Big Ten Conference Notebook
It’s only one month into the season, but the Big Ten picture is starting to clear up. Hopes of a successful season with a new coach, new batch of players or new attitude have been both realized and slashed. For some, the preseason hype has been accurate. And a couple teams may as well start cleaning the golf clubs and focusing on their biology term papers. It’s time to reevaluate the picture from the bottom up.
Bottom Feeders: They swim under the radar for the most part, but might make a blip now and then.
11. Minnesota (5-7)
MVP: Dan Coleman (15.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.2 blk/gm, 52% FG)
Surprise: The Gophers’ inept rebounding. A potential strength for the team has turned into a glaring weakness. In the most recent home loss to Arkansas-Little Rock, they were out-rebounded 39-12, giving up 16 offensive rebounds and claiming only 2.
Resume win: Does North Dakota State count?
Outlook: This season, the Gophers have lost: three games in four days at the Old Spice Classic, home games to Iowa State, Arkansas-Little Rock and D-III Winona State, and a head coach. And they’re tantalizingly close to losing their fans. Historically rowdy Williams Arena has been silenced more often than not this season by opposing squads and their fans. And interim Head Coach Jim Molinari is running into the same problems that doomed Dan Monson. The Gophers are last in scoring defense and give up the most rebounds in the league. The bottom line: Minnesota is the only Big Ten school with a losing record, and it will take a coaching masterpiece to swing the needle over .500 again this season.
10. Iowa (5-5)
MVP: Adam Haluska (17.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.3 apg, 93% FT)
Surprise: Freshman Tyler Smith, who’s averaging 14.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, and 3.4 apg. He’s quickly assumed the running-mate role, and looks to shoot more often than anyone not named Haluska.
Resume win: Iowa State
Outlook: Coach Steve Alford can sleep soundly, knowing he just signed a multi-year extension, but everything else about the Hawkeyes’ start is keeping him awake. Try as Haluska might and certainly will, he won’t be able to win many conference games by himself. Smith is off to a decent start, but freshmen traditionally struggle in their first trip through a Big Ten season. Iowa is at or near the bottom of the league in nearly every statistical category, dropping straight to the cellar in field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense and three-point defense – the lethal trifecta. And the Hawks lost at home to in-state rival Northern Iowa Tuesday, marking their first home loss in the series in school history. It’s hard to present a promising case for Iowa.
9. Northwestern (5-2)
MVP: Tim Doyle (10.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 6.1 apg, 2 st/gm)
Surprise: Freshman Kevin Coble (10.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg), who led the Wildcat charge with 25 points in an overtime win over Western Michigan Saturday.
Resume wins: DePaul, Miami (FL)
Outlook: Yes, Northwestern’s frustrating tempo and unique style can create havoc for opponents and win them an occasional game (see: Miami), but its freshness in Big Ten season has run out. Teams are ready for the Wildcat game and shouldn’t be taken by surprise anymore. Doyle is a pinball on a basketball court, but doesn’t scare my grandma athletically. The same can be said of Coble and three-point specialist Craig Moore. The Wildcats are last in the league in rebounding, and are grabbing an astonishing nine fewer rebounds than their opponents. Not good. However, they commit the fewest turnovers and have the best assist-to-turnover ratio. The problem is this: you have to put the ball in the basket to win, and that is Northwestern’s biggest nemesis.
Old Jeans: Nothing much to look at, have the capability of looking great on the perfect night, but have some major holes.
8. Indiana (5-3)
MVP: D.J. White (13.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.4 blk/gm, 53% FG)
Surprise: JuCo transfer Lance Stemler has given Kelvin Sampson an outside presence, and is the Hoosiers’ third-leading scorer and rebounder.
Resume win: Indiana State
Outlook: While the Hoosiers have played a difficult schedule, they’ve yet to win a difficult game. White is frustrating – at times he dominates both ends of the court, but disappears for significant stretches of games. He’s also shown a propensity for committing fouls. And despite the success of Stemler, something tells me Hoosier fans would rather see Earl Callowy or A.J. Ratliff playing healthier roles. With that said, Indiana is fifth in both scoring and defense in the league, and is first in offensive rebounding. But their guard play has steered them to the bottom of the Big Ten in assists.
