- Last week was pretty bad for Michigan State. Not only were the Spartans beaten at home by North Carolina, but their best player, sophomore Gary Harris, re-aggravated a prior ankle injury. Now, sophomore big man Matt Costello is expected to miss two weeks with an undisclosed illness. Costello was only averaging 3.4 PPG and 3.9 RPG this season, but with Adreian Payne and Keith Appling also banged up, Tom Izzo could use all the bodies he can get. Lucky for them, their schedule remains devoid of any real challenge until December 21 when they will play Texas in Austin. For the next few weeks, head coach Tom Izzo needs to concentrate on getting his squad completely healthy for conference play.
- Unlike the Spartans, Michigan has no such reprieve as the #1 Arizona Wildcats come to Ann Arbor on Saturday. The Wolverines have had a rough start to the season, recording three losses in eight games played already and dropping out of the Top 25. However, a win over the newly top-ranked Wildcats would certainly vault them back into the national conversation and possibly change the trajectory of their season. Thus far, sophomores Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III have not made the necessary jumps from their freshman seasons to help their team compete for a conference title and another trip to the Final Four. They’ll need to figure it out quick, otherwise Aaron Gordon and company may run them off their own court this weekend.
- Most of us figured that LaQuinton Ross had put it all together last March and was due for a breakout season in Columbus this year. He’s fallen well short of those expectations so far, though, shooting only 22 percent going into last week’s games. But something clicked over the last seven days as Ross averaged 21.5 points per game on 61.5 percent shooting in the wins versus Maryland and Central Connecticut State. For his troubles, Ross was selected as the Big Ten Player of the Week. The Buckeyes have the number one defensive efficiency rating in the country as they only allow their opponents 87.3 points per 100 possessions — their offense though, remains outside the top 50. If Ross can become the offensive threat that was anticipated before the season, then there are no limits to what Thad Matta’s team can achieve this year.
- Although they’re a young team, Indiana has proven itself capable of competing with just about anyone. The majority of the Hoosiers’ production comes from underclassmen Yogi Ferrell and Noah Vonleh; Will Sheehey, however, is the lone starting senior and provides veteran leadership for the squad. He brings the intensity needed to motivate the others and has upped his own production in points and rebounds per game from last season. Despite all this, head coach Tom Crean says he needs even more out of his veteran. The Hoosiers would like to see him average more than just 10 PPG and become a more legitimate threat to drop 20+ points regularly on teams. Going into conference play, a third offensive option would help boost the Hoosiers into the top third of the Big Ten standings.
- If you’ve seen Iowa play at all this season, you know that the Hawkeyes can score the ball; they’re currently ranked ninth in offensive efficiency, scoring 117.4 points per 100 possessions. A point of concern coming into the season was long-range shooting but Fran McCaffery’s team has answered the critics by making 37 percent of their long balls so far. More impressively, they’ve done it without their best long-distance shooter, Josh Oglesby, who may return from injury as early as this month, in the lineup. Iowa has been on a roll without him, getting great contributions from their returning star, Roy Devyn Marble, and their talented newcomer, Jarrod Uthoff. But if Oglesby can make the big threes in late-game situations, something the team could have used in its lone loss to Villanova, he may add an extra win or two for the Hawkeyes this season. If Iowa wants to win at least a share of the Big Ten title, an effective Oglesby can only help in that mission.