MF Iowa just got blown out by Northern Iowa 6750

75, 7-2) KL: The Illini's 23 point comeback against Clemson in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge was epic and historic.Freshmen D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul have shown maturity beyond their years. MF: Despite an epic fail in the Las Vegas Invitational where Illinois fell to Utah and Bradley, those freshmen and double-double machine Mike Davis are giving this team some fight.Good size and a veteran point guard in Demetri McCamey make this a squad that will contend in Big Ten play 7 Minnesota (No 33, No. 12, 6-3) KL: Nice comeback with a blowout of Brown at home.C Ralph Sampson III had his best game of the season, and Gophers fans hope it is a sign of good things to come. MF: Tubby Smith's Minnesota squad may have been overhyped in the preseason when they were ranked in the top 20.A win over Butler in the 76 Classic gives them an out of conference victory to hang their hats on, but their next three games against decent opponents (Portland, Texas A&M, Miami) resulted in losses. With four in a row against soft opponents at home (starting with a win tonight against Morgan State), Minnesota has a good chance to get it together heading into conference play 8 Penn State (N/R, No.

143, 6-3)SH: Just when things seemed to be looking up with the Challenge win over Virginia, PSU drops one to Temple in a game that could kindly be called "bowling-shoe ugly." A team that can only rely on seven players, as the Lions did against Temple, will be ground to jelly by the end of this Big Ten season.MF: Penn State and G Talor Battle finished last year with an NIT title.That's the bright side.They also lost a ton of scoring as seniors Jamelle Cornley, Stanley Pringle, and Danny Morrissey all graduated.That's the not-so-bright side. 15 by ESPN in the preseason.Manny Harris is a great player, and Michigan has some good talent around him. But after a few early wins against weak opposition, Harris and Co. got crushed by Marquette in the Old Spice Classic, starting a three-game losing streak that included narrow losses to Alabama and Boston College.

19.Utah is a must-win, and just avoiding a blowout against the potent Jayhawks may be a moral victory 10 Indiana (N/R, No. 173, 4-4) MF: Tom Crean's Hoosiers are stacked with young talent and got a huge 74-64 win tonight against Pittsburgh in the Jimmy V Classic.Freshmen Christian Watford and Maurice Creek have legitimate major-conference skills, and junior Georgetown transfer Jeremiah Rivers looks like the real deal as a big, smart, physical point guard.Indiana also benefits from a deep benchthere are at least ten players who can contribute, and possibly more.The key for them is going to be hanging tough both in games where they tend to lose focus late, and in the lengthy conference season.Can Rivers and senior guard Devan Dumes emerge as vocal leaders for this teamIf they can, and the young fellas can keep scoring, Indiana may surprise some people. 11 Iowa (N/R, No. 151, 3-6) KL: The Hawkeyes haven't had two consecutive wins this season.They face both Northern Iowa and Iowa State this week. MF: Iowa just got blown out by Northern Iowa 67-50.UNI is a good team, but you never want to lose state bragging rights to a directional school.On the upside, coach Todd Lickliter is out of the hospital after surgery yesterday.He might have wanted to stay in there, the way this team is playing.You can pencil in the Hawks for the No 11 spot all season long. There you have it.Thanks again to everybody that voted and sent in comments!We'll do it again before Christmas. This article is also featured on Armchair Superstar. Two days into the general manager winter meetings in Indianapolis, the Yankeeshave made their first big move of the offseason. It has been reported that New York has acquired outfielder Curtis Granderson in a three-way trade with the Detroit Tigers and the Arizona Diamondbacks.In the deal, the Tigers will receive Yankee relief pitcher Phil Coke and top outfield prospect Austin Jacksonand the young Arizona starting pitcher Max Scherzer.