Player of the Week:
Kofi Cockburn, Illinios
With not much games being played this week in the Big Ten, Kofi Cockburn and the Illini had one game on Wednesday which resulted in a 88-63 win over Missouri. Cockburn continued to shine as he notched another double-double on his record making that 5 games in a row with a double-double for the Illinois star center. Illinois’ final game in December versus Florida A&M has been cancelled which means their January slate of Big Ten games will start on Sunday with Minnesota and it’ll be interesting to see how far Cockburn can take this Illini team especially with his dominant performance so far.
Who’s Hot:
Michigan State Spartans
Like stated earlier, there wasn’t much to go off of this week in the Big Ten, but the Spartans hosted High Point on Wednesday defeating them 81-68. The reason Michigan State found themselves on this week’s “Who’s Hot” list is because they’re currently riding a six-game winning streak (6-0 in December) heading into a January filled of Big Ten games. Some great momentum for the #10 in the country.
Current First Team Big Ten:
Guard- Johnny Davis, Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s had a great start to thesh year so far with a record of 10-2 and #24 in the AP Poll rankings and a lot of that comes from their sophomore guard, Johnny Davis. In 10 games played this season, Davis is averaging 20.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, on 46.6% shooting from the field. Also, throughout those 10 games, Davis has put-up double-digit numbers in points in every game and 7 of those games, he’s put-up 20+ points. With one Player of the Week accolade under his belt this season, Davis definitely earns himself a spot in this starting lineup.
Guard- Jaden Ivey, Purdue
The highly valued prospect in this year’s draft class has not disappointed so far in his sophomore season with the Boilermakers. In 13 games played, Jaden Ivey has averaged 16.5 PPG on 52.6% shooting from the field. Ivey’s also found some success from the three-point line this year as he’s shooting 44.6% from deep. Purdue has had one of its best starts to a season in a while and with their already stacked lineup offensively, Ivey can continue to show scouts why he deserves to be a high lottery pick in this year’s draft.
Forward- Keegan Murray, Iowa
Keegan Murray has been playing lights out this year and has made a great argument to be in the conversation for Big Ten Player of the Year. In 12 games played. Murray has lighted up the stat sheets averaging 23.2 PPG and 8.0 RPG while shooting a whopping 57.6% from the field. Going back to the state sheets, there’s been only 3 games Murray has played where he hasn’t dropped 20+ points. Iowa had a lot of questions offensively before the season, and as of right now, it’s safe to say Murray has answered a lot of those.
Forward- Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
To round out the forwards in this starting lineup, there is no question that Trayce Jackson-Davis gets the spot. With only 2 losses on their record so far, Indiana has gotten off to a good start and that’s thanks to their star forward who’s averaging 19.3 PPG and 8.5 RPG. In their game versus Marshall, Jackson-Davis dropped a whopping career high 43 points on 75% shooting from the field. Jackson-Davis is another player on this list making a strong case for Big Ten Player of the Year.
Center- Kofi Cockburn, Illinois
A three-game suspension hasn’t at all slowed down the star center at Illinois. In his past five games, Kofi Cockburn has put up a double-double in the stat column. Cockburn has also been averaging a double-double throughout the season with 21.8 PPG and 12.1 RPG. His best game so far this season was against UT Rio Grande where he dropped a whopping 38 points on 8-11 shooting from the field and had 10 rebounds to add onto his dominant performance. Illini fans should continue to see this dominance from #21 as the year goes on.