Good Wins: N-UCLA, Duke, Illinois, @Purdue, Minnesota, @Minnesota
Bad Losses: @ Iowa.
Strengths:
1. Free-Throw Shooting: Late-game situations on the foul line require each player to have “ice water in his veins” as the popular cliché goes. Despite its youth, Michigan shoots 74.8 percent from the charity stripe, 22nd in the country. If the Wolverines hold the lead in [...]

Good Wins: Florida State, Minnesota, @Michigan State, Wisconsin, @Purdue.
Bad Losses: @ Iowa.
Strengths:
1. Patience. Fans of up-tempo North Carolina-style offense would be appalled if forced to watch Northwestern’s Princeton-style offense. But that is exactly what helps Northwestern stay in and even win games it shouldn’t based on talent alone. On average, Northwestern gets 61.5 possessions per [...]

Good Wins: Boston College, Davidson, Wisconsin, @Minnesota, @Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State
Bad Losses: None.
Strengths:
1. Defense: The Boilermakers are an angry swarm of bees on defense. Purdue is ninth in the country in field goal percent defense (38.5 percent) and tenth in scoring defense (58.7 points per game). Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency ratings exemplify even more how great [...]

Good Wins: @ Miami (Fla.), @Notre Dame, Butler, @Michigan, Michigan, Purdue, Minnesota, Penn State
Bad Losses: None.
Strengths:
Youth. For some teams, youthfulness brings out hesitation and nervousness on the court. At Ohio State, where Thad Matta has seemingly lost his entire roster to the NBA for the past few seasons, youth on the court is nothing new. [...]

Good Wins: Oklahoma State, @Texas, @Minnesota, Ohio State, Kansas, Illinois, @Ohio State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, @ Illinois.
Bad Losses: None.
Strengths:
1. Toughness. The mantra of Tom Izzo’s Spartans has been toughness from the first day he stepped in the gym. You may have heard of the “War Drill” which Izzo instituted as a regular at practice in the [...]

Good Wins: Louisville (neutral site), Ohio State, @ Wisconsin, Illinois, Wisconsin

Bad Losses: None.
Strengths:
1. Interior Defense: There isn’t a whole lot to love about Tubby Smith’s team this season, but if forced to pick one thing, interior defense jumps to the forefront. Minnesota gets a block on nearly 1/5 of opponent possessions (19.2 percent), [...]

Good Wins: @Michigan State, Purdue, Minnesota, @Illinois, Illinois
Bad Losses: None.
Strengths:
1. Ball security: It might sound like a ridiculous strength, but getting the most out of each possession is extremely important, especially in the possessions-are-at-a-premium Big Ten Conference. Penn State ranks 18th in the country in turnover rate, giving the ball [...]

Good Wins: @ Virginia Tech, @ Michigan, Illinois, Ohio State
Bad Losses: @ Iowa.
Strengths:
1. Ball Control: Watching Wisconsin’s methodical offense can be like watching the overweight contestants sweat on “The Biggest Loser”–it’s not pretty. But, just like the pound-dropping humans, the wear-you-down-until-you’re-too-bored-to-play-defense offense works. Wisconsin turns the ball over just 16.6 [...]

Niagara 70, Illinois State 56
No matter how much Illinois State chiseled at its lead, Niagara was not going to be denied on this night, in this game.
In the opening act of the 2009 ESPNU Bracketbusters, the Purple Eagles sprinted out to a big lead in front of the faithful Gallagher Center crowd and held on [...]

You want a laugh, find a copy of Bill Cosby’s “Himself” DVD. You want a chuckle, look at this season’s preseason prognostications, one month later.
Before Kentucky’s Billy Gillispie came out for Kentucky’s Midnight Madness and tried to secure a dozen letters of intent from 8th graders in the crowd and before Tom Izzo turned back [...]