Jon Joseph

Second-seed Purdue comes through with a 79 to 77 win over perhaps the best 11 seed in tournament history, Texas. Next up on Saturday will be a game against the winner of tonight's No. 1Arizona against No. 4 Arkansas game. Calipari wasn't certain whether Portland is in the USA, but he did find his way to San Jose. Speaking of Texas, 9 seed Iowa overcomes a ten-point deficit and wins the rubber match, defeating No. 4 Nebraska 77 to 71 in Houston. Iowa is the lowest-seeded Big Ten team to reach the Elite 8. Iowa coach Ben McCollum wins in the postseason; Google him. 😁 ESPN.comIowa defeats Nebraska, continues improbable March run int...Ninth-seeded Iowa continued its unpredictable NCAA tournament run under first-year coach Ben McCollum, beating Nebraska 77-71 in a South Region semifinal. If Illinois can defeat Houston in Houston tonight, then on Saturday, we'll see a B1G on B1G Elite 8 match-up. So far, two B1G teams are in the Elite 8, and here's to hoping for one more tonight, the Fighting Illini, and two more tomorrow night when the Wolverines play Bama and Michigan State battles UConn. 🤑

Moore on Michigan moving on from a half-wit to Whitt. Maize n BrewKyle Whittingham’s Michigan staff is ‘strict’ and similar...Michigan safety Rod Moore said that Kyle Whittingham’s staff has similarities to the Jim Harbaugh era.

Thanks, Don, for a terrific follow-up article. LeVar Woods. I believe there may be method in this seeming madness? A recent article on The Athletic predicted the coach of every P4 team in 2030. Woods was ticketed for the Iowa job with the author suggesting that LaVar's experience would be broadened by working in the conference for another defense-oriented coach. To absolve themselves from blame in the hazing scandal, Pat Fitzgerald was the administration's scapegoat. As part of the settlement of Fitzgerald's Wrongful Termination suit, he was absolved of all blame and received a settlement payment estimated to be around $100 million. However, does Michigan State have the money to field both a champion-contending basketball and football team? Will Fitzgerald be able to recruit quality high school and portal players at the level of Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, and USC? Mark Dantonio succeeded at Michigan State by developing lesser-talented players who played for Sparty for the entirety of their college football career. Can a 'development program' compete for championships today? IMO, Jedd Fisch's coaching prowess is underrated. But like Fitzgerald at Michigan State, does he have the resources to win Big Ten titles? His record in Husky Stadium is excellent, but on the road? He is 0-2 in Seattle versus the biggest B1G boys, Ohio State and Oregon. Michigan. Say what you will about Harbaugh, but the guy returned his alma mater to championship level. When it comes to organization and discipline, the Wolverines under Whittingham are being compared to Harbaugh. Under the new OC, Jason Beck, I expect we'll see significant improvement in QB Bryce Underwood, and I know we will see a better scheme on offense with better play calling. Michigan will always have the money and the desire to compete for Big Ten and national titles. Having to play Ohio State in Columbus in early November and playing Michigan in Autzen the following Saturday will test Oregon's championship bona fides. USC? Riley won B12 titles and many games at Oklahoma, but consistently failed in the postseason. Entering his 5th season with SC, Riley has not taken SC to the playoffs or competed for a B1G title. No doubt that under GM Chad Bowen and AD Jen Cohen, SC NIL money has been aligned, and the recruiting is on par with any program in the country. Shouldn't a guy making ten million a season to coach a brand-name Blue Blood have been able to figure this out on his own, as did John McKay, John Robinson, and Pete Carroll? I think SC has everything going for it, but for the guy at the top. This is a prove-it season for Riley. Will he come through? Gary Patterson put great Ds on the field at TCU. He will be facing better competition in the Big Ten than he did in the B12. Does he have the Jimmies and the Joes and the coaching moxie after four seasons away from the game? Jim Knowles was great when coaching future pros in Columbus. Knowles flamed out at Penn State, especially at UCLA, after holding the Oregon offense in check. Matt Patricia improved Ohio State's defense. Patterson is in the College Football Hall of Fame, but will his defense be that much better than what D'Anton Lynn put on the field? Perhaps Riley will get SC to the top of the B1G and CFB, but I have my doubts. He has picked up a win from trading Notre Dame for take your pick of San Jose State, Fresno State, or the team formerly known as La-La. San Jose in Week Zero is why SC has two byes this season, the first coming in Week 8. SC is at Rutgers the Saturday before hosting Oregon. Oregon plays Portland State at home before heading to LA, as close to an off week as a team can get. Kirk Ferentz and DC Phil Parker's coaching chops will be tested in 2026. Iowa is 104th in returning production. But I still expect Iowa to be a tough out for every opponent. Thanks again, Don. It's so good to be B1G. 😍

