Player of the Week:
Zach Edey, Purdue
In two games this week, one coming in 2OT against #17 Illinois, Purdue’s star 7-footer Zach Edey put up solid numbers in both outings earning himself a Player of the Week award for this week. There were no problems for the Boilermakers on Friday as they blew out a struggling Nebraska team by 27 points behind Edey’s 22 points and 9 rebounds in just 20 minutes played. Following their blowout victory, Purdue had a tough task with #17 Illinois on the road, but Edey shined again with another 20+ point game and 8 rebounds leading the Boilermakers to a 96-88 2OT thriller win. Purdue jumped back up to #4 in the most recent AP poll rankings and a lot of that has to do with the offensive production coming inside from the star sophomore.
Freshman Player of the Week:
Max Christie, Michigan State
This was definitely a hard choice, but for the second straight week Michigan State’s Max Christie is Big Ten’s Freshman Player of the Week. Even though Christie played two games this week, the one that should be highlighted was his performance against Minnesota. Christie dropped 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists while shooting 58.3% from the field and 66.7% from three in a 2-point buzzer beater victory over the Gophers. We’ll see if Michigan State can bounce back and end the month of January off strong after their most recent loss to Northwestern.
Who’s Hot:
Wisconsin Badgers
Two wins this week (one being over #16 Ohio State) and entering at #8 in the AP Poll, Wisconsin has had themselves a great week. The Badgers started this week off at home versus #16 Ohio State and senior Brad Davison had himself a night dropping 25 points on 66.7% shooting from three in a 78-68 victory over the Buckeyes. Junior Tyler Wahl also played very well dropping 20 points on 80% shooting from the field and 50% from three. After a nice five-day rest of no games for Wisconsin, the Badgers traveled to Northwestern on Tuesday and all five of their starters had double digit points in a 82-76 win over the Wildcats. Another big game for star Johnny Davis who had 27 points and 8 rebounds while shooting 80% from three. The now #8 team in the country might be the hottest team in the Big Ten right now and looks to finish off the month of January undefeated with just three games left to play.
Iowa Hawkeyes
It’s a little surprising how this Hawkeyes team has yet found its way in the AP Poll this season, especially as of late. Iowa kicked off this week with a solid Indiana squad and usually we’re used to seeing Keegan Murray light up the stat sheets, this game his brother Kris Murray balled out. Kris dropped 29 points and 11 rebounds on 66.7% shooting from the field in a 83-74 win over the Hoosiers. Following a big game from Kris, his brother Keegan put up big numbers dropping 25 points and 10 rebounds on 64.7% shooting from the field in a 81-71 win over the Minnesota Gophers. It should be soon we see this Hawkeyes team find their way into the AP Top 25 poll.
Who’s Not:
Minnesota Gophers
A team that was once 10-1 to start the season, has lost 4 straight games to start off January and find themselves near the bottom of the Big Ten standings. The Gophers played two games this week both resulting in losses against #10 Michigan State and a really solid Iowa squad. It’s starting to look like Minnesota is playing to what we all expected them to be and if things don’t change quickly, that 10-1 start the season is going to start feeling like a long time ago for the Gophers.
Top 5 Seniors in the Big Ten (no order):
5. Ron Harper Jr., Rutgers
Rutgers has been heating up a little bit as of late winning four out of their past five conference games and Ron Harper Jr. has definitely been a factor. The 6’ 6” senior has scored 20+ points in three of those five games and on the season is currently averaging 16.6 PPG and 6.8 RPG on 45% shooting from the field. If Rutgers wants to find a way to get back to the tournament for a second year in a row, Harper Jr. will definitely play a huge factor.
4. Brad Davison, Wisconsin
Wisconsin is arguably one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten right now, if not the hottest, and Brad Davison has played his consistent role alongside Johnny Davis to help get them to this point. Davison is averaging 15.1 PPG on 40% shooting from the field and come tournament time his experience could be huge for Wisconsin to potentially make a run in March.
3. Eric Ayala, Maryland
The Terrapins have not been playing good basketball this season but Eric Ayala has put up some solid numbers for them. Despite the team’s struggles, Ayala has had six games scoring 20 or more points and is currently averaging 16.3 PPG on 39.9% shooting from the field. Don’t overlook how Maryland has been playing to determine whether Ayala deserves a spot on this list because he’s been balling so far this season.
2. Alfonso Plummer, Illinois
When it comes to the Illini the first player that usually comes to mind is Kofi Cockburn, but Alfonso Plummer is having himself a year averaging 16.4 PPG on a whopping 45.6% shooting from the field. Plummer also had a stretch at one point this season of six straight games with 20+ points in which all but 1 were won by Illinois.
1. Pete Nance, Northwestern
Another maybe questionable player on this list due to the team’s performance so far this year, but Pete Nance is the second leading scorer in points per game category as seniors in the Big Ten. Nance has scored double digits in every game this season and is currently averaging 16.6 PPG with 7.6 RPG on 51.1% shooting from the field; Nance has definitely earned himself a spot on this list.