Spartacus

Player of the Week

Denzel Valentine, Michigan State

Who else? It’s rare that I feel inclined to give one player this award in back-to-back weeks, but it’s awful rare to see a player start a season like Valentine has. His season averages are a short jump from Oscar Robertson-triple-double territory, with over 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists per game, and he’s carried his team in a pretty impressive 8-game stretch of victories.

In a busy 4-game week this week, Valentine has averaged 25.8 PPG (100+ points in a single week!) along with 7.8 RPG and 7 APG, while shooting 51% from the field and while making half of his 36 3-point attempts and 23 of his 25 free throws. And all of this came against a really strong stretch of teams in Boston College, Boise State, Providence, and #24 Louisville, the weakest of these teams still being an ACC opponent. He leads the conference in scoring, assists, defensive rebounding (3rd in overall rebounding), and three-pointers made while also placing 9th in Assist-to-Turnover ratio and posting great percentages across the board.  He’s not even playing a top 10 amount of minutes! All in all, the stretch Valentine is going to is one of the most statistically dominant the conference has seen in recent years, and he’s doing it against a schedule that has already included 3 teams that are near-guaranteed to be in the NCAA tournament in Kansas, Louisville, and Providence. The Spartans don’t play another ranked opponent until Maryland in late January, so this could very well be a future #1 team, and Denzel Valentine is at the center of absolutely everything they’re doing right now. The numbers may recede a bit as conference play begins, but the month of November that Valentine had was absolutely unbelievable.

Who’s Hot

Bryant McIntosh, Northwestern

The Wildcats are off to a hot start, going 6-1 in oft-dramatic fashion. And while senior Tre Demps is thought of as The Guy in Evanston, and the one who gets the ball on the final possession, Bryant McIntosh, the ever-promising sophomore guard, is leading Northwestern in scoring. In two wins this week, McIntosh averaged a solid 16 points on 13-24 shooting (54%), along with a fair amount of assists and rebounds. He’s scored in double-digits in each of his 7 games this season and he’s among the best sophomores in the conference. This Northwestern team is one of the best the school has seen this century and though it’s been said before in recent years, this could be the team that finally breaks the curse and makes the big dance.

Joey King, Minnesota

Last year, Joey King was a very intriguing player. A 6’9” forward shooting 41% on a high volume of 3’s?  He was certainly my player to watch for the Golden Gophers in 2015-2016, and he hasn’t disappointed. Minnesota played two good games this week, squeaking out wins against Clemson and Omaha, and Joey King missed only 1 of his 7 3’s in those games. Shooting 11/15 (73%) from the field and a whopping 6/7 (86%) from 3, King averaged 17.5 PPG this week while leading his team to those gritty wins. For the season, King is connecting at a 58% rate from both the field and the arc, and has hit 93% of his free throws. The hallowed 50-40-90 line is a real possibility for the uber-efficient King, and if his teammates begin to follow his lead and step up their games, Minnesota could surprise some Big Ten frontrunners despite a somewhat shaky 5-2 start.

Deyonta Davis, Michigan State

Denzel Valentine may have stolen the spotlight by playing out of his mind, but I simply can’t overlook the contributions and the raw efficiency of the freshman big man, Deyonta Davis. Over the course of the Spartans’ busy 4-game week, Davis averaged a respectable 10.8 PPG…on 81% shooting. Davis has been remarkably efficient lately, and his efficiency has really been the story all season long, as demonstrated by his 67% shooting.  There hasn’t been a game since his 6/14 debut that he hasn’t made at least half of his looks. And for a freshman big, who are notorious for being defensive liabilities early on, he has looked pretty solid and has blocked 2.4 shots a game. Though he didn’t come in with the hype of other Big Ten freshman post players such as Stone, Swanigan, and Bryant, he has so far been the most consistent and has looked the most college-ready of the quartet. He’s already proven to be a great supporting option to Valentine, even playing well in games against quality opponents like Louisville and Providence.

Who’s Not?

Zak Irvin, Michigan

In the early goings, the man who stepped up in Caris LeVert’s absence at the end of last season has struggled with his shot.  Irvin averaged over 14 points a game last season, but that number has dropped to below 7 due, in part, to his 34% shooting (18% from 3).  Irvin had a couple decent games this week, making over half of his attempts in 12 and 13-point outings against Charlotte and Texas respectively, but his 1-10 performance against Houston and his 3-11 outing against NC State were tough.  He’s been streaky to say the least, but he should get it going soon enough for Big Blue, and when he does, this perimeter attack for Michigan will become even more formidable.  The Texas win was Irvin’s best game and also Michigan’s best victory this year, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin

The loss of Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker to the NBA put a lot of pressure to carry the load on the shoulders of Nigel Hayes and so far…results haven’t been great.  This week, Hayes shot 10/32 (32%) from the floor, which is only slightly below his season average of 36%.  He’s only shot above 42% in one game this season.  And he’s averaging nearly 3 turnovers over his last 5 games.  The Badgers as a team have suffered a blowout loss to Oklahoma and a bad upset loss to Western Illinois, and they simply don’t look like the efficient Badger squads of Bo Ryan’s past.  Hayes will be key in turning things around, so if he’s able to get it going, this Wisconsin squad will be among the Big Ten contenders, but if he plays like he’s been playing, it will be a rough year.  He’s still drawing a lot of fouls and has 23 rebounds in his past 2 games, but the scoring efficiency is just not there.

Top 5 Seniors

1) Denzel Valentine, Michigan State

What more can be said that hasn’t already been said?  The kid is amazing and he should have a productive pro career ahead of him.  The triple doubles should continue to flow.

2) Yogi Ferrell, Indiana

It’s been tough sledding for Indiana so far, but Yogi continues to do Yogi things and be one of the best offensive point guards in the nation.  He’s a great scorer and distributor and has the savvy to make an impact at the next level despite being a bit under-sized.  He is currently averaging 15 PPG, 6 APG, and 5 RPG.

3) Caris LeVert, Michigan

It’s good to see this young man on the court for his senior season.  He’s firing on all cylinders, shooting over 50% from the field and the arc, and he’s second to Valentine in scoring.  He has more than reclaimed his spot as the lead dog in this offense, and it’s looking like Michigan is perfectly capable of securing a tournament spot before LeVert moves on to the next level.

4) AJ Hammons, Purdue

Despite only playing half of the games he’s played in, Hammons is averaging 12.2 points and 7.6 rebounds a game, and continues to show he’s possibly the best shot-blocker in the country.  He was said to be a front-runner for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last year, and he continues to get it done on offense, raising his game with a huge 24-point effort on the road against Pittsburgh this week.  He served his two-game suspension to start the year, and now the big man is back and ready to make a big impact.

5) Rapheal Davis, Purdue

The man who beat out Hammons for conference DPOY?  His teammate, Rapheal Davis.  Davis will never dazzle you with his numbers, but the high-scoring high school standout reinvented himself in his four years at Purdue into a defensive ace.  But he can also get to the rim and shoot a decent long ball, and this season, he is averaging 11.5 points and turning in some very efficient shooting numbers.  Purdue is climbing up the polls, and he is the leader of the Boilermakers’ team.

Power Rankings:

1) Michigan State
2) Purdue
3) Maryland
4) Iowa
5) Michigan
6) Northwestern
7) Wisconsin
8) Minnesota
9) Nebraska
10) Indiana
11) Illinois
12) Ohio State
13) Penn State
14) Rutgers