Big 10 Basketball: Preview and Predictions

Big Ten basketball opens conference play on Monday, and there isn’t a league in the country with more talent at the top. As No. 2 Michigan, No. 5 Indiana and No. 10 Ohio State get set to slug it out, there are plenty of other high-powered teams waiting in the wings for one of the leaders to falter.

One of the most intriguing of that group is 11th-ranked Minnesota, which has lost only to unbeaten Duke in the year. With a preseason Wooden Award contender in PF Trevor Mbakwe surrounded by Rodney Williams Jr. and an improved perimeter corps, the Golden Gophers will be a serious factor in the conference race.

Herein, a closer look at Tubby Smith’s squad and the rest of the dozen teams in the Big Ten, presented in order of their predicted finish.

Of course, the regular season title isn’t the only prize up for grabs, so predictions will also be provided for the conference’s Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and tournament champions.

12. Purdue

Record: 6-6

Quality Wins: At Clemson

Worst Losses: Vs. Villanova (neutral site), at Eastern Michigan

Key Players to Watch: SG/PG Terone Johnson, C A.J. Hammons

Bottom Line

Freshman Hammons has been almost as good as advertised on the defensive end, but junior Johnson is the only Boilermaker scoring in double figures at a forgettable 12.2 points per game. Without a more reliable offense, Purdue has no hope against the stronger defenses the Big Ten will throw at it.

11. Penn State

Record: 8-4

Quality Wins: Vs. Providence (neutral site), Vs. Bucknell

Worst Losses: Vs. Boston College, Vs. Akron (neutral site)

Key Players to Watch: SG Jermaine Marshall, SG/PG D.J. Newbill

Bottom Line

Amazingly, the ruptured Achilles that ended Tim Frazier’s season hasn’t completely doomed his Nittany Lions. Marshall and Newbill are combining for 30.2 points per game—with the former adding 2.3 steals a night—even if the frontcourt is an undersized, over-matched mess.

10. Northwestern

Record: 9-4

Quality Wins: At Baylor, Vs. Illinois State (neutral site)

Worst Losses: Vs. Illinois-Chicago

Key Players to Watch: SG Reggie Hearn, PG Dave Sobolewski

Bottom Line

Despite a season-ending shoulder surgery for Drew Crawford, the Wildcats still have some legitimate scoring weapons, as Hearn and Sobolewski shoot an aggregate .459 from beyond the arc. Still, until 7’0” freshman Alex Olah starts making an impact inside, they’ll get pushed around by bigger conference foes.

9. Nebraska

Record: 9-4

Quality Wins: At Wake Forest, Vs. Valparaiso

Worst Losses: Vs. Kent State (neutral site), At UTEP

Key Players to Watch: PF Brandon Ubel, SG Dylan Talley

Bottom Line

Nebraska’s defense has played awfully well, but trying to beat the likes of Michigan State and Wisconsin in a defensive battle is rarely a winning proposition. With no viable point guard and minimal three-point shooting, points will be hard to come by for this lineup.

8. Iowa

Record: 11-2

Quality Wins: Vs. Iowa State

Worst Losses: At Virginia Tech

Key Players to Watch: SG Roy Devyn Marble, PF Aaron White

Bottom Line

Marble, who shoots .392 from deep, and the hard-nosed White provide admirable scoring punch. With an unremarkable defense and iffy point-guard play though, the Hawkeyes aren’t quite ready to fly into the top half of this league.

7. Wisconsin

Record: 9-4

Quality Wins: Vs. California

Worst Losses: Vs. Virginia

Key Players to Watch: PG Ben Brust, SF Ryan Evans

Bottom Line

Evans and freshman Sam Dekker give the Badgers more worthwhile scorers than usual, but this is still a severely erratic offense. They’ll pull an upset or two against ranked teams because of great defense, but on most nights, they won’t have enough points themselves to best a stronger foe.

6. Minnesota

Record: 12-1

Quality Wins: At Florida State, Vs. Memphis (neutral site)

Worst Losses: Vs. Duke (neutral site)

Key Players to Watch: SF Rodney Williams Jr., PF Trevor Mbakwe

Bottom Line

Although Andre Hollins has emerged as a scoring threat, the athletic frontcourt still drives this team. Mbakwe needs to become more of an offensive force, but his presence as a rebounder is vital in this physical conference.

