Its mid-November and that means one thing – college basketball. While the Big Ten is not expected to be an elite conference, it should be a pretty good one. Michigan State figures to be as good as any team not named North Carolina. Purdue, Wisconsin, and Ohio State all figure to make it to the Big Dance as well. But before we get to that, let’s cover some of the top players.
Top Big Ten Players
- Kalin Lucas The 6 footer averaged 10 points last year for Michigan State.
- Raymar Morgan Averaged 14 points and 6 rebounds last year for the Spartans.
- B.J. Mullens The 7 foot freshman center is Ohio State’s best player.
- Robbie Hummel He was named All Big Ten 1st Team for Purdue as a freshmen.
- Marcus Landry 1 of`3 Wisconsin seniors. He will lead the Badgers this year.
- Manny Harris Averaged 16 points a game as a freshman for the Wolverines.
Top Incoming Freshmen
- B.J. Mullens Center, Ohio State
- William Bufford Guard, Ohio State
- Jordan Taylor Guard, Wisconsin
- Delvon Roe Forward, Michigan State
- Ralph Sampson III Center, Minnesota
And now onto the top teams, which are ranked from the projected best finish to the worst.
1. Michigan State The Spartans are the most talented team in the conference and probably the best coached team as well. Michigan State finished 4th in the conference last year and lost leader Drew Neitzel, but are looking to Kalin Lucas to take over his role. Lucas and wingman Raymar Morgan could be the two best players in the conference. Those two are complemented by rebounding machine Goran Suton in the post. Look for the Spartans to take the conference outright and make a run at the national title.
2. Purdue The Boilmakers were a surprise team last year finishing second in the Big Ten. They return every important player from last year including Robbie Hummel and defending Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Chris Kramer. Expect more solid basketball from Purdue this year, but Michigan State’s athleticism will be too much for them to handle as they finish second in the Big Ten for a second straight year.
3. Wisconsin The Badgers won a school record 31 games last year as well as the outright Big Ten regular season title and the conference tournament title. Wisconsin loses Brian Butch as well as defensive stoppers Michael Flowers and Greg Stiemsma from that team, but expects Marcus Landry, Trevon Hughes, and Jason Bohanon to take over. Landry should be a contender for Big Ten Player of the Year this season. Bo Ryan is almost a lock at this point to coach his team to a 20+ win season and a bid to the Big Dance.
4. Ohio State These guys are your defending NIT Champs, but are hoping to use that as a springboard to an invite in the Big Dance this year. Kosta Koufos left to enter the NBA Draft and Jamar Butler and Othello Hunter graduated, but expect another one of Thad Matta’s ridiculous recruiting classes to make up for those losses. Center B.J. Mullens will dominate the Big Ten’s bigs this year as he leads the Buckeyes to the Big Dance.
5. Minnesota Tubby Smith led the Gophers to a 20 wins last year in his first season in Minneapolis. Minnesota returns guard Blake Hoffarber, who has hit two of the more amazing shots you will ever see. Minnesota welcomes Ralph Sampson III to campus and is expecting big things from him both this year and in the future. Expect another solid season from the Gophers but Tubby Smith’s return to March Madness will have to wait one more year.
6. Illinois NIT bound this year. Expect big things next season from the Illini.
7. Michigan It’s the Manny Harris show in Ann Arbor.
8. Penn State Just a normal Nittany Lion season.
9. Northwestern Returning 3 double digits scorers from last season.
10. Iowa A whole bunch of unimpressive freshmen.
11. Indiana Unfortunately, Indiana is nothing short of a disaster this year due to the gigantic mess that Kelvin Sampson has left the school in. Tom Crean was brought in from Marquette and given a 10 year contract to try to dig Indiana out of the whole they are in. Indiana returns only one player, Kyle Taber, a former walk-on. There will be many guys playing for Indiana this year who would never play for the Hoosiers under any other circumstances. Don’t expect this to last forever though, as Crean appears to already be building a top recruiting class.
There’s the Big Ten in a nutshell. Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Ohio State will all make the Big Dance. Minnesota and Illinois will have to settle for the NIT this year as they build towards the future. Michigan might have the Big Ten’s leading scorer, but nothing else. Penn State and Northwestern will be their usual selves. Iowa is building with a big, yet unimpressive freshmen class and Indiana is, almost unimaginably, found at the bottom of the standings. If I was a betting man, I’d say Robbie Hummel wins Player of the Year over Marcus Landry and Tom Izzo takes Coach of the Year as the Spartans make a Final Four run.
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