Big 10 Conference Outlook
The Big 10 has a lot of talent at the top, and also a lot bad teams at the bottom. You have ranked teams like Iowa, Michigan State, Maryland, Purdue and Indiana, as well as good teams like Michigan and Ohio State. However, at the bottom, Rutgers, Minnesota, Illinois, Penn State and Nebraska are as bad as the bottom feeders of any conference.
I think Maryland is the best team in the conference when they are on, but can be inconsistent, and Iowa has been better as of late, so I'm going to give them the nod at #1. Iowa's first win over Michigan State was impressive, but MSU had no Valentine, and it was at Iowa. I definitely didn't expect the second victory though, as Michigan St had Valentine back and played on their home court, yet still got handled by the Hawkeyes. Iowa has also beaten Purdue on the road, which is a very nice win.
It's very curious to me that the Hawkeyes started off the year so poorly, as they lost a preseason game to a D-2 team and then lost 2 of their first 5, before losing another before conference play to Iowa State. All of these three regular season losses were to good teams, but Iowa State was the highest rated kenpom team at number 20, so none of the losses were to really good teams. Despite not having a great start to the season, Iowa has bounced back and played incredibly in conference play, largely due to Jarrod Uthoff. I have to admit, I doubted this year's Iowa team, as they lost a lot from a team that wasn't even that good last year. However, Fran McCaffrey and the Hawkeyes have stepped up and been one of the biggest surprise teams this year.
Maryland follows the Hawkeyes for 2nd in the Big 10. Although they are behind for now, they could definitely win the conference, as they have an incredible collection of talent. I watched them live against Northwestern, and I knew coming in that I would be impressed by star Melo Trimble, wing Jake Layman, and highly rated recruit Diamond Stone. The key components of their team however, were Georgia Tech transfer Robert Carter, Jr. who plays fantastic defense, and Duke transfer Rasheed Sulaimon, who looked a little bit like Kobe Bryant with his fade away jumpers and ability to create his own shot.
After Maryland, I think Michigan State is the next best team, but Indiana's hot start and easy Big 10 schedule lead me to believe they may finish third in conference play. Michigan State will definitely turn it around once they get healthy, but they have already lost three Big 10 games compared to Indiana, who is undefeated thus far in conference play, and will probably last the week undefeated, as they play Illinois and Northwestern at home. That leads me to believe the Hoosiers are third, and the Spartans are fourth. Speaking of IU, I just wanted to acknowledge their recent hot streak of 10 wins in a row, done largely without James Blackmon, Jr., who may be out for the year. Coach Tom Crean has simplified the defense and has turned what used to be an athletic but undisciplined and overall just terrible defense, into a powerhouse who shut down Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame (in the second half).
Fitting in next are Purdue, Ohio State and Michigan, in that order. Purdue and Michigan both have huge holes, as Michigan has no quality big men, and Purdue lacks a quality point guard. The Boilermakers play great defense though, and defense wins championships, so if any of these three teams are going to make a big run this year, they are definitely that team. Ohio State is too young right now, but has a lot of talent and should look forward to a return to dominance in the Big 10.
I think Maryland is the best team in the conference when they are on, but can be inconsistent, and Iowa has been better as of late, so I'm going to give them the nod at #1. Iowa's first win over Michigan State was impressive, but MSU had no Valentine, and it was at Iowa. I definitely didn't expect the second victory though, as Michigan St had Valentine back and played on their home court, yet still got handled by the Hawkeyes. Iowa has also beaten Purdue on the road, which is a very nice win.
It's very curious to me that the Hawkeyes started off the year so poorly, as they lost a preseason game to a D-2 team and then lost 2 of their first 5, before losing another before conference play to Iowa State. All of these three regular season losses were to good teams, but Iowa State was the highest rated kenpom team at number 20, so none of the losses were to really good teams. Despite not having a great start to the season, Iowa has bounced back and played incredibly in conference play, largely due to Jarrod Uthoff. I have to admit, I doubted this year's Iowa team, as they lost a lot from a team that wasn't even that good last year. However, Fran McCaffrey and the Hawkeyes have stepped up and been one of the biggest surprise teams this year.
Maryland follows the Hawkeyes for 2nd in the Big 10. Although they are behind for now, they could definitely win the conference, as they have an incredible collection of talent. I watched them live against Northwestern, and I knew coming in that I would be impressed by star Melo Trimble, wing Jake Layman, and highly rated recruit Diamond Stone. The key components of their team however, were Georgia Tech transfer Robert Carter, Jr. who plays fantastic defense, and Duke transfer Rasheed Sulaimon, who looked a little bit like Kobe Bryant with his fade away jumpers and ability to create his own shot.
After Maryland, I think Michigan State is the next best team, but Indiana's hot start and easy Big 10 schedule lead me to believe they may finish third in conference play. Michigan State will definitely turn it around once they get healthy, but they have already lost three Big 10 games compared to Indiana, who is undefeated thus far in conference play, and will probably last the week undefeated, as they play Illinois and Northwestern at home. That leads me to believe the Hoosiers are third, and the Spartans are fourth. Speaking of IU, I just wanted to acknowledge their recent hot streak of 10 wins in a row, done largely without James Blackmon, Jr., who may be out for the year. Coach Tom Crean has simplified the defense and has turned what used to be an athletic but undisciplined and overall just terrible defense, into a powerhouse who shut down Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame (in the second half).
Fitting in next are Purdue, Ohio State and Michigan, in that order. Purdue and Michigan both have huge holes, as Michigan has no quality big men, and Purdue lacks a quality point guard. The Boilermakers play great defense though, and defense wins championships, so if any of these three teams are going to make a big run this year, they are definitely that team. Ohio State is too young right now, but has a lot of talent and should look forward to a return to dominance in the Big 10.
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