Player of The Week
Cassius Winston Guard, Michigan State
The reigning Big Ten player of the week showed why he earned that honor this week after struggling a little this season. His stats dropped due to inconsistent shooting. This week Winston played incredible ball. Averaging 21 points and 6.5 assist per game. Against EMU, Winston posted 21 points and 7 assists in 27 minutes. This performance followed up a 21 point 6 assist effort against Northwestern where Winston shot an efficient 8-16. After really struggling against Oakland, Winston showed up big time this week and had 2 great games.
Who’s Hot
Michigan State
2-0 this week and riding a 4-game winning streak, Michigan State has bounced back from a rough start to the season. Along with Winston’s heroics, Xavier Tillman played very well, averaging 13 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2 blocks while only playing 28 minutes per game this week. After getting off to a sketchy start, Michigan State has bounced back. Freshman and big time recruit Rockett Watts has been dealing with an injury, after really struggling early in the season. The injury has limited him to just 8 games so far, and in those games, Watts has shot a ghastly 27% while playing 22 minutes per game. If MSU hopes to make another deep tournament run, they need Watts to get healthy and to show why he was such a sought-after recruit.
Ohio State
Only playing one game this week, that pitted the Buckeyes up against #6 Kentucky. Despite Kaleb Wesson fouling out in 23 minutes, Ohio State outlasted Kentucky 71-65. Freshman DJ Carton led the way scoring 15 off the bench on an efficient 5-6 shooting. Carton also grabbed 5 boards and blocking 2 shots. Wesson did score 10 and grab 8 boards in his limited action, but was seriously held back by foul trouble. Ohio State currently has 3 of the top 7 3-point shooters by percentage. Sophomores Duane Washington Jr. and Luther Muhammad are ranked second and fifth respectively in the Big Ten at 50% and 47%. Junior bigman Wesson is right behind in sixth at 46%. Ohio State has been shooting lights out from three which is helping them get off to an 11-1 start.
[player: Myles Johnson], Center, Rutgers
The 6-11 sophomore center averaged 13 points and 13.5 boards in 2 games this week. He led Rutgers to 2-0 record including an upset win over Seaton Hall. Johnson posted these numbers while playing only 25.5 minutes per game which is very impressive. He also shot 80% from the field this week which is very solid. Against Lafayette, Johnson posted a career high 18 points and also grabbed 14 boards while also blocking 2 shots.
Who’s Not
Justin Smith, Forward, Indiana
In Indiana’s only matchup this week, Smith struggled from the field shooting 2-10. Averaging just under 13 points per game, smith recorded a season low 4 points in 35 minutes of action. Smith struggled in Indiana’s matchup versus UConn as well, shooting 2-7. Smith has been pretty efficient overall this season at 52%, so it’s not normal for him to struggle like he has in 2 of his last 3 games.
Jahaad Proctor, Guard, Purdue
The senior guard has really struggled this season. After showing flashes of being a dominant scorer last season with 19.5 points on 46% shooting, his numbers have plummeted to 12.8 on a career low 39% from the field and 27% from behind the arc. The Harrisburg native has shot the ball terribly in his past 3 games. Against Nebraska he shot 2-11 including 0-4 from behind the arc. Against Ohio, he shot 3-8 which was a step in the right direction but still not pretty. He followed this performance up with a 2-13 in a close loss to #17 Butler. Proctor is shooting 7 for his last 32 shots which is an awful 21%. His stats are all down this season which is a huge disappointment after showing growth the previous 2 seasons.
Top 5 Guards in the Big Ten
5. Cam Mack, Nebraska
While Nebraska has struggled overall (5-7), Mack has played really solid. Against a decent Purdue team, Mack recorded the first triple-double in Nebraska history. In 35 minutes, he posted 11 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. On the season, Mack is averaging 13 points, 6.7 assists, and 4.8 boards per game while shooting 44% from the field. After only playing 4 minutes in one game as a freshman, Mack has gotten the bulk of the minutes at the point guard position this year averaging 35 minutes a game which is the second highest per game average in the Big Ten. In Nebraska’s last game, they lost to North Dakota, but Mack was fantastic. He scored 19 points on a super-efficient 7-9 while also dishing out 7 assists and grabbing 7 boards. Mack followed up his triple-double with another impressive performance and should continue to build on his stats as the season continues.
4. Ayo Donsunmu, Illinois
After an impressive freshman season, Ayo has been even more impressive this season. The leading scorer on a very solid Illinois team, averaging 15.3 points per game which ranks sixth in the Big Ten on 48% shooting from the field. While he has not shot great from 3, (29%) which dropped 6% from last season, his free throw percentage has improved from 69% to around 77%. Only averaging 3.1 assists per game he is not the biggest facilitator but is very talented. While playing about the same number of minutes per game, his scoring totals are up 2 points per game due to him being almost 5% more efficient from the field. After shooting 43% as a freshman, through 12 games Ayo has raised his percentage to 48% At home this season, Ayo has been great averaging over 16 points per game on 51% shooting. Ayo has scored in double figures in 9 of 12 games this season, scoring 9 points all 3 times he missed double figures. His best performance came against Lindenwood, where he posted 24 points on 8-12 shooting, while also dishing out 5 assists and getting 4 steals. In Illinois upset over Michigan, Ayo was great scoring 14 points and grabbing 8 boards.
3. Zavier Simpson, Michigan
The senior is having the best season of his career scoring 11.4 points and dishing out 8.8 assists per game. His assist totals are the most per game in the Big Ten and second most nationally. Simpson is great at getting good looks for his teammates, and has also posted a career high in points per game, shooting percentage, and 3-point percentage. Simpson’s best performance came against Houston Baptist where he dropped 22 points on 8-10 shooting while also dishing out 14 assists and grabbing 5 boards. While the opposition might not have been the greatest, this is still an unbelievable stat line. In 12 games, Simpson has posted 3 double-doubles, while dishing out double digit assists 4 times, and scoring in double figures in 6 games.
2. Anthony Cowan Jr.- Maryland
The senior guard is an incredible scorer. With a decent shot from deep, he has been one of Maryland’s most consistent scorers since he joined the team as a freshman averaging 10 points per game. His scoring numbers went up to 15 points in his sophomore and junior years, and this season he is averaging 16.5 points and 4 assists per game. The only issue with Cowan is that he can be a chucker, when his team is behind he can take some bad shots. Some go in but there are plenty of times where he could look to get his teammates involved. A career 34% shooter from behind the arc is not horrible but he can be a lot more efficient if he looked for better shots. Cowan ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring and seventh in 3-pointers made. Cowan is a great player and the only thing standing in his way from being elite is his shot selection. If he can become a little more efficient, Maryland will finish out the season strong and make a run in March.
1. Cassius Winston, Michigan State
Last season Winston racked up tons of accolades. These included an NCAA All-Region appearance to go along with the Big Ten Tournament MVP. He was also a consensus All American and was the Big Ten Player of the Year. He earned these awards scoring just under 19 points per game (18.8) and 7.5 assists per game. He also shot 46% from the field and 40% from 3.
On the season, Winston ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring at 17.6 points on 42% shooting. Winston also ranks fourth in the Big Ten in assists per game at 6.1. Winston is in the middle of another very solid season, and should be in the running for another Big Ten player of the year. But there is a ton of competition for that honor this year and it will be interesting to see how Winston continues to play.