This 'stuff' is what makes a rivalry. And it also shows that Dan is No. 1 on USC's Most Wanted poster. Great, bring it on. In the 2026 Big Ten opener for both teams, the only thing that matters will be revealed by a photo of the scoreboard at the game's end. When it matters the most, when at Oklahoma and at SC, has Riley walked the walk? No, not ever. In 2025, SC's recruiting class was No. 1 in terms of quantity. Dan finished ahead of Riley in quality, again. I do not want Dan to sink to SC's level, but a perfect response to SC's post would be to post a photo of All-America guard Emmanuel Pregnon, a player who found the grass greener at A School Up North. 😁 Is there any grass in South Central that isn't fake?

A Wolverine's Predictions for the Sweet 16 - Entirely Objective, of Course Maize n BrewMarch Madness: Bold predictions for the second week of th...With March Madness starting back up tonight, here are some bold predictions for the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament:

Death, Taxes, and more teams in the playoffs? Two out of three are bad. https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/march-madness-2026-cbs-sports-viewership-records-ncaa-tournament/?ftag=SNL-04-10aaa0b&ET_CID=536536&ET_RID=52482716&eid=c7d8647c6247db8d08c59fe44bc30380a147aa90b9e330

Show OBD the B1G money! 🤑 22 units (22 games played) earned by the B1G, with five Sweet 16 games coming, and at least one Elite 8 game for the winner of Iowa vs. Nebraska. That's $46 million to date and counting. $2.55 million per team over six seasons with more to come. I reiterate. Oregon not joining the Big Ten would have been gross financial negligence.

One thing that you should know (perhaps 🙃) about the teams with 16 candles. (Only eight will make a lovely light 😁) AP NewsMarch Madness: Here's one thing you need to know about ea...Florida isn’t around to defend its title anymore, but all the other top seeds in this year's NCAA Tournament are still around. And many of them are winning convincingly.

