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Big Ten basketball preseason media poll 2024-25: Purdue, Michigan State overrated; Michigan underrated
- By Halldan1
- Pirate Hoops Chat
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Big Ten basketball preseason media poll 2024-25: Purdue, Michigan State overrated; Michigan underrated
Purdue is the favorite to win the Big Ten this season
www.cbssports.com
Tom Izzo on criticism of Big Ten's lack of titles: 'It's fair'
- By Halldan1
- Pirate Hoops Chat
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Izzo on Big Ten title drought criticism: 'It's fair'
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said criticism of the Big Ten is 'fair' as the conference searches for its first NCAA title since the 2000 Spartans.
ROSEMONT, Illinois -- Almost 25 years ago, Tom Izzo led the Michigan State Spartans to the 2000 national championship. That was the last time, however, the Big Ten enjoyed a run to the pinnacle of the sport.
That national title drought has haunted the league for almost a quarter century, as the Big East, ACC, Big 12 and SEC have all won multiple men's basketball national championships within that span.
Thirteen Big Ten schools have reached the Final Four since the Michigan State run in 2000 but all have come up short, including Purdue in last season's national championship game loss to UConn.
As a result, the flack the Big Ten has received is valid, according to Izzo.
"It's fair because it has been 25 years," he said during the Big Ten's men's basketball media day on Thursday. "I used to think, 'Oh man, I'm the last Big Ten guy [with a national title] standing.' Last year. I'm calling [Purdue head coach Matt Painter] and I'm saying, 'Matt, Matt, you've got to win this [national title] game.' I don't want to be the last Big Ten guy standing, you know? But I think it is a reality."
In recent years, the league has been at the doorstep of ending the drought multiple times. Last year, Purdue lost to a UConn squad that won its second consecutive national title. In 2015, Wisconsin had a lead in the second half before Duke rallied and won Mike Krzyzewski's final national championship. And Michigan State lost to the 2008-09 North Carolina squad, which had seven future NBA draft picks, in that year's national championship game.
Izzo said the opposing talent the league has faced when it has had opportunities to win another national championship has been the biggest factor in its drought -- the longest among the major conferences -- not the conference's style of play.
Izzo said perceptions of the league's gritty, physical brand of basketball are outdated and no longer the reality for the conference, which has produced at least three first-round picks in the past three NBA drafts.
"We used to go up [to Minnesota in the 1990s] and everybody laughed when I put on football pants one time and a football helmet [in practice]," Izzo said. "I needed a full barrage when I went up there and I loved it. But it's not that way anymore."
He added: "I just don't want it to get painted as if the Big Ten's [national championship drought] is because of style of play," he said.
The road to the national title could be a challenge for the league in 2024-25, too. The Big Ten might not have a team in the top 10 of the Associated Press preseason poll. But UCLA, Indiana and Purdue are teams with postseason potential. And Rutgers star Ace Bailey is expected to compete with Duke's Cooper Flagg for the No. 1 spot in next summer's NBA draft.
Still, Izzo knows that anything can happen, even to a great team that seems to have the tools to win a national title, an achievement that has eluded this conference for nearly 25 years.
"Sometimes," Izzo said, "it's bad luck."
Pirates Head to Providence, UConn This Weekend
- By Halldan1
- Pirate Hoops Chat
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Lucas Collects 1,000th Kill in Setback to UConn - Seton Hall University Athletics
Graduate student Perri Lucas (Chicago, Ill.) recorded her 1,000 th career kill, but the Seton Hall women's volleyball team fell at Connecticut in four sets, ...
Lucas Collects 1,000th Kill in Setback to UConn
STORRS, CONN. – Graduate student Perri Lucas (Chicago, Ill.) recorded her 1,000th career kill, but the Seton Hall women's volleyball team fell at Connecticut in four sets, 3-1 (19-25, 16-25, 25-21, 23-25), on Saturday.
Lucas becomes only the 12th player in Seton Hall history to reach the 1,000 kills milestone. She finished with eight kills, only two attack errors, three digs and two blocks today.
Sophomores Maddy Loiselle (Tampa, Fla.) and Senna Roberts-Navarro (Honolulu, Hawaii) collected 10 kills apiece to lead The Hall's offense. Junior Hadlee Ackerman (Atlanta, Ga.) had a career-high 18 digs, while Maddie Klungel (Napa, Calif.) tallied 34 assists and nine digs.
SET 1:
Connecticut got off to a hot start, scoring eight of the match's first 10 points. A block by Loiselle and Asli Subasili (Tekirdag, Turkiye) cut The Halls deficit to 13-10, but the Huskies answered with four of the next five points to extend their lead to 17-11. A kill by Roberts-Navarro cut The Hall's deficit to 23-18, but UConn went on for a 25-19 first-set victory.
SET 2:
Lucas' 1,000th kill cut The Hall's deficit to 12-9 in the second set, but Connecticut answered with an 8-2 run to grab a commanding 20-11 advantage and send Seton Hall to a timeout. The Hall had an attack percentage of only .103 in set two and went on to fall, 25-16.
SET 3:
Down 0-2 early in set three, The Hall went on a 6-1 run and an ace by Hadlee Ackerman (Atlanta, Ga.) gave it a 6-3 advantage. Leading 12-10, Seton Hall scored five of the next seven points and a kill by Reagan Merk (Hunting Beach, Calif.) put it on top, 17-12. From there, UConn never got closer than a four-point deficit. A kill by Loiselle put The Hall in set point, 24-17, and despite a 4-0 spurt by UConn, another Loiselle kill won the set for The Hall, 25-21.
SET 4:
The fourth set featured 14 ties and seven lead changes. A kill by Grace Turner (La Grange Highlands, Ill.) gave Seton Hall a 13-11 lead, but UConn answered with four straight points to take a 15-13 advantage. With the score tied at 20, the Huskies scored three of the next four points and never trailed again. An eighth kill by Lucas staved off one match point and cut the Pirates' deficit to 24-23, but UConn found the final point to win the fourth set, 25-23, and the match, 3-1.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Roberts-Navarro had 10 kills and six digs.
- Loiselle had 10 kills, only three attack errors, three blocks and two digs.
- Lucas tallied eight kills, only two errors and three digs.
- Ackerman had a career-high 18 digs to go with three service aces.
- Klungel tallied 34 assists to go with nine digs, two kills and two blocks.
- Seton Hall recorded a .182 attack percentage for the match, while Connecticut attacked at .214.
- The Pirates had 40 kills, while UConn had 56.
- The Hall recorded 52 digs, while the Huskies had 63.
- Seton Hall collected 10.0 blocks and Connecticut had 7.0.
- The Hall falls to 7-8 overall on the season and 1-3 in the BIG EAST, while Connecticut improves to 14-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
- Seton Hall is now 15-22 all-time against the Huskies.
- With eight kills today, Lucas becomes only the 12th player in Seton Hall history to record 1,000 for her career.
- Klungel topped 30 assists in a single-match today for the fifth match in a row and the ninth time in her career.
- With two blocks today, Lucas reached the 200-blocks mark for her career.
The Pirates will return to action on Friday, Oct. 11 when they return to the friendly confines of Walsh Gymnasium to host Xavier. The match is scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m.