The weekend before Valentine’s Day in the Big Ten was hardly easy on the eyes. Only five teams were able to crack the the 1.00 points per possession mark, and 10 of the 14 league teams had double-figure turnovers. As an example, Nebraska only managed 13 first half points en route to a 29.4 percent shooting performance in its ugly loss to Penn State. Maryland found itself down by a score of 23-2 to Iowa before finally waking up to make the score a little more respectable (71-55). All in all, it wasn’t a good weekend if you were looking for aesthetically pleasing hoops. As always, though, there were a few highlights and solid performances, so here are some of the best.
D’Angelo Russell and his freshmen cohorts lead Ohio State’s efforts in their win Sunday over Rutgers. (Kyle Robertson, Columbus Dispatch)
- Player of the Weekend: D’Angelo Russell continues to strengthen his candidacies for both Big Ten Player of the Year and National Player of the Year, notching Ohio State’s first triple-double since Evan Turner recorded one in 2010. We can probably just go ahead and make it a post rule that if someone earns a triple-double and his team wins, he will end up with the Player of the Weekend award. Russell didn’t make the handful of spectacular plays that he’s become known for in this game, but he continued to just put up numbers in an efficient way. He scored a ‘quiet’ 23 points, including 17 in the first half on only 13 attempts. He also had six rebounds and seven assists by halftime, making it almost a forgone conclusion that the triple-double was imminent. Granted, all of this production came against Rutgers, but a Player of the Year race that once looked like an easy win for Frank Kaminsky has now become much more competitive. The March 8 tilt between the two stars in Columbus might ultimately decide the award.
- Super Sub of the Weekend: Ohio State freshmen accounted for 61 of the Buckeyes’ 79 points on Sunday night, and Keita Bates-Diop enjoyed his most productive game of the season. Stepping in because Marc Loving was still suspended, Bates-Diop boosted his confidence by hitting two threes early in the first half. From there, he managed to either tie or post career-bests in all five major statistical categories. He tied a career-high in points (19) and assists (three), and set career-highs with his nine rebounds, two steals and three blocks. Not bad for 19 minutes of action. The Buckeyes are getting great contributions from their freshmen right now, and Thad Matta’s first-year players may decide how far this team goes.
- Best Win: Illinois gutted out a road win against Michigan State on Saturday as it continues to stay in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament bid. Rayvonte Rice and Aaron Cosby were still sidelined, but senior Nnanna Egwu put forth one of his best efforts of the season as the Illini picked up a crucial road win. Michigan State usually does much of its damage on the boards, but Illinois was able to keep things relatively even in this category and Egwu was a large reason for it (nine boards). The senior also kept Branden Dawson from his usual double-double, limiting Michigan State’s points in the paint. John Groce’s squad is now 6-5 in conference play, and although there is a great deal of mystery over when the suspended players will return, the foundation is there for the Illini to get back to the Big Dance.
- Worst Loss: One loss to Minnesota shouldn’t undo what Purdue has accomplished as it has raced out to a 7-4 conference start. So while a four-point road loss won’t doom the Boilermakers, the fact that they turned the ball over 23 times can’t sit well with Matt Painter. His team blew a chance to take over sole possession of second place in the league because of mistakes. Many were of the unforced variety, as his players simply had problems all day in catching the ball and throwing it away. Give Minnesota some credit for putting together multiple runs where its pressure was the catalyst, but if the Boilers had turned the ball over five fewer times, they probably would have won that game. One positive sign was that Purdue made 11 threes. If they can consistently find some outside shooting to go along with AJ Hammons down low, this team will stay among the top five of the league.
- Most Efficient Performance: Iowa put forth almost a carbon copy of its effort in the middle of the week against Michigan, as they once again won — this time against Maryland — going away. This team doesn’t have anyone on the roster who can reliably create his own shot, which makes ball and player movement vital to their ability to put points on the board. So for the second straight game, they utilized great ball movement to score. The Hawkeyes went 27-of-42 from the field against the Terps, and Mike Gesell effectively ran the show with his nine assists. The junior was aggressive in finding great looks for everyone, and the team’s efficient 1.11 points per possession mark verifies that notion. Throw in the fact that Maryland was coaxed into 16 turnovers, many of which happened in the opening minutes, and you’ll see that Iowa dominated this one from the start. They did get a bit sloppy in the second half with too many turnovers, but otherwise they played at a highly efficient level in knocking off a Top 25 team with ease.