7. Penn State (6-3)
MVP: Jamelle Cornley (14.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg)
Surprise: Their struggles against weak competition. The Nittany Lions lost to Stony Brook (a 3-5 team), and barely survived against Bucknell (3-5), Hartford (4-4), and Morgan State (1-6). Good teams, even with injuries, don’t struggle against Morgan State.
Resume win: St. Joseph’s
Outlook: This team is very likeable, its parts intriguing and hunger unquestioned, but they’re still learning how to win. It certainly doesn’t help when you start the season without your best player, Geary Claxton. Claxton is back in full force now, scoring 29 points and snatching 11 rebounds in their Saturday loss to Seton Hall. His return was timed perfectly with Cornley’s exit, though, and an ankle injury has given the sophomore standout problems. The Nittany Lions have struggled to score without their main cogs, as they are tenth in the conference in both scoring and field goal percentage. And if they want to give Claxton and Cornley the best chance for success on the interior, Danny Morrissey and Ben Luber better start hitting threes.
6. Michigan (10-1)
MVP: Courtney Sims (15.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 69% FG)
Surprise: Brent Petway has turned from merely a shot-blocking and high-flying bench offer to a contributing starter, and is averaging over 8 points and rebounds a game, while still providing 2.1 blocks a game.
Resume win: Davidson, maybe?
Outlook: We’ve seen this song and dance before from Michigan. If Davidson is the best of your ten wins, you haven’t exactly measured your squad’s early-season progress. The ten defeated teams have a combined 36-59 record. Give the Wolverines this, though: they’ve won the games on their schedule, and you can’t ask players to do more than that. Sims is quite the tease, but his early success is promising, and he and frontline partner Petway are two large reasons why this team ranks first in field goal percentage defense and blocked shots. It’s just hard to be sold on a team that has failed to deliver in recent conference history, despite having loads of talent. I’ll be happy to be convinced, but make no mistake: Delaware State, Wofford, Maryland-Baltimore County, Eastern Michigan and Central Connecticut State are not Big Ten-caliber teams.
The Caged Animal: Hungry to do some damage, runs wild for a bit, but can be neutralized by one tranquilizer
5. Purdue (8-1)
MVP: Carl Landry (20 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 65% FG)
Surprise: Landry (injury), David Teague (injury), Tarrance Crump (suspension) and Gordon Watt (transfer) have gelled almost instantly after missing time last year. Purdue certainly had talent, but the questions surrounding the return of their players have been answered.
Resume wins: at Oklahoma, Virginia, Missouri
Outlook: Carl Landry is a beast. End of story. He presents a difficult matchup for anyone with both his size and agility. He has not missed a step in his return from a season-long injury. He’s not the only Boilermaker to fit right back in, either. Teague, Crump and Watt, all absent from last year’s roster, have played key roles in the fast start. With three quality wins over tournament-level schools, Purdue has made an early statement. Their defense is a bit suspect, however, and they don’t have anyone who scares slashers with shot-blocking ability. And, given their history, their season rests timidly on the shoulders of injury-prone players, which is dangerous. Is a Purdue investment safe at this point? Probably not, but don’t be surprised if this team leapfrogs the next two by season’s end.
100% Recyclable: They get tossed in the bin, are forgotten about, but continue to re-invent themselves in new ways
4. Illinois (9-2)
MVP: Warren Carter (13.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.4 blk/gm)
Surprise: Seven Illini players are scoring more than 9 points a game, and that doesn’t include Brian Randle. Similarly, seven different players have led the team in scoring in a game.