Don, thank you for a great B1G look at football in one of CFB's top two conferences. Three in a row for the B1G is nice, but in today's wired world, I'm wary of recency bias. The Power 4 conferences in 2025 all had six teams that did not win more than five games. I line these teams up in hypothetical games, and I think the SEC is the deepest conference top to bottom. The ACC and B12 have sub-basements, and I think it would be closer than most football fans, and the media think, but that the SEC's basement would be better than the B1G's. With the SEC playing nine conference games this season, we will have an apples-to-apples comparison. Indiana among the Givens and rightfully so? I still have difficulty acknowledging that football is excellent in Bloomington and suspect in Lincoln. Vice versa when it comes to basketball. (Credit to The Athletic for coming up with the comparison.) For as long as Brett Bielma is coaching Illinois, the Fighting Illini will be a tough out. If we have learned anything over the last three seasons, it's that the middle of the B1G is not inferior to the middle of the SEC. Illinois, as Don so noted, has led the way with wins over 9-3 South Carolina and this past season's win over a close to season long ranked Tennessee team in Nashville. The 8-4 Hawkeyes bowl win over 10-2 Vanderbilt in Tampa this season, put a stamp on the B1G middle not being second fiddle to the SEC, and also gave support to the B1G's 24-team playoff plan. Purdue. Unlike Right Coast teams, Maryland and Rutgers, Boilermakers fans show up and sell out the stadium, whether inebriated or not. This is the school that produced Bob Griese, Drew Brees, and Rod Woodson. I think Purdue hired the right guy in Barry Odom. Can another school located in Indiana become a power in football? I doubt it, but I think Purdue doubles its win total in 2026, from two to four, and is .500 or better beginning in 2027. Wisconsin. A year after year Rose Bowl contender with a terrific fan base and an AD who walked the walk and came with the money in 2026, after promising to invest more in the football program. The Badgers finished strong in 2025 with home upset wins over No. 23 UW and No. 21 Illinois. Yes, it was in a torrential downpour, but Wisconsin had many players on the defense out with injuries and still battled OBD to the wire in a 21-7 loss. And the game in Madison in 2024 was as close as it can get. The Wisconsin schedule in 2025 was the most difficult in the conference. In 2026, notwithstanding an opening game vs. Notre Dame in Green Bay, CBS Sports ranks Wisconsin's schedule as the easiest in the conference. One would think that the football gods would not take out Wisconsin's starting QB early in the season for the fourth year in a row. (Especially when the QB's name is Colton Joseph! 🤪) This team played solid D in 2025 with many young players getting valuable minutes. I think the Badgers bounce back in 2026 with a shot at winning eight or more games. Nebraska left the B12 because of Texas, and the way in which the conference kissed Texas's Longhorns. No school in the conference has more zealous fans, as recently evidenced by Big Red fans taking over the arena in Oklahoma City for the basketball tournament game against Vanderbilt. And also selling out the football stadium for a record attendance volleyball game. I agree that cool is not the Ruhle in Lincoln. The football head coaching firings and hirings post-Osbourne have been baffling. I look for the Cornhuskers to again finish no better than slightly over .500. (Off the wall, I can see Dan Mullen coaching this team in 2027.) I expect UCLA under Bob Chesney to be much improved. I don't believe UCLA will be an easy out. Oregon blew Chesney's team out in the first half of the first-round playoff game in Autzen, and JMU never stopped competing. I'm leaving all things Iowa and the discussion of other B1G programs in your more than capable Hawkeye hands. Thanks again, Don, and well done, Sir, well done.

Thank you, Oregonjoneses. Please keep this terrific coverage of OBD's Softball squad coming. It's good to see the conference scheduling series that has OBD in Bloomington, then playing @230 miles from the Hoosiers campus in a ballpark near Chicago. With your coverage of softball and Charles coverage of baseball, well, I'm jonesing for more of the same. 😁

I'm not certain OBD and Dan belong on this list of teams under pressure in 2026 - 10 College Football Teams Under the Most Pressure Entering Spring Practice for 2026 - Yahoo Sports

Yep, if I'm Dana, I'm leaving the hardwood for the fairway, metal woods, and the 19th hole. 😎

Michigan is the No. 1 seed in the Men's NCAA Hockey Tournament. ESPN.comNCAA men's hockey roundtable: Teams to beat, players to w...Our experts analyze the NCAA bracket, including making their picks for the Frozen Four. Wisconsin won the Women's Ice Hockey Tournament https://uwbadgers.com/news/2026/3/22/womens-hockey-Wisconsin-claims-ninth-national-championship_ Badgers coach Mark Johnson extends his record with his 9th championship, all at Wisconsin, where he played college hockey before playing on the Miracle on Ice team in 1980, and then in the NHL. Penn State won its 5th consecutive Men's Wrestling title, scoring a record 181.5 points, which broke Penn State's 2024 record of 177 points. https://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/article/penn-state-wins-fifth-consecutive-wrestling-national-championship-with-4-wrestlers-earning-individual-titles-134637093.html 1 seed UCLA, 2 seed Michigan, and 4 seed Minnesota advanced to the Women's Tournament Sweet 16. In baseball guru Charles Fischer's world, UCLA baseball is ranked No. 1, with USC 10th and Oregon No. 17. In college softball, at 17, Oregon shares the same ranking as the baseball team, and No. 6 Nebraska, No. 8 UCLA, and 16 Washington are also in the Top 25. ESPN.comCollege softball rankings: 2026 NCAA Week 7 Top 25 pollCheck out our Top 25 poll, plus the player of the week. Track and Field - Oregon's Men's and Women's both finished 2nd in the NCAA T&F Indoor Championship. https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/oregon-men-women-finish-second-004113935.html Even without CW network coverage, it's great to be B1G! 😍

Fingers crossed and wood knocked - YardbarkerBig Ten has golden opportunity to end 26-year title droug...The Big Ten's never had a chance to end its men's NCAA Tournament championship drought quite like this.