5. Michigan State

Record: 11-2

Quality Wins: Vs. Kansas (neutral site)

Worst Losses: At Miami

Key Players to Watch: PG Keith Appling, SG Gary Harris

Bottom Line

Appling and Harris are streaky shooters, but both are capable of racking up 25 points on a given night. They’re not getting much offensive help from the big men, but the Spartans’ defense has been so strong that it has rarely mattered.

4. Illinois

Record: 13-1

Quality Wins: At Gonzaga, Vs. Butler (neutral site)

Worst Losses: Vs. Missouri (neutral site)

Key Players to Watch: SG/PG Brandon Paul, SG D.J. Richardson

Bottom Line

With speed and three-point shooters to burn, John Groce’s team looks like this year’s answer to 2011-12’s Missouri squad. Still, physical Big Ten frontcourts will pose serious matchup problems (as this year’s Tigers did in handing the Illini their first loss).

3. Ohio State

Record: 10-2

Quality Wins: None

Worst Losses: Vs. Kansas

Key Players to Watch: SF Deshaun Thomas, PG Aaron Craft

Bottom Line

Another terrific defense which has been limited by offense, Ohio State has the benefit of the Big Ten’s leading scorer in Thomas. If Craft—whose numbers are almost identical to his freshman season of two years ago—raises his level of play, this will really become a scary team.

2. Michigan

Record: 13-0

Quality Wins: Vs. N.C. State, Vs. Kansas State (neutral site), vs. Pitt (neutral site)

Worst Losses: None

Key Players to Watch: PG Trey Burke, SG Tim Hardaway Jr.

Bottom Line

A celebrated recruiting class has put up some solid numbers, but veterans Burke and Hardaway have stolen the show. Burke, the conference leader with 7.1 assists a night, oversees an offense whose depth and firepower would top almost any conference…except the Big Ten.

1. Indiana

Record: 12-1

Quality Wins: Vs. North Carolina, Vs. Georgetown (neutral site)

Worst Losses: Vs. Butler (neutral site)

Key Players to Watch: C Cody Zeller, SG Victor Oladipo

Bottom Line

Tops in the nation in scoring, third in field-goal percentage and 11th in assists, the Hoosiers have the best offense in college hoops. Though they’ll lose a couple of defensive slugfests in this competition, Zeller and his mates can beat Michigan at its own game, giving them a vital edge in the Big Ten race.

Big 10 Freshman of the Year: Glenn Robinson III, Michigan

In a tight race with Indiana point guard Kevin Ferrell and Michigan State’s Gary Harris, Glenn Robinson III gets the edge for his all-around game. Ferrell doesn’t score, and Harris does little else (though he is a solid defender).

Robinson, in contrast, leads the Wolverines in rebounding with 6.2 boards a night while still producing nearly as many points (11.4 per game) as Harris does. Robinson is also the best three-point shooter of the trio, hitting at a .375 clip.

Big 10 Player of the Year: Trey Burke, Michigan

Trey Burke and Indiana’s Cody Zeller will be neck-and-neck all season for this award, with Ohio State’s Deshaun Thomas trailing by a nose. Thomas leads the conference in scoring, Zeller in rebounding and Burke in assists.

Burke’s crucial edge, though, is that he’s making his teammates better in a way the other two can’t. All three are commanding defensive attention with their scoring, but only Burke is also creating easy shots for others with his driving and dishing.

Would Wolverine freshman Nik Stauskas really be shooting .557 from deep if he didn’t have Burke setting the table for him? Not likely.

Big 10 Tournament Champion: Illinois

As Vanderbilt and Louisville showed a season ago, winning a conference tournament can be as simple as getting hot at the right time. Illinois will have some help in that department, playing in front of a de facto home crowd.

In principle, Chicago’s United Center is a neutral site for Big Ten Tournament action, but the Illini are sure to have some extra emotion behind them. For a team who lives and dies by the three-point shot, that’s the ideal environment to spring a couple of upsets.

It doesn’t hurt that most of the conference’s top defenses are stronger on the inside than on the perimeter, where Illinois will be attacking them.