Big Ten RUMORS & NEWS

The Big Lead "We all learned from Office Space that more than one person can have a name and it can be tough for the lesser known Michael Bolton. It can also lead to confusion, like it did yesterday when Chris "Mad Dog Russo" responded to a @Funhouse tweet suggesting the legendary radio..." February 27

Larry Brown Sports "March 1 is right around the corner and plenty of college basketball teams are starting to feel the heat. Despite the strangest season we’ve ever see, with games moved, canceled, and heavily affected by COVID-19, the selection committee will still need to sort through varied resumés..." February 26

ESPN "Illinois star guard Ayo Dosunmu is out indefinitely after suffering a facial injury, the school announced Thursday. Dosunmu suffered the injury in Tuesday's loss to Michigan State. He was fouled hard by Spartans freshman Mady Sissoko late in the game;..." February 25

ESPN "A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a former female student's report of sexual assault against three former Michigan State basketball players was just one event and not enough to establish that she had been subjected to "systemic" harassment by the university. In..." February 25

CBS Sports "There ended up being just one coaching change in college basketball's top seven conferences in the 2020 cycle with Steve Forbes taking over for Danny Manning at Wake Forest. With universities bracing for the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis, many that may have made..." February 24

The Big Lead "The last time there was a Final Four, Michigan State was there. It may feel like 20 years ago, but it was less than two when the Spartans' run ended in Minneapolis at the hands of Texas Tech's maniacal defense. In the dejected but still hopeful locker room, Xavier Tillman reflected..." February 24

ESPN "The top 20 prospects in the ESPN 100 have been named to the 44th annual McDonald's All American Game rosters, led by No. 1 prospect Chet Holmgren. For the second year in a row, the game won't be played due to the coronavirus pandemic. The rosters for both the..." February 23

Detroit Free Press "The University of Michigan Board of Regents approved a five-year contract extension for athletic director Warde Manuel on Thursday. Under the terms of his new deal, Manuel will remain in his post through June 30, 2026, and will have his salary increased to $1.1 million on..." February 19

The Big Lead "The Michigan Wolverines, playing yesterday for the first time in 23 days after a COVID layoff did what no team could do in slowing some of this team's incredible forward momentum, trailed Wisconsin by 12 at halftime in Madison. Everything we've seen this year from sides derailed by..." February 15

ESPN "Michigan men's basketball has postponed Thursday's game against Illinois, extending the program's two-week pause. It's the fifth consecutive game that Michigan, a top seed in ESPN's Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology, will miss. According to a..." February 07

USA Today "Losses for men's college basketball teams in February are bad for multiple reasons. For starters, the losses in conference play only hinder NCAA Tournament résumés — whether for seeding or inclusion. Most notably, they can signal  a lack of momentum..." February 05

The Score "As an unprecedented college basketball season approaches its climax, there's still plenty that needs to be settled ahead of Selection Sunday. Here are 10 storylines to watch in the final month before the Madness begins. Gonzaga pursuing perfection Typically,..." February 01

CBS Sports "Kentucky's basketball program is resuming practice on Monday and breaking its temporary COVID-inflicted postponement after being forced to postpone its SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup Saturday with Texas. The Wildcats' schedule has changed a bit because of the pause, with its SEC matchup..." February 01

CBS Sports "No college basketball team is perfect. Most of them have at least one flaw -- many of them more than one. But it takes just six consecutive wins to reach the pinnacle of college basketball in March Madness. It's all about minimizing blemishes, maximizing strengths, banding together for a..." January 27

Click on Detroit " Calls to allow winter sports to resume before the end of February may boil over into a legal battle, according to a group of parents, players and coaches from across the state. Late last week, Whitmer announced MDHHS would be extending a pause on winter contact sports, namely..." January 26

Michigan Live "Michigan State has seen a fifth player test positive for COVID-19 in less than three weeks but is still planning to return to game action later this week. Spartans junior Gabe Brown has tested positive for the virus, Spartans coach Tom Izzo announced on Tuesday. Izzo didn’t give..." January 26

The Score "The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is immediately shutting down all Michigan athletic activities for up to two weeks after multiple student-athletes tested positive for the new COVID-19 B.1.1.7 variant, the school announced Saturday. The school..." January 24

Yardbarker "The Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball program will remain idle through at least the end of January.  Nebraska confirmed on Friday that a matchup against the Penn State Nittany Lions scheduled for Jan. 30 has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues that have..." January 22

CBS Sports "With 357 teams comprising Division I college basketball, there was only room for 0.28 players per team on our list of the sport's top 101 players that was published in November. Sure, the Ivy League and a couple other teams have since dropped out of the 2020-21 season, but when..." January 20

Centre Daily Times "Penn State men’s basketball interim head coach Jim Ferry earned Penn State an institutional fine of $10,000 from the Big Ten and a public reprimand for his actions following Penn State’s loss to Purdue on Sunday. “We are disappointed in Jim Ferry’s actions..." January 19

Detroit Free Press "Despite ongoing COVID-19 issues within his program the past week, Michigan State basketball’s Tom Izzo is not ready to throw away the college basketball season. But he also expressed a growing anxiety of what might happen next. “I think we're gonna make..." January 19

ESPN "Nebraska men's basketball coach Fred Hoiberg announced Sunday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and the program said it would continue to pause activities for a minimum of seven more days. Nebraska said that 12 members of the program, including Hoiberg and seven players, have..." January 17

The Gazette "Iowa’s scheduled home men’s basketball game against Michigan State Thursday night has been postponed because of COVID-19 issues within the Michigan State program. The makeup date will be announced at a later time. " January 14

Yahoo! Sports "Gonzaga looks like the team to beat this year, Baylor is a close second and the third hottest team in college basketball is ... Michigan? It’s true. The Wolverines are now 11-0 after destroying No. 9 Wisconsin on Tuesday night, 77-54. Wisconsin was a fierce..." January 14

USA Today "Two Michigan State basketball players have tested positive for COVID-19. One of them is Tom Izzo’s son. Freshman Mady Sissoko and sophomore Steven Izzo will not travel with the Spartans when they play No. 8 Iowa on Thursday, coach Tom Izzo announced during his Wednesday news..." January 13

CBS Sports "One of college basketball's best qualities is its unpredictably -- a trait that manifests itself most prominently during the NCAA Tournament. However, it's also a virtue of the sport that's on display months before March Madness starts coming together in the form of..." January 06

Clutch Points "Former NBA All-Star and current TNT commentator Chris Webber is reportedly working on his own “Fab Five” documentary, to be told from his perspective. Rick Porter of the Hollywood Reporter reported the limited scripted series is based on his..." January 05

Indy Star "The NCAA and city of Indianapolis have finalized plans to hold the entire NCAA tournament here, according to two sources with knowledge of the agreement. An announcement is expected Monday afternoon. What is an unprecedented move comes in response to unprecedented..." January 04

CBS Sports "The COVID-19 pandemic limited the number of practices and games some college basketball teams could have over the last few months, creating a disjointed start to the season that negatively affected some programs more than others. But as most teams that have not already begun conference play..." December 30