Purdue, like Ohio State, hasn't been tested much while off to a 15-1/4-0 start.
View full sizeJaJuan Johnson and the Boilermakers have started fast to claim one of the top spots in the Big Ten this season.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State, despite some scares in its last two games, is the best team in the Big Ten. But who's No. 2?
At the moment, not Michigan State, which started the year ranked No. 2 in the polls and played an incredibly tough non-conference schedule, but now also counts a loss to Penn State among its five losses.
Not Illinois, which threw in a clunker of a loss against Illinois-Chicago three weeks ago. Not quite Wisconsin, though the Badgers have been their usual dominant selves at home. Not Michigan, which gave an overtime scare to No. 3 Kansas on Sunday and may gave Ohio State fits in Ann Arbor on Wednesday.
So it may have to be Purdue, which like Ohio State, hasn't been tested much while off to a 15-1/4-0 start. The Boilermakers have conference wins over Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State and Iowa by an average of 19 points, but they may get their first real Big Ten test at Minnesota on Thursday. Jan. 22 is the first real day of reckoning in the Big Ten, though -- Michigan State at Purdue and Ohio State at Illinois.
Seniors JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore, as expected, are both averaging more than 19 points per game for the Boilermakers. No one else averages in double figures, but the player to watch is junior shooter Ryne Smith of Toledo, who in Big Ten play is averaging 17 points per game while making 18 of 27 3-pointers.
Talking Tubby: Minnesota has been tested early in Big Ten play, off to a 1-3 start with losses at Wisconsin, Michigan State and Ohio State, three of the four toughest road games in the Big Ten.
After starting Sunday's postgame news conference after a 67-64 loss in Columbus by saying he believed a foul should have been called on Minnesota's final 3-pointer, Gophers' coach Tubby Smith was entertainingly prickly, though apparently it wasn't unusual.
On his strategy behind switching his defense at times? "Just bad coaching. I'm a terrible coach."
On the Gophers' pressure that triggered their late rally? "We were behind. When you're behind, you pressure."
On the play design on the final shot? "The ball was supposed to go in the basket."
Asked if he was more peeved about the last non-call or letting a chance at a win slip away when he wasn't happy with some sloppy offense, Smith said it wasn't the refs.
"That didn't cost us the game," Smith said. "We've got to finish. We had our chances and we turned the ball over and you can't do those things. That's what cost us the game."
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2011/01/boilermakers_make_an_easy_push.html
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