Tag: Big Ten championship

Nebraska Track & Field Medal Winners at Big Ten Championships

Nebraska Track & Field had a successful weekend at the Big Ten Track & Field Championships in Minneapolis!

The Nebraska Cornhuskers Men’s and Women’s Track & Field teams competed in the 2022 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Minneapolis over the weekend. The Ohio State Buckeyes doubled up and won both the men’s and women’s conference championships, with the women’s team repeating as back-to-back conference champions.

The Buckeyes won the women’s title with a meet record 185.5 team points, while Nebraska finished in fifth place behind Ohio State and Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Penn State. Husker high jumper Jenna Rogers and javelin thrower Maddie Harris were named first-team all-conference.

The men’s title saw OSU score 124 points for the league championship while Iowa, Wisconsin, and Nebraska finished second, third, and fourth. The Cornhuskers had six different team members named first-team all-conference. They were Max Otterdahl (Shot Put/Discus), Mayson Conner (High Jump), Jacob Hyde (4x400m), Alex Nelson (4x400m), Cory Berg (4x400m), and Nick Bryant (4x400m).

The Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year, Field Athlete of the Year, and Freshman of the Year will be announced on June 15th, following the completion of the NCAA National Championships.

Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball No. 3 nationally in attendance

The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team packed Carver-Hawkeye and came in at No. 3 in the country in attendance for the 2021-22 season.

It should come as no surprise that the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team is receiving some national notoriety after their impressive campaign in the 2021-22 season. In an incredible showing from the fans, the Iowa women have come in with the No. 3 best attendance in the nation.

The ladies put on a quality show all year and had Carver-Hawkeye Arena often selling out in an effort to become a raucous environment for opponents to venture into.

Last season saw them finish the regular season with a share of the Big Ten championship with a 24-8 (14-4 Big Ten) record. They went on to run the table in the Big Ten Tournament and took home the championship with a 74-67 win over Indiana. That was good enough for a No. 2 seed and hosting rights in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

Led by guard Caitlin Clark who averaged 27 points per game, they put on an offensive firework show with barrages of points. The Hawkeyes averaged just a touch over 84 points per game, the second-best in the nation. Clark’s 27 points per game led the nation. She also led the country with eight assists per game and finished with 257.

With Clark returning and the Hawkeyes looking for revenge after an unexpected loss to Creighton in the tournament, it can be expected that the fireworks continue, both on the court and in the stands as Hawkeye fans will continue to show out for their ladies.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Riley on Twitter: @rileydonald7

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Nebraska Softball wins their first Big Ten Conference Tournament Championship

Nebraska Softball will now prepare for its first NCAA Tournament birth since 2016.

For the first time since 2004, the Nebraska Softball team has won a Conference Tournament Championship. The Husker defeated the Michigan Wolverines by a score of 3 to 1 in eight innings to win Nebraska its first Big Ten Conference Tournament Championship since joining the league back in 2011. The win is the Cornhusker’s tenth conference tournament championship overall and veteran head coach Rhonda Revelle’s fourth such victory. The win also gives Nebraska an automatic birth into the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, their first birth since 2016.

The Huskers score the go-ahead run in the eighth inning to clinch their first Big Ten Tournament (below)

The NCAA tournament selection show will take place on ESPN2 on Sunday, May 15th, at 6:00 pm CT. Regionals will run from May 20-22, and the Super Regionals from May 26-29. The Women’s College World Series will go from June 2-10 at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinion.

Let us know your thoughts, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

[listicle id=1147]

Purdue vs Iowa Prediction, Game Preview: Big Ten Championship

Purdue vs Iowa prediction, college basketball game preview, how to watch, lines, and why each team might – or might not – win on Sunday in the Big Ten Championship.

Purdue vs Iowa prediction, college basketball game preview, how to watch: Sunday, March 13

Purdue vs Iowa Game Preview, Big Ten Championship How To Watch

Date: Sunday, March 13
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
How To Watch: CBS
Record: Purdue (25-9), Iowa (27-6)
– Sign up and live stream college basketball on ESPN+

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

– All of the CFN Fearless Predictions

ESPN releases Power Rankings through championship weekend

At least the Irish improved in these rankings.

With the conference championship games complete, we now know which teams are in the College Football Playoff. Sadly but not surprisingly, the field does not include Notre Dame. While it’s of little consolation, the Irish did move up a spot from last week in the weekly power rankings released by ESPN. Here are the top 10 teams in the power rankings to this point:

Big Ten Championship: Michigan vs Iowa Prediction, Game Preview

Big Ten Championship: Michigan vs Iowa prediction, game preview, how to watch, lines, and why each team might – or might not – win on Saturday.

