Power 6 Update (Dec. 21): Another big day lies ahead for Big Ten

The B1G has four games vs. the Power 6 today. Anything less than 3 wins should be considered a disappointment.

The Power 6 conferences head to head through Friday, Dec. 20:

Head to Head
1. Big XII (19-13, 59.4%)
2. Pac 12 (16-14, 53.3%)
3. ACC (24-22, 52.2%)
4. Big Ten (20-22, 47.6%)
5. Big East (15-17, 46.9%%)
6. SEC (16-22, 42.1%)

Friday Results
none

Saturday Matchups
Georgetown @ Kansas, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Georgia Tech @ Vanderbilt, 3 p.m.
Michigan State @ Texas, 3 p.m. (CBS)
Illinois vs. Missouri, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Texas Tech @ Arizona State, 5:30 p.m. (Pac 12 Network)
Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
Xavier @ Alabama, 6 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. Ohio State, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Michigan vs. Stanford, 7:30 p.m. (FS1)
Colorado vs. Oklahoma State, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Big Ten vs. ACC
Tied 8-8 (1 game remaining) -- Notre Dame vs. Ohio State (today)

Lock City Record: 27-16, 62.8%
Friday Result: Omaha +14.5 (@ Minnesota) = W
Saturday Selection: Florida State -1 (vs. UMass)
Streak: W-4

Man, SS, Monson finally gets a break and will pick up a win today. Nine straight. Wow! Still has to face Mizzou before conference starts. What rating is their SOS? It has to be pretty high.

Florida State win over #22 UMass will definitely help us.

Good day for the B1G today, with a heaping help of "luck of the Irish." ND blows 8 point lead with under a minute left, wow. Watching OSU and Michigan today, I believe they're both teams we can and should beat at home (although Mich was playing without McGary today).

Even with 3 teams ranked in the top 5, I think there could be some question whether the B1G really is the best conference this year, given its relative struggles the last couple weeks, but the 4 wins today probably solidify our top dog status going into conference play (in the minds of fans if not the RPI). Obviously that's good for the Gophers.

With all the significant nonconference games over for the Big Ten, looks like there are three teams (possibly a 4th) who can legitimately compete for the Big Ten title. ... Iowa, Michigan State, and Ohio State, and Michigan if McGary gets healthy. Badgers are good, but I don't think they're built to win a Big Ten championship. Michigan State and Iowa would be my co-favorites because they have multiple guys that can score.

Gophers have an opportunity to get to the middle of the pack (6th). 2-0 start is very possible, especially if McGary is out or not near 100%.

WanderingGopher said:

Good day for the B1G today, with a heaping help of "luck of the Irish." ND blows 8 point lead with under a minute left, wow. Watching OSU and Michigan today, I believe they're both teams we can and should beat at home (although Mich was playing without McGary today).

Even with 3 teams ranked in the top 5, I think there could be some question whether the B1G really is the best conference this year, given its relative struggles the last couple weeks, but the 4 wins today probably solidify our top dog status going into conference play (in the minds of fans if not the RPI). Obviously that's good for the Gophers.

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Well, I have watched this OSU team every game, and I'm not sure the ND game is a good example of how they will play in the future. They were out of sync almost the whole game offensively, not playing with normal aggression or confidence. It was a weird game for sure. Syracuse got upset against Temple in the same event at the same time a season ago (ironically Temple was unranked and Cuse was rated #3, same as ND and OSU today).

This is the wrst part of the season to be making any projections the rest of the way. Everyone is "absent" as they come off of or look forward to a break. Glad to see conference do well, but won;t draw any conclusions based on games between December 20 and January 6, unless of course the Gophers go 2-0 the first weekend.