Saturday, 05 March 2011 14:40

Written by Glen Bloomberg

0 Comments

THE STORY: The Big Ten's hottest team takes on one of its coldest when No. 6 Purdue wraps up regular-season play with a Saturday afternoon contest at Iowa. The Boilermakers, winners of seven straight games, can still earn a share of the conference title with a win and an Ohio State loss on Sunday. Iowa, meanwhile, has lost its last six, most recently an 85-66 setback at Michigan State on Wednesday. Purdue, which also remains in the hunt for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, coasted to a 75-52 victory over the Hawkeyes on Jan. 9 in West Lafayette, Ind.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT IOWA (10-19, 3-14 Big Ten): The Hawkeyes haven't been able to buy a break – three times during its current six-game skid, Iowa lost by just three points, including twice in overtime. Iowa is the only Big Ten team with a negative scoring margin (minus-0.8) and also ranks last in the conference in 3-point shooting (31.2 percent). Junior guard Matt Gatens leads the team in scoring (12.6 ppg). Freshman forward Melsahn Basabe adds 11.2 points and 6.9 rebounds a night while junior guard Bryce Cartwright averages 10.8 points and 5.8 assists. The Hawkeyes are 7-8 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, with a 2-6 mark in Big Ten home games.

ABOUT PURDUE (25-5, 14-3 Big Ten): The Boilermakers have reached the 25-win mark for the fourth straight season, one of just five Division I teams that can currently make that claim. Senior center JaJuan Johnson, a likely All-American, leads the Big Ten in scoring (20.5 ppg) and blocked shots (2.37) while senior guard E'Twaun Moore is fifth in scoring (18.5). Purdue is seventh nationally in assist-turnover ratio (1.51), 12th in turnovers per game (10.7) and 13th in turnover margin (plus-3.93). The Boilermakers have won three straight away games and are 7-4 in true road contests, including 5-3 in conference play.

WHO'S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Moore is averaging 22.0 points during Purdue's current seven-game win streak Johnson has scored at least 20 points in each of Purdue's last seven road games. Basabe has led the Hawkeyes in both scoring and rebounding in each of the past three games.

KEY STATISTIC: Purdue has won 40 straight games when scoring at least 70 points, a mark it has reached in five of its last six contests.

RECENT HISTORY: The Boilermakers have won the last eight meetings, including three straight by double digits. Iowa's last victory over Purdue came in 2007, a 78-59 rout at home.

LOOKING AHEAD: Iowa will either be the No. 10 or 11 seed in the Big Ten tournament, with a first-round game Thursday, while Purdue has clinched a top-three seed and a bye to the quarterfinals.

LAST WORD: “As long as we take care of our business, hopefully Wisconsin can beat (Ohio State) and we can share the title, but if they don't, at the end of the day we can say we finished out strong.” – Purdue junior guard Lewis Jackson. College Basketball Picks take Iowa.

Wednesday, 16 February 2011 11:10

Written by Tom J. Winston

0 Comments

Baltimore Ravens Michael Oher position uncertain - Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher made a series of media appearances over the past few weeks -- including the rare, in-studio appearance on Mike Francesa's radio show on WFAN in New York -- and Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun wrote recently that Oher is the foundation of what the team will do on the O-line for years to come.

In an update on the situation on Monday afternoon, Preston's colleague Jamison Hensley wrote that the Ravens actions this offseason will determine the position from which Oher will help build up the line.

The first situation likely to be resolved is that of fellow OT Jared Gaither. Currently, it's a little hard to read the tea leaves, though the local reporters all seem to be in agreement that it's a long shot for Gaither to return. If Gaither does return, however, he'll probably be back at LT, with Oher switching back to the right side. If the Ravens want to extend Gaither, they can do so up until the end of the league year, which concludes at the stroke of midnight on March 4.

Following the decision on Gaither, the next step will either be free agency -- if there's a new CBA by then -- or the draft -- if there's not. Some of the tackles that are being graded out as first-round prospects are projected as RTs at the NFL level, so if the Ravens grab one at No. 26 overall, this could mean Oher would stick at LT.

Free agency may not provide much help, as teams usually retain top-flight tackles. But there are some intriguing possibilities (if they aren't retained by their current teams), including Matt Light, Doug Free, Tyson Clabo, Jammal Brown, Jermon Bushrod and Willie Colon.