Player of the Week:
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois Fighting Illini
Yes, we’re going to get to Purdue soon, but I couldn’t in good conscience or with good journalistic integrity give Zach Edey another player of the week here. The Illini are 4-1, with their only loss coming to arguably the best team in the country in Marquette, and Shannon Jr. has been fantastic all around for every one of their games. So far this season he’s averaging almost 20 points a game, but what sticks out most about his early season performance is his shooting splits. In all facets besides free throw percentage, they’re up a significant tick. I’m not quite sure why Shannon decided to stay for another year at Illinois as I do believe that he could’ve been drafted or picked up by a team for their summer league. A 6’6 guard with a tough handle and good scoring prowess is needed by pretty much every team in the NBA, but I get that he wants to up his stock. So far, his decision to stay is panning out swimmingly and the Illini as a whole look a lot more competitive than they did last year. There’s this aura around the team that feels tougher, like the issues from last season healed and formed a tough scar, and now they’re ready to go full Zuko on the BIG10, led by their senior guard who came straight from the windy city.
Who’s Hot?
Purdue Boilermakers
Is this the year? It’s asked every single season about Purdue. Pat McAfee said that it is, and I must admit, this year does feel different. Purdue beat three straight top 11 opponents this week: Gonzaga, then Tennessee, and finally Marquette to win the Maui Invitational. Those are super impressive wins and in the upcoming AP Poll it’d be safe to bet your life savings on the Boilermakers being ranked number one this week. Their defense looked stout, obviously Edey himself was a huge factor in that, but their perimeter scorers, Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Lance Jones all looked supremely confident against these opposing powerhouses. Loyer put up 27 against Tennessee in a game where Purdue needed every ounce of his scoring to win. They’re also, as a collective, shooting 40.8% from three-point land. That is the key difference here. People seem to forget that in that historic upset last year, it was not Edey who lost the game for Purdue, it was the guard and wing play. And with a different vibe this year around Purdue, they seem to feel like no one can beat them. But this is where the hypotheticals come in to play, if Purdue does lose a game this year, can they bounce back? They always start this good; can they maintain this level of play when no one on their roster is considered a serious draft candidate? We’ll have to wait and see, but for now they look like the clearcut alpha dog in college hoops.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Have they played any team of real significance? No, they currently stand a whopping 0-0 against any AP or USA poll ranked opponents, but gosh darn it if it doesn’t put a smile on your face to see the Nebraska freaking Cornhuskers sitting at 6-0 and atop the BIG10 then you’re a scrooge. Nebraska has not only won their first 6 games, but they’ve won them all by double digits, their offense chugs and has 4 different guys averaging 14 or more a game with an overall offensive rating of 120. These guys are winning ballgames against lesser teams by an average of 20.8 points a game. They take care of business and that can’t be said about some teams ahead of them in most power rankings, looking at you Indiana. Juwan Gary, the Huskers feature guard has only played 3 games this season and is getting back into the flow of things, averaging a team high 17 a game in those three outtings. Meaning soon, when he’s fully acclimated to the new season, their offense will be even more scary. Statistically they are an impressive group, on paper not so much, and it’ll be interesting to watch their first real challenge of the year when they match up against Creighton in December, but for now let’s enjoy the undefeated Cornhuskers while we can.
Who’s Not?
Indiana Hoosiers
The Hoosiers are 4-1 and have been hit with a bit of an injury bug this season. But that doesn’t excuse their poor play against much lesser opponents. Giving up 80 points to a now 1-4 Wright State team cannot happen for a school with some much history steeped in the lore of college basketball. Indiana has yet to beat a team by more than 9 points this year and in their only matchup with a good team (more than a good team, the defending champion UConn Huskies), they lost by 20. Now, once the injuries let up and the roster is whole again, maybe they can compete once more, but right now the Hoosiers just look like a mediocre basketball team once again. They’re in the bottom 2 in both offensive and defensive rating this season in the conference and are the only team in the BIG10 with a negative net rating. All this while also having a very low strength of schedule. Indiana just doesn’t have an outside scoring presence, they’re making just 3 threes a game and shooting 22% from downtown. You don’t need to have Steph and Klay on the perimeter to win at the college level but the low level of production from out there is astounding. Indiana needs to find some sort of prowess or edge on offense to compete at all this year, especially with the amount of talent in the BIG10.
Michigan Wolverines
It’s been a rather steep fall from greatness for Juwan Howard and the Wolverines. Unlike their football counterparts, the Wolverines defense is absolutely horrific. These guys have the second best offensive efficiency in the entire conference, they can score the ball a lot and very efficiently as they lead the BIG10 in TS%, yet they also have the worst defensive efficiency in the BIG10 and are sitting at a 4-2 record with losses to Memphis and… Long Beach State? Oh boy. Now, Coach Howard just had heart surgerty and we’re happy that he’s okay, maybe when he returns in full capacity as a coach the Wolverines will tighten up and look a lot better. But the loss of Hunter Dickinson and the lack of big name recruits like they’ve had in the past is new territory for Michigan. There are certainly bright spots for the Wolverines, firstly they don’t need to become a hounding defensive unit, they just need to be solid and let their offense take care of the rest of the load, secondly they do have lethal high-volume scorers which everyone knows can do big things for you in February and March. I do believe that once the Wolverines get settled as a unit and work in some more advanced schemes to their defense they will be a scary matchup for anyone in the BIG10, but they’ll have to build the bridge as they’re crossing it since the season is well underway and conference play is soon to come.
Power Rankings:
5. Michigan State Spartans
They’re 3-3, but all their losses have been tight and to top 25 opponents, once they figure it out I know for a fact they’ll be a force in the BIG10. Let the haters sleep on the Spartans.
4. Penn State Nittany Lions
A tough loss in a rematch from last year’s first round of March Madness. They have a stingy defense and a bunch of crafty guards, it’ll be interesting to see all the different defensive schems they use for the rest of the season.
3. Nebraska Cornhuskers
Am I slowly becoming a Cornhuskers fan? Maybe. But it’s hard to not root for them, they’re 6-0 and a blast to watch and for the first time in my life I’m actually excited to watch a Nebraska basketball game.
2. Illinois Fighting Illini
4-1 and probably should be ranked right now, but they hung tough with Marquette and they have great players on both sides of the ball. I put them ahead of Nebraska only because of their early season resume.
1. Purdue Boilermakers
Big time dubs over some of the best teams in the country, elite shooting, the reigning player of the year, and a lot of hype all wrapped into one team. Easy number one for right now.