Returning Production for B1G teams - Note that in 2025, Penn State and Clemson were among the leaders in returning production. Maryland is No. 1 in the B1G and 2nd in the nation. But other than QB Washington, what team wants the 2025 players who turtled back in 2026? Twerps do not = Terrifying Terps. https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2026/03/24/oregon-football-big-ten-returning-production/89294693007/?utm_source=smg-duckswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SMGbaseline&utm_term

Interesting, slightly tongue-in-cheek article up on The Athletic's ($ Wall) Until Saturday. Basketball power Indiana has become Tom Osborne's Nebraska football, and Nebraska has become Bob Knight's Indiana basketball. Like Curt Cignetti at Indiana, Nebraska basketball coach Fred Hoiberg used transfers to build the program, starting before the portal came into existence. Fred's son Sam, who played high school basketball in Lincoln, Nebraska, did not receive a D1 offer and walked on to play for his Dad. Sam is now a Senior and an effective starter at point guard. Nebraska is a slight -1.5 favorite over Iowa. The two teams split during the regular season, with both teams winning close games at home.

Interesting back story on coaches Tom Izzo and UConn's Dan Hurley. AP NewsTom Izzo gave Dan Hurley advice after Lakers offered UCon...Tom Izzo has turned down multiple opportunities to coach in the NBA, including with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks.

Point spreads for and a discussion of the eight Sweet 16 match-ups - https://sports.yahoo.com/mens-college-basketball/betting/article/2026-ncaa-tournament-odds-picking-every-sweet-16-193944870.html

Thank you, NJ. Roster management in today's CFB is, in itself, a full-time job. Not losing a starter with poachers on the prowl is a rare accomplishment. If you are only picking from the portal, you can go 13-0 as did FSU in 2023, but you can also crash and burn like FSU in 2024 and 2025. Rather than deal with the roster turnover and the demands from parents and agents, one of Dan Lanning's mentors, Nick Saban, walked away from the game. Dan is wisely following the model of another mentor, Kirby Smart, who uses the portal as necessary to fill holes in the roster. Thanks for another terrific post.

Thanks to H Duck for the detailed and spot-on takes on the Tournament to date. And other Forum friends who have corrected my errors. Six B1G teams in the Sweet 16 is a conference record. We will see one of Iowa or Nebraska in the Elite 8, matching up with Houston, not on the Cougars' usual home court, but just minutes away from campus. As friend H has noted, many of the Blue Blood basketball programs are not in this Sweet 16.

Here's the Sweet 16 broadcast information presented by On3 - Here's hoping that the B1G teams keep on making Bank. 🤑 On32026 NCAA Tournament: Tip-off times, TV channels announce...Tip-off times and television channels for the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen games have been announced by Turner.

Yes, it was a tough outing for Georgia. So far, the Big Ten is getting the benefit of the bounce. The Florida and Vanderbilt losses could have easily gone the other way. I think 4-seed Arkansas in the West has a decent chance of taking down Arizona and then Purdue, if Texas, behind excellent coach Sean Miller and playing with house money, hasn't already defeated Purdue. 4-seed Bama in the Midwest has the size to pull off a B1G upset and take down Michigan. It's March, and there will be Madness and mad fans. Unfortunately, Oregon fans know what it's like for their team to Flounder 😁 in the postseason. 🤬

CBS Sports looks at FanDuel's 2026 Big Ten Wins Total. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-win-totals-2026-odds-predictions-picks-each-team/

A Sweet 16 ranking from SBNation - https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/1107507/sweet-16-teams-march-madness?ueid=66c3ca35924fb3254520a3f8fe2aa9ce&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SB%20Nation%20Daily%20Update%202026-03-23&utm_term=

Bleacher Reports Tourney Winners and Losers includes Kentucky's $22 million roster on the L side. Winners and Losers of the Men's 2026 NCAA Tournament Sund...The 2026 men's NCAA tournament field has now been whittled from 68 teams down to the Sweet 16.