Player of the Week
Bryce McGowens, Nebraska
The four-star freshman started hot and is continuing to show great promise for the Cornhuskers coming off his best game of the season so far dropping 22 points on 50% shooting from the field in a 83-70 win over South Dakota. He’s been better than advertised and shown a precocious skill set and the confidence to stand out at the college level right from the beginning. McGowens’ performance against the Coyotes earned him an accolade from the Big Ten conference this week winning Big Ten’s Freshman Player of the Week and becoming the first freshman to ever appear as my Player of the Week. McGowans has been one of the top freshmen performers in college basketball this season, leading the entire conference in made free throws at 47, and if he can keep up the production and efficiency there’s a great chance he will hear his name called in the first round on draft night.
Who’s Hot
Johnny Davis, Wisconsin
Wisconsin wing Johnny Davis, really excelled last week helping the Badgers win the Maui Invitational, but also earning himself the MVP of the tournament. In the tournament (three games), Davis averaged 23.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, on 47.2% shooting from the field. Arguably Wisconsin’s toughest game of the season so far against #12 Houston in the second round, Davis really shined for the Badgers dropping a whopping 30 points on 55% shooting from the field in a 65-63 win over the Cougars. Badgers’ fans are definitely happy seeing this early offensive production and hope to see it continue after coming in at #23 in the new AP Top 25 poll heading into December. Davis won the official Big Ten Player of the Week from the Conference, and was just slightly edged out by McGowens on our list.
Matt Painter’s Offense
In two games this week, Purdue’s offense put up 90+ points against Omaha and Florida State. In their game against Omaha, the Boilermakers had 4 players scoring double digits led by center Zach Edey, who dropped 20 points on 85.7% shooting and last week’s Big Ten Player of the Week, Trevion Williams, who posted a double-double in a 97-40 victory. Following up their dominant offensive performance against the Mavericks, November 30 was nothing different as Purdue had four out of five starters with double digits points in their 93-65 win over Florida State. December 3 should be exciting to watch as we get to see the two best offenses in the Big Ten right now face off with Purdue and Iowa.
Who’s Not
Rutgers
There wasn’t really much this week in the Big Ten to put on the “Who’s not” list, but Rutgers shocking buzzer beater loss to UMass can qualify. Junior guard Noah Fernandes stunned Scarlet Knight fans with his buzzer beater three in a 85-83 victory. They did however follow up this loss with a victory over Clemson on November 30, but in this conference, bad losses like this are definitely not a step in the right direction, and it makes it especially tough in a conference like the Big Ten.
Top 5 Games of the Week
5. Joe Toussaint’s jumper sends Iowa to 7-0
In Iowa’s toughest game so far of the season, junior guard Joe Toussaint hits a jumper that seals the 75-74 victory over Virginia. Senior Jordan Bohannon dropped 20 points on 58.3% shooting from the field in Monday’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Some great momentum for Fran McCaffery and the Hawkeyes heading into Friday’s matchup with #2 Purdue.
4. Penn State loses a close one with LSU in OT
Coming in as big underdogs against the Tigers, Penn State fell just short in a 68-63 loss in OT. It was a rough day for the junior forward Seth Lundy who only scored 8 points on 18.8% shooting from the field but he put up an absurd tip in shot with 0.1 seconds left to tie the game for the Nittany Lions. A tough loss for Penn State in the Emerald Coast Classic.
3. Minnesota beats Pitt with put back shot
Senior guard Luke Loewe’s only two points of the night end up being a good one for the Golden Gophers as it seals the 54-53 win over Pitt. Jamison Battle and Payton Willis both dropped 15+ points helping Minnesota become 6-0 on the year and finding themselves third in the Big Ten to start the month of December.
2. Illinois loses 2OT thriller to Syracuse
If it wasn’t for Ohio State shocking upset over #1 Duke, this game would easily find itself at the top of the list; it was that good. Another great performance from Hoosiers’ star Trayce Jackson-Davis who dropped 31 points and 16 rebounds in a 112-110 loss to Syracuse. The Orange’s starting five all had double digit numbers in points handing Indiana its first loss of the season.
1. Ohio State upsets #1 Duke
Upsetting the #1 team in the country definitely earns you the top spot in this week’s Big Ten Top 5 Games of the Week. In a home environment Ohio State did not disappoint defeating Duke 71-66 on Tuesday. The Buckeyes were led Zed Key (20 points) and star junior E.J. Liddell (14 points and 14 rebounds) in their victory over the Blue Devils and making their case easy to be put back in the AP Top 25 next week.