Author Archive - Christopher Mackinder

How will the Big Ten fare in the NCAA Tournament?

“The Big Ten was bad this year. No way around the truth.”
– Bracketography’s David Mihm on Selection Sunday.
Lost in all the Selection Sunday madness was any discussion of the Big Ten. And, because of the questionable season the entire conference put together, maybe the lack of discussion […]

Big Ten Tournament Preview

Regardless of what happens in Indianapolis at this week’s Big Ten Tournament, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana and Wisconsin all are dancing. One team – Ohio State – still has realistic dreams of a landing on the right side of the Selection Sunday bubble.
That makes this year’s Big Ten Tournament a little mundane, but there are still […]

Team Profile: Purdue Boilermakers

Record: (23-7, 14-3 Big Ten)
Key Wins: @Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Michigan State, N-Louisville
Key Losses: Wofford, Iowa State, @Missouri, @Ohio State
Key Stats: 8.2 – Purdue’s steals per game, second in the Big Ten.
87.9 – Purdue’s defensive efficiency (points allowed in 100 opponent possessions), 11th in the country
Key Numbers: RPI: 31; SOS: 90; NCSOS: 241; Vs. Top 50: 5-4
Biggest […]

Team Profile: Michigan State Spartans

Record: (23-6, 11-5 Big Ten)
Key Wins: N-Texas; Purdue, N-BYU, Indiana
Key Losses: N-UCLA, @Wisconsin, @Iowa, @Penn State
Key Stats: 20-1. The Spartans are undefeated at home this season and have recorded a 5-1 neutral floor record. While road record is important, there are no “road” games in the NCAA Tournament. And, if the Spartans get placed in […]

Team Profile: Wisconsin Badgers

Record: (24-4, 14-2 Big Ten)
Key Wins: @Texas, Indiana, @Indiana, Michigan State.
Key Losses: @Purdue, Purdue, @Duke, Marquette
Key Stat: 54.9. That is how many points per game the Badgers allow – best in the nation.
Key Numbers: RPI: 12; SOS: 42; NSOS: 61; Vs. Top 50: 4-4
Biggest Strengths: For years, coach Bo Ryan has used pieces of various […]

Team Profile: Indiana Hoosiers

Record: (24-5, 13-3 Big Ten)
Key Wins: Michigan State, Purdue, Kentucky, @So. Illinois, N-Illinois State
Key Losses: Michigan State, @ Wisconsin, Connecticut, @ Xavier
Key Stat: 0.964– As good as Indiana has played this season, it is one of the few elite teams that averages more turnovers per game than assists with a .964 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Key Numbers: RPI: […]

Team Profile: Ohio State Buckeyes

Record: (18-12, 9-8 Big Ten)
Key Wins: N-Syracuse, Florida, @ Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue
Key Losses: @ Tennessee, North Carolina, @ Iowa, @ Michigan
Key Stat: 4-8 away from Value City Arena.
Key Numbers: RPI: 55; SOS: 33; NSOS: 13; Vs. Top 50: 1-9
Biggest Strengths: Big-time talents. As I wrote earlier this season, the Buckeyes are not in a rebuilding […]

2008 BracketBuster Recap: VCU 57, Akron 52

In a nationally televised BracketBuster game, one would have assumed Virginia Commonwealth’s Eric Maynor would have played a major factor - win or lose - in the Rams’ success.
Ironically, Maynor was a shell of himself Saturday morning in front of 4,098 screaming fans at Rhodes Arena. Still, that didn’t stop VCU from making a major […]

2008 Bracket Buster Preview: VCU vs. Akron

Game Information: VCU (19-6, 12-3 CAA) vs. Akron (18-7, 8-4 MAC), 11 a.m. ET Saturday, ESPN2.About VCU: One year ago, Virginia Commonwealth took a big hit in its Bracket Buster matchup. The Rams fell to Bradley, 73-64, and I wrote, “The Rams might have to run the table in their remaining regular season games and […]

Reloading, Part III: The USC Trojans

Imagine Tim Floyd’s stomach last April. Floyd may have single-handedly propelled sales of Alka-seltzer in the Los Angeles area to an all-time record.
Prior to April, it was assumed his Trojans, who finished T-3rd in the Pac-10 during the regular season, runner-up in the Pac-10 Tournament, and made an appearance in the Sweet 16, were […]

Meet Christopher

Christopher MackinderChris graduated from Michigan State University in 2005 and has lived his entire life in Big Ten country. He currently freelances for the Times Herald in Port Huron, Michigan, records statistics for STATS, LLC., and tracks Michigan State athletics for MLive.com. His main concentration for Bracketography.com is Big Ten analysis.

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