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It’s preseason publication time and while I still need to get my hand on a few of the main previews, Lindy’s is joining Athlon Sports on newsstands across the country.
We’ve touched on their preseason predictions and polls in the past and they’ve actually responded to comments I’ve made in the past as well. Back in the 2014 season Lindy’s wasn’t very high on the Boilermakers, calling for them to finish 13th in the Big Ten. I didn’t agree with that, as you can see:
Yeah, no... I'll eat a shoe if Purdue finishes behind NW and PSU RT @tbeindit B1G Predictions from @Lindyssportsmag
— Bryan Steedman (@crazytoledo) September 5, 2014
11-NW
12-PSU
13-PU
And naturally, they responded!
@crazytoledo @tbeindit We will. An old Converse Chuck Taylor would work.
— #LindysSports (@Lindyssportsmag) September 5, 2014
So what happened with this? Well...Purdue didn’t finish 13th. Instead Matt Painter got the Boilermakers up and running once again, coaching Purdue to a third place tie with Michigan State and Iowa. When all was said and done the crisis was adverted and I didn’t have to eat a shoe.
So what about this year? Well Lindy’s conference predictions for 2017-18 can be seen below:
- Michigan State
- Northwestern
- Minnesota
- Purdue
- Michigan
- Maryland
- Wisconsin
- Iowa
- Ohio State
- Penn State
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Rutgers
- Nebraska
I may be a homer here, and I understand the loss of Caleb Swanigan will have an impact, but I’m struggling to see Northwestern being better than both Purdue and Minnesota. I also see Lindy’s is joining the “pick Wisconsin out of the top four” crowd, something most Badgers fan will laugh at feverishly.
It is interesting to see Lindy’s call for Rutgers to finish above Nebraska. Of course Steve Pikiell has been doing some serious work in New Jersey, but it could take some time to get things fully up and running and Nebraska has a strong presence on their home court, making it hard to see them finish dead last. Lindy’s also joins the fray of publications not expecting much from Indiana this winter.
While Athlon Sports projected eight teams to make the postseason from the Big Ten, Lindy’s only has seven (Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota, Purdue, Michigan, Maryland and Wisconsin).
Lindy’s, like every publication, is also extremely high on Michigan State, listing the Spartans first in their preseason top 25.