Player of the Week:
Matthew Mayer, Illinois
Everyone’s favorite March mullet is back! Mayer and the Illini, seemingly out of nowhere, have catapulted into second place in the B10 this week. They’ve won 7 of their last 8 games, adding 2 wins this week. Mayer was the Illinois leading scorer in both of those games, putting up 26 and 16 against Wisconsin and Nebraska respectively. Mayer made 8 out of his 22 attempted threes in both games combined, his shooting was highly touted by Illinois when Mayer decided to transfer from Baylor this past offseason. He also averaged 1.5 blocks in these two games. He’s a solid, lanky wing who can score well and his game will transfer very well to the NBA level. As for college, he’s helping the Illini get into a rhythm right now and try to become the definitive 2nd beat team in the conference.
Who’s Hot?
Mason Gillis, Purdue
An absolute explosion of a game from a guy who’s averaging under 7 ppg this season. Gillis set the Mackey arena record for threes in a game against Penn State on Wednesday with 9 threes made. 70% of Gillis’ field goal attempts this year have been from downtown, and previous to this game he only had 17 makes this season. Gillis helped alleviate pressure on Zach Edey to dominate against a smaller Penn State team, which is crucial at this point in the season. Any time a star player can get an equivalent to a night of rest in February is huge. The Boilermakers continue to prove they’re a lot more than Zach Edey, as Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry said after the game: “Best team in the country, best player in the country, best coach in the country.”
Maryland Terrapins
The Terps continue to make big statements on the court this week as they defeated Indiana and snapped a 5-game win streak by the Hoosiers. Maryland’s dense backcourt is starting to come alive after getting off to a clunky start this season, they’ve finally been able to use their talented combo guards to make and create shots for the team. They also held a high-powered Indiana offense to just 55 points in their win, a testament to how far the team has progressed defensively throughout the year. Jahmir Young has been playing excellent ball for the Terps of late, this week he averaged 19 points and 4 assists while also helping hold Indiana’s Hood-Schifino to a 1-14 shooting night just a few nights after he made 6 threes in one half. Questions remain on Maryland being able to pick up road wins (although that question remains true for every B10 team not named Purdue), they’re 11-1 at home and 4-6 on the road. Despite that, this team has a shot to make the tournament. As their coach Kevin Willard said, “Now we’re playing pretty good basketball.”
Who’s Not?
Chris Holtmann
Holtmann’s ejection in Ohio State’s loss to Wisconsin might have been the final nail in the coffin for his career in Columbus. Just a few years removed from being a 2 seed in the tournament (and getting knocked out by Oral Roberts in the first round), Holtmann’s squad is 1-9 in their last 10 and look worse every game. Buckeye fans are calling for his job right now and their only hope at smelling the sweetness of March Madness is to make an unlikely run in the B10 tournament, where Holtmann has struggled coaching before. The only bright spot for Ohio State this year has been their star freshman Brice Sensabaugh, who may be the best freshman hooper in the conference or even the country. Holtmann has to be in desperation mode as his job security is about as bad as it could be. At least he admits it: “It begins with me… I have to coach better.”
Jalen Hood-Schifino, Indiana
1-14 from the field after winning 5 straight games Is not a good way to end off an otherwise excellent month for the Hoosiers. Yes, it would be easier to put Minnesota or Nebraska here and point out how they’re losing what feels like every game they play, however it’s important to note how bad Indiana looks when their guards don’t match the consistency of TJD. Coach Mike Woodson said after the game: “Our perimeter play was non-existent tonight.” When the backcourt of Indiana can’t score, they become very limited on offense. While Maryland must be credited with forcing the Hoosiers’ guards to play that badly, a lot of the blame must come on the Indy guards themselves as well. I’m singling out Hood-Schifino because he’s the leader of the backcourt, and he looked like he couldn’t score on a 10-foot-wide hoop. The Indiana guards combined for 11 total points in the loss, something that can’t happen again if they want to stay afloat in the race for 2nd place.
B10 Power Rankings
5. Maryland
Edging out Northwestern this week is the Terps. Although Northwestern’s backcourt is more well-rounded on both sides of the ball, Maryland just got a ranked win and continues to improve on offense.
4. Illinois
The Illini are hot! Three straight dubs and the second-best record in the conference right now. They’ve been shaky all season but there is no better time to figure it out than the first week of February.
3. Rutgers
Still the only team with the proven defensive capabilities to knock off Purdue, although they aren’t as hot as they were a month ago, Rutgers remains a challenge to all teams they play. The dexterity and multifaceted talents they have on their roster makes game-planning for them very difficult. Rutgers is one of the last teams anyone would want to see in a month from now.
2. Indiana
One loss on a putrid scoring night doesn’t change the fact that Indiana looked like the second best team in the conference this month. However, they’ll need to recollect themselves quickly before the biggest game of the year in the conference on Saturday: against Purdue in Indiana.
1. Purdue
See: Micah Shrewsberry’s quote in the Who’s Hot section.