Big Ten Championship: Michigan vs Iowa prediction, game preview, how to watch: Saturday, December 4

Big Ten Championship: Michigan vs Iowa How To Watch

Date: Saturday, December 4
Game Time: 8:00 ET
Venue: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
How To Watch: FOX
Record: Michigan (11-1), Iowa (10-2)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+
– Today’s Best Bet to Lock in Now

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

– All of the CFN Fearless Predictions

Big Ten Championship: Michigan vs Iowa Game Preview

Why Iowa Will Win

Oh poor Iowa …

Big underdog, no offense, no chance, sort of backed into this, it’s all about Michigan and finally being able win something massive under Jim Harbaugh.

This team is here for a reason.

No, the offense isn’t anything special – it was the worst in the Big Ten for most of the year until Indiana decided to take over the bottom spot – and there are a whole slew of matchup issues, but you don’t get to 10-2 in the Big Ten without doing something right.

The takeaways have returned. The Hawkeyes got to No. 2 in the nation after pounding on every possible turnover chance, but the production slowed against the better teams – Purdue, Wisconsin, Minnesota – before coming back with two takeaways against Illinois and Nebraska to close things out.

This isn’t going to be the type of team that hangs 50 on the board with a big offensive show, but it’s going to be measured, stay in control, and it’s not going to screw up.

There aren’t a lot of penalties, the team leads the Big Ten in turnover margin, and it needs to come up with multiple takeaways to pull this off. When there’s pressure and stress, the turnovers sometimes follow – and all the pressure and stress is on Michigan.

But …

– College Football Expert Picks, Championship Week

Why Michigan Will Win

Michigan doesn’t turn the ball over.

It gave away two fumbles against Northwestern and won easily, it turned it over twice against Michigan State and it mattered, and that was it.

There’s no reason to take any big chances.

Iowa’s offense doesn’t have enough pop to crank up the production, and unlike most normal Kirk Ferentz teams, it’s going to get owned on the lines.

The Michigan defensive front should dominate a mediocre Hawkeye offensive line that allows way too many plays in the backfield and doesn’t do anything for the run, and the Wolverine offensive front five leads the nation in fewest tackles for loss allowed and doesn’t give up sacks.

– NFL Expert Picks, CFN Week 13

What’s Going To Happen

It’s Michigan under Jim Harbaugh. We’re about to see if it’s allowed to have nice things.

Within 30 seconds after the breakout win over Ohio State finally ended, a large portion of TTUN (That Team Up North) Nation started freaking out that the team was finally going to get over the Buckeye hump only to blow it in the Big Ten Championship.

Nah.

Oh, it won’t be easy – Iowa really is good enough defensively to grind this down; no one has scored more than 27 on the Hawkeyes this year – and all bets are off if Michigan starts turning the ball over, but the lines will take control as the game goes on, the defense will rise up with a huge second half, and even though no one in Maize and Blue will be able to breathe easily until midway through the fourth quarter, yeah …

Michigan is going to be the 2 seed and – most likely – off to Arlington, Texas.

– College Football Schedule: Championship Week Predictions, Lines

Big Ten Championship: Michigan vs Iowa Prediction, Lines

Michigan 26, Iowa 17
Line: Michigan -11, o/u: 43.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2

Must See Rating: 5

5: The King’s Man
1: CMA Country Christmas

[protected-iframe id=”361699434b6d70baf15f631ed2408ac1-97672683-92922408″ info=”https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js” ]

Championship Week Schedule | CFN Expert Picks
Rankings CFN 1-130 Rankings | AP | Coaches
Bowl Projections, CFP Predictions
Heisman Top Candidates: Who Wants To Win?

Does Michigan’s huge win over Ohio State impact Notre Dame?

The party is on in Ann Arbor…

Michigan wasn’t given much of a chance by the nation Saturday as they went into their Saturday date with No. 2 Ohio State ranked fifth in the College Football Playoff rankings but hadn’t beaten their rival since 2011.

10-years later that streak has finally ended for the Wolverines as they upset Ohio State to secure their first ever trip to the Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis.  A win there over Iowa or Wisconsin will then mean Michigan will make their first trip to the College Football Playoff (CFP).

Related: Check out the Michigan and Ohio State perspectives at Wolverines Wire and Buckeyes Wire!

Here at Fighting Irish Wire we’re always trying to figure out how things impact Notre Dame.  In this case how are Notre Dame’s playoff odds affected by Michigan’s victory?

According to FiveThirtyEight, Notre Dame’s chances of making the CFP take a minimal hit as they drop from 31% to 30% with the Michigan win.  I don’t really get how they go down, unless Ohio State gets love from the committee they don’t deserve with two losses.

Michigan will be the obvious favorite in the Big Ten Championship next weekend regardless of who they play (Wisconsin clinches a berth with win over Minnesota, Iowa clinches berth if Wisconsin loses).  However, the matchup seems to lend itself better to both Wisconsin and Iowa’s chances with it being a Michigan team that doesn’t light up the scoreboard quite like Ohio State’s can do.

