-3 at worst? Not bad. And that's what the Big Ten needs to do in a bowl season… not be bad. Then things start to look up for the conference in the nation's eyes. It won't do a ton... you need a consistent bowl run and a national title contender to be back to where the conference was a few years ago. But it's a start. And it is considerably easier than if it has to have its teams play up. So maybe December 6th, when the BCS bowls are announced, if you're a fan of the Big Ten, you might be rooting for only Ohio State to be playing in a BCS bowl game. FINAL NUGGET: Wanted to let you guys in on the Bowl selection process. It can be cloudy. There's a reason I had a lot of "lets says" up there. Here's what we have from the conference… Big Ten champion, if ranked #1 or #2 in final BCS poll, will play in the BCS national championship game. Otherwise, Big Ten champion will play in the Rose Bowl. ROSE BOWL: 1. Big Ten champion or co-champion as determined by Conference tie-breaking procedure (see Big Ten Men's and Women's Agreement 18.7.A). CAPITAL ONE BOWL: 1. May select any eligible team after Rose Bowl/BCS except a team that has two fewer wins or two more losses than another eligible team. 2. Moving a 2nd Big Ten up into the BCS does not affect these selection rules. OUTBACK BOWL: 1. May select any eligible team after Capital One except a team that has two fewer wins or two more losses than another eligible team. 2. Should a 2nd Big Ten team move up into the BCS, then the 2-win/loss differential requirement is no longer applicable. 3. In the bowl's evaluation of eligible Big Ten teams, if one of the Conference's teams is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS poll, then the bowl must select said team. CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL: 1. May select any eligible team after Outback except a team that has two fewer wins or two more losses than another eligible team. 2. Moving a 2nd Big Ten up into the BCS does not affect these selection rules. VALERO ALAMO BOWL: 1. May select any eligible team after Champs Sports bowl except a team that has two fewer wins or two more losses than another eligible team. 2. Should a 2nd Big Ten team move up into the BCS, then the 2-win/loss differential requirement is no longer applicable. INSIGHT BOWL: 1. May select any eligible team after Valero Alamo Bowl selects. LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA BOWL: 1. May select any eligible team after the Insight Bowl selects. |
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Iowa explanation? No, THEY owe one to Iowa!
| Nov 3 2009, 4:02 PM | Topic: Campus chatter |
| I've expressed many times that I don't think it should be relevant what you or I or anybody thinks will happen in a hypothetical match-up (i.e. "Florida would beat TCU on a neutral field"). I think what matters is what you know, not what you think. And that is why I know that Iowa is not getting the respect its deserves. This is the great Pat Forde's latest column. He writes: "Seven teams (the six remaining FBS undefeateds and Oregon) deserve to be ranked ahead of (Iowa)." Pat is the best writer in college sports. But in this instance he is dead wrong. The latest BCS standings have Iowa fourth overall behind Florida, Texas and Alabama. They rank seventh in the Harris Poll, sixth in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and second in the computers. But who truly deserves to be ahead of them? I know people are skeptical of Iowa because of their late escapes against decent or good opponents and slim wins over bad ones. But everybody has bad games. If you're unbeaten, I'm more concerned with your good wins than your bad ones. And are those good wins better than the other unbeatens'? Let's compare. I have four main points. 1) Wins over teams currently above .500? Iowa has six (Penn State at 8-1, Wisconsin at 6-2, Arizona at 5-2, Michigan at 5-4, Iowa State at 5-4, and Northern Iowa at 5-3). Florida has two (LSU at 7-1, and Troy at 6-2). Let me repeat that. The mighty Gators have a whopping total of two wins over teams currently above .500. Two. And one is Troy. Alabama has three (South Carolina at 6-3, Virginia Tech at 5-3 and Mississippi at 5-3). Texas has four (Oklahoma State at 6-2, Texas Tech at 6-3, Missouri at 5-3 and Oklahoma at 5-3). 2) How about a more specific look at the top of the top including wins over teams currently in the BCS standings? Iowa has three (Penn State at 11, Arizona at 18 and Wisconsin at 21). Florida has one (LSU at 9). Alabama has one (Virginia Tech at 23). Texas has two (Oklahoma State at 19 and Oklahoma at 24). 3) How about the NCAA's listing for strength of schedule? Iowa is ranked as having the seventh toughest schedule. Florida is 42nd. Alabama is 22nd. Texas is 35th. You look at those numbers and tell me how the Hawkeyes aren't ranked number one right now! The answer in my mind is two-fold. One, there still are people that vote based on national perception and pre-season thoughts and hype. Two, that the Hawkeyes don't pass the dreaded "eye test," which is a philosophy that is so subjective it makes me want to cry out of agony. To be fair, do I think Iowa is the No. 1 team in the country right now? No, I do not. But again, who cares what I think!? You should care what I know. And I know that as of now the Hawkeyes have the better resume than anyone else in the country. Will that stay the same in a few weeks? Maybe not. But for now what team has done better?! 4) Let's compare the remaining schedules of each team. Iowa still has to play Northwestern (5-4), Ohio State (7-2) and Minnesota (5-4). Florida has Vanderbilt (2-7), South Carolina (6-3), Florida International (2-6) and Florida State (4-4). Plus the potential SEC title game, likely against Alabama (8-0). Alabama has LSU (7-1), Mississippi State (4-5), Chattanooga (5-3), and Auburn (6-3). Plus the potential SEC title game, likely against Florida (8-0) Texas has UCF (5-3), Baylor (3-5), Kansas (5-3) and Texas A&M (5-3). Plus a potential Big 12 Title Game. The current Big 12 North leader is Kansas State (5-4). That doesn't make the Hawkeyes look so bad either, does it? Only the Crimson Tide's remaining games look harder on the whole than Iowa's. Again, things can change. If Iowa loses, the argument is moot. In a month maybe things will be different and Alabama will have victories over LSU and Auburn and Florida. In which case, I'd say it deserves it more. But right now they don't. After nine weeks of play, Iowa should be the number one team in the country. FINAL NUGGET: Did have a chance to talk with Ricky Stanzi today. He was exactly the cool customer you'd think he'd be based on this season. He's said all year long that he makes sure he never gets too high and never gets too low. And he reiterated that today. He said his mindset after throwing the fifth interception was "go onto the next play." And he did. Despite throwing five interceptions, he also threw his first 300-yard game of his career. Considering all the good and all the bad, how will he remember that performance? "I'll just remember it as a win," Stanzi said. "That's all that matters." |
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