Resume wins: at Bradley
Outlook: Injuries have headlined the Illini season, with starters Brian Randle and Jamar Smith missing significant action. Both players seem to be healthy, though, and Randle notched 9 points and 9 rebounds in just 16 minutes in their win against Illinois-Chicago Saturday. They, too, have respectable losses to Maryland and Arizona, and have developed their bench more than any other conference squad because of their injuries. Don’t underestimate the importance of that come Big Ten season. Several players have shown the ability to make huge shots, and no player has been more pleasantly surprising than Carter. He leads a team that is third in scoring and fourth in defense, a balance shared by no other team. The Illini are decent rebounders and excellent three-point shooters, but could struggle in close games as they’re last in free-throw shooting.
3. Michigan State (9-2)
MVP: Drew Neitzel (16.9 ppg, 4.5 apg, 3.5 rpg, 1.2 st/gm, 89% FT)
Surprise: Former stiff Goran Suton has made 35 baskets in eleven games this season, just five shy of his total output last year in 31 games.
Resume wins: Texas, Bradley (by 29)
Outlook: Simply reading the names and career stats on Michigan State’s preseason roster didn’t cut it. Any Big Ten fan knew Tom Izzo would make his team competitive, if not good, just by being there. And he’s delivered. Led by Neitzel, Izzo’s crew has played well, with different pieces stepping up each game. The Spartans have respectable losses to Boston College and Maryland, and pulled off a clutch win against a similarly-built Texas team. Like classic Izzo teams, they lead the conference in scoring defense and rebounding margin, and are second in free throw percentage, field goal percentage defense and three-point defense. Freshman Raymar Morgan has played well, but missed the last game against BYU with a shin injury. MSU will also be without guard Maurice Joseph for a few weeks with an ankle injury. This shouldn’t scare the Izzone crazies too badly – before the season began, those names were just that – names. There are other names to plug in.
Mark Your Calendars: Take a couple long weekends in late March, your team will be playing often.
2. Ohio State (8-1)
MVP: Daequan Cook (16.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 51% 3-pt FG)
Surprise: Ivan Harris, despite the Thad Five, has more than doubled his minute, point, rebound and assist averages from last season.
Resume wins: Loyola (IL)
Outlook: The Buckeyes aren’t simply beating their opponents, they’re destroying them. Seven of their eight victories have been by more than twenty points, and six of them came without the Great Wall of Oden. Their defense is sure to improve with a full-speed, ambidextrous Oden patrolling the paint. And their only loss is the most respectable in the league, a road test at North Carolina. This team is still loaded, though, and the statistics back them up. The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in scoring, scoring margin, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, assists and steals. Sure, the defense doesn’t fit the Big Ten mold, but it doesn’t need to with an offense this potent. The freshmen are playing as well as expected, and only will grow more confident and comfortable as the season progresses.
1. Wisconsin (9-1)
MVP: Alando Tucker (20.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2 apg, 51% FG)
Surprise: Sophomore Joe Krabbenhoft has provided a spark off the bench, scoring over 6 points and grabbing almost as many rebounds in over 21 minutes of action.
Resume wins: Florida State, at Marquette
Outlook: The win at Marquette Saturday was the conference’s best this season, separating them from the Buckeyes. It also gave Alando Tucker a stage to hold his national coming-out party, as the senior drove to the basket at will and single-handedly controlled the game.
Aside from the huge road win, several key stats clue us in to this team’s chances for postseason success. The Badgers, unlike in previous seasons, are second in the Big Ten in scoring at over 75 points per game, and are respectable enough defensively to still win a game in that fashion. They also commit the second-fewest turnovers in the league. Badger fans should temper that exuberance, however, with the knowledge that a couple of the team’s key cogs are not off to stellar starts. Kammron Taylor has only 18 assists and has committed 17 turnovers in ten games. For Big Red to be successful, he needs to up his distribution. Possibly more puzzling has been the invisibility of Brian Butch at times. The inside-outside big man has shown both a scoring touch and a rebounding presence, but is averaging only 18 minutes a game. When playing well, Butch can bring opposing bigs out onto the perimeter and out of the rebounding scheme.