Pretty simply, the spread in next week’s Big Ten championship will be a smaller number than if Ohio State was playing.  That’s not to take anything away from Michigan whatsoever, just with an offense that wasn’t viewed as “as sexy” as Ohio State’s, that’s a fact.

That said, I’ll still pick Michigan to come out of that as the victor, but perhaps it’ll be a tougher test than the first meeting between the two was.

Other than that, Ohio State having two losses eliminates them from the CFP, just like a second loss by Alabama SHOULD do to the Tide.

So in short, Michigan’s win helps Notre Dame in the fact that maybe the Big Ten is now ever-so-slightly more winnable for Wisconsin than it would be if they played Ohio State?

It’s not a bad thing, whatever the case.

So congrats to Michigan fans that have sat through a lot of torcher with Ohio State the last couple decades.  That’s a win worth celebrating for days.

Heck, celebrate it for the next week straight and come out flat in Indianapolis?

Related:

FIW Staff Picks for Notre Dame-Stanford

The 50 biggest college football stadiums

LOOK: Iowa celebrates…a Big Ten West division title?

LOOK: Iowa celebrates…a Big Ten West division title?

The Wisconsin Badgers would win the Big Ten West with a win over rival Minnesota today. Iowa and Wisconsin would be tied with a 7-2 conference record, though the Badgers have the tiebreaker thanks to a 27-7 win over the Hawkeyes in October.

Iowa needed a win over Nebraska yesterday to stay alive in the race for the West. A loss would’ve meant Minnesota could win the division with a win today.

Well, the Hawkeyes mounted a massive late comeback and handed Nebraska yet another one-score loss (Nebraska is somehow 1-8 in conference play yet had a +0 score differential).

[lawrence-related id=40545,40480]

Think today’s game at Minnesota is shades of 2019? Well Iowa celebrated a Big Ten West title after its win yesterday. Yes, you read that right. The shirts read “2021 West Division Champions,” even though Wisconsin still has a game to play later today.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

[listicle id=40456]

A Week 13 college football rooting guide for Wisconsin Badger fans

A Week 13 college football rooting guide for Wisconsin Badger fans

Wisconsin fans know what’s at stake in Minneapolis tomorrow when the Badgers take the field against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

With a win, the Badgers would finish the season with an 8-game win streak and a Big Ten West title after starting the season 1-3. With a loss, either Minnesota or Iowa will likely capture the division and the Badgers will fall a game short.

Related: Five keys to a Wisconsin victory over Minnesota this weekend

Well, there are other relevant games this weekend to the rest of Wisconsin’s season. Some have to do with the Big Ten picture, and some are more on the national stage.

Here is the complete Week 13 college football rooting guide for Wisconsin Badger fans:

Joel Klatt thinks this could be ‘Wisconsin’s best chance to win the Big Ten in a long time”

Joel Klatt thinks this could be ‘Wisconsin’s best chance to win the Big Ten in a long time”

Wisconsin began its 2021 football season on quite a skid. The team lost three games in the FOX Big Noon Kickoff window all to ranked teams, finishing with a record of 1-3 through the first four weeks of the season.

The losses did not come because of any lapses from Jim Leonhard’s remarkable defense. They came thanks to offensive mistakes, turnovers and critical errors during the worst time.

That stretch is far behind this team, though, and I’d argue the team we watch now is far different from the one that lost 38-17 at home to Michigan. Braelon Allen has emerged as Wisconsin’s next great running back, Graham Mertz is taking steps forward as a quarterback and the defense is forcing turnovers at an alarming rate. The team’s six-game win streak has it in a position to win the final two games of the season and move on to the Big Ten Championship.

FOXSports analyst Joel Klatt went on B1G Today and discussed this Wisconsin team and its chances at winning its first conference title since 2012.

He said in the appearance he thought this could be, if they get to the game, the Badgers best shot at winning the Big Ten ‘in a long time.’

Here’s his full quote:

“I thought they would beat Penn State, I thought they would beat Michigan, I thought they would beat Notre Dame. I think very highly of Wisconsin. If they’ve got the right blueprint, in particular on the offensive side and they finally found it with that run game and the commitment to the run game, because the defense is easily the second best defense in college football. They are excellent on the defensive side. I’ve done all these championship games and every single time you come in and there’s a pretty big gap between Ohio State and the team that they’re going to play from western side of the division. And I don’t feel that way this year. Even if it is Ohio State, even if Ohio State beats Michigan and Michigan State and they kept bringing this great offense. I’ve seen what happens to Ohio State when they play a great defense. I think Nebraska is a really good defense, Penn State is a very good defense. And we’ve seen what happens to them in those moments. And Wisconsin is better than Penn State, and they are better than Nebraska on the defensive side. Which I think would give Ohio State problems. They would certainly give Michigan State and Michigan problems. There’s no doubt about it. This is Wisconsin’s best chance, if they can get to that game, this is their best chance to win that game in a long time.”

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

[listicle id=39405]