Small sample sizes being what they are, we still think it’s appropriate to take a look at the early results from the first week of games. All the Big Ten teams except Ohio State, Northwestern, Nebraska and Penn State have played at least two games and most teams are gearing up for some a high-profile non-conference tournament of some sort in the next week or two. We’re still a long way from having our questions answered and seeing our preseason prognostications pan out, but it’s worth a look anyhow.
- Illinois (2-0) — It may not be much — wins against St. Francis (NY) and Colgate — but the John Groce era got off on the right foot. The interesting thing (and it could be a good sign) is that the Illini have found ways to win without shooting the ball particularly well. They’ve shot 44 percent from the field and 56 percent from the free throw line in their first two games, but have shot well from three, defended well, and kept their turnovers down in a way that they were unable to during most of exhibition play.
- No. 1 Indiana (2-0) — So far, so good for the top-ranked Hoosiers. It’s disappointing that Tom Crean doesn’t have a better non-conference slate scheduled for us to get a real good grasp on the talent level of his group. Georgia on November 19 may be the first relatively tough game for the Hoosiers before a November 27 meeting with No. 14 North Carolina. Other than that, a December 15 meeting against a rebuilding Butler group might be the only other litmus test. Don’t expect the Hoosiers to really have their backs up against the wall until well after the New Year.
- Iowa (2-0) — The Hawkeyes are a trendy sleeper pick in the Big Ten and have been capitalizing on their opportunity to grow as a group before hitting Big Ten play in late December (when they open with Indiana, Michigan and Michigan State — yikes!). Somewhat puzzling: Through two games, the Hawkeyes are 11th in the conference in defensive rebounding, but second in offensive rebounding. Expect that to even out, but if the Hawkeyes can stay hungry on the offensive glass, that will bode well. This team has as deep an inside-out game as anybody in the conference.
- No. 5 Michigan (3-0) — It’s hard to know what kind of production teams can expect from freshmen, particularly early on, but it appears that Michigan’s highly-ranked incoming class (Glenn Robinson III, Mitch McGary and Nick Stauskas) is as good as advertised, if not better. The Wolverines have had no trouble scoring the ball (though against lowly opponents in their first three games), averaging 89.3 PPG over three contests, with 30 PPG coming from the three freshmen. It’s safe to say the Wolverines have been the most impressive team in the early going.
- No. 8 Michigan State (1-1) — Nobody in the conference had a first week that came remotely close to the Spartans. They were part of the Opening Day headliner, falling to Connecticut at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany on Friday before knocking off No. 4 Kansas in the Champions Classic at the Georgia Dome on Tuesday. Even with the early loss to unranked UConn, there’s plenty to like about this team, namely Keith Appling‘s ability to take over games late, Gary Harris‘ play on both ends of the floor, and Branden Dawson‘s return from ACL surgery.
- Minnesota (2-0) — At this rate, it’ll be March before we see Trevor Mbakwe‘s full potential. It’s definitely been a slow return for the All-Big Ten forward, who had an eventful offseason, to say the least. But, though, he’s only averaged five points and rebounds per game in 14 minutes through the first two, it’s clear that once he gets back to his usual minutes, we’ll be seeing him back in double-double form before too long. One other encouraging sign was seeing the Gophers allow a Big Ten-low 46 PPG in their first two contests (against American University and Toledo). Austin Hollins could be a real scoring force.
- Nebraska (1-0) — Tim Miles would probably like to see a stronger performance than a 66-55 win against Southern University in his debut and the season opener, but given the upcoming slate for the Cornhuskers, a win is a win. Brandon Ubel, 21 points (17 in the second half) and 12 rebounds in the opener, is going to be an All-Big Ten type player.
- Northwestern (1-0) — For once, we’re going to find out what the Wildcats are made of in the early going. Non-conference games against Maryland, Baylor, Butler, Stanford and Brown — all before Christmas — should be a great measuring stick, and much better than a 79-49 win against Texas Southern. Drew Crawford‘s 20 points in 24 minutes was one of the most efficient games in the first week of Big Ten games.
- No. 6 Ohio State (1-0) — We lost out on a prime opportunity to judge the Buckeyes when their season-opening aircraft carrier game against Marquette was cancelled on Friday, but they handled Albany on Sunday. We’ll get a good handle on this team’s capabilities when they meet No. 9 Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on November 28 but Thad Matta‘s desire to use more of his bench this season (he played nine guys against Albany) remains one of the most interesting Big Ten story lines this season.
- Penn State (1-0) — No surprise here, but it looks like Tim Frazier will be putting this team on his back once again. It’s only been one game, but his 23 points (which, when considered an average, technically does lead all Big Ten scorers through the first week) were more than one-third of the Nittany Lions’ total scoring output in one game against St. Francis (PA). The concern of that seven-point win notwithstanding, that type of emphasis on one player in the offense will not translate to many wins this season.
- Purdue (1-1) — If there was any belief that this would, indeed, be a rebuilding year for Matt Painter and the Boilermakers, that seemed to come to fruition in the season opener against Bucknell. They recovered with a dominating performance against Hofstra, but there will be plenty of growing pains in the early going. Free throw shooting (not to mention the absence of Terone Johnson, who led in scoring during exhibition play) really hurt against Bucknell, but the Boilermakers showed against Hofstra they can spread out their scoring.
- Wisconsin (1-1) — The Badgers got Mike Bruesewitz back early from his leg injury in time for Wednesday night’s game against Florida, but it didn’t seem to matter. Wisconsin was beaten down, 74-56, in a way Big Ten fans are unaccustomed to seeing. It was a good sign, seeing Breusewitz play 23 minutes (four points off the bench), but it was clear that this team lacks a go-to scorer with him just now getting back into the mix and with the absence of Jordan Taylor (graduation) and Josh Gasser (injury). Also, if superior teams can dictate pace against the Badgers like the Gators did on Wednesday, Bo Ryan‘s group will have a tough time contending for a title in the Big Ten.