1. The Purdue Boilermakers will likely not make the NCAA Tournament this season because they are rebuilding with a young core of players. But would they have a better shot at making the postseason if they had landed Michigan freshman Glenn Robinson III on the recruiting trail? The 6’6″ wing could have followed the footsteps of his famous father and Purdue legend, Glenn Robinson, but Matt Painter did not have any scholarships left to offer him. Robinson came into his own in high school after committing verbally to John Beilein, rising up the rankings by the time he graduated. He was a three-star prospect at the time of his verbal commitment but finished his prep career ranked #11 by Rivals during his senior year in high school. While his team’s prospects wouldn’t have been as promising, his scoring average would probably be higher than 12.1 PPG if he were playing in West Lafayette this season as a primary scoring option on a younger team.
2. Speaking of Purdue, long time assistant and Indiana native Bob King passed away this week at the age of 92. King was an assistant coach for the Boilermakers from 1960-74 and was inducted into the Indiana basketball Hall of Fame in 1986. He was an assistant and associate athletics director from 1974-93 and oversaw one of the best stretches of basketball in West Lafayette under former head coach Gene Keady. Current Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke added, “He coached, mentored, listened and held people accountable — all with a sense of compassion.”
3. It is never too early to look ahead to a game that could potentially be a classic match-up when it occurs. The Wolverines head to Bloomington on February 2 and if both Michigan and Indiana continue to play well, the game could feature two top five teams battling for Big Ten supremacy. Hoosier State of Mind provides a very premature preview of the game between the two best teams in the Big Ten so far. Nik Stauskas (12.6 PPG) is described as a player that “could shoot as well as Jordan Hulls but can also drive to the hoop with some power.” Stauskas needs to be pull himself out of his current mini-slump before traveling to Indiana in order to help John Beilein’s squad notch a quality win on the road.
4. Michigan has already proven that it can win in a tough road environment by beating Minnesota in Minneapolis. Star-Tribune‘s Amelia Rayno addresses the Gophers’ loss to the Wolverines and other questions about Tubby Smith’s team in her weekly mailbag. She credits last season’s run to the NIT championship game as a key factor in helping these young Gophers gain some confidence before this season started. Rayno believes that Andre Hollins and Joe Coleman grew during the process as mature leaders and adds, “It allowed the Gophers to go into their offseason with immediate memories of success, but also a reminder that they had not suddenly become perfect, they still had flaws and there was still much work to be done.” Hollins has averaged 14.3 PPG and 3.7 APG and is arguably the best guard in the Big Ten this season after Michigan’s Trey Burke.
5. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo is never satisfied despite having won five straight Big Ten games heading into Madison last night. Before the game Izzo said, “We’re not as solid as we were last year,” when asked about the Spartans’ performance so far this season. Izzo has tried numerous lineups with Derrick Nix, Adreian Payne and Branden Dawson rotating role players around them, but he hasn’t found a combination that has worked consistently so far. He certainly has the flexibility of playing a big lineup with those three players and bringing Travis Trice off the bench along with freshman Denzel Valentine. After a tough win on the road against the Badgers last night (49-47), the Spartans are continuing to improve and may change their coach’s mind over time.

Deepak is a writer for the Big Ten microsite of Rush The Court. Follow him on Twitter for more about B1G hoops at @dee_b1g.

After a surprising 13-1 start to the season, Illinois has been in a funk over the last two weeks. Losing at Purdue to tip off the Big Ten season could be written off as an aberration because it was the first road game of the conference season but their recent three-game losing skid has raised several questions about the team’s future in the near term, specifically as to their quest for an NCAA Tournament bid. The main reason behind their hot start was their deadly long-range shooting but the good old saying, “You live by the three and you die by the three,” has certainly been true in the Illini’s recent losses to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Northwestern. During those three games, Illinois as a team has shot just 8-of-58 (14% 3FG) from beyond the arc! It is no secret that they lack a true big man who could hold his own in the low post, and therefore the team has no choice but to depend on perimeter shooting in its offensive sets. But a closer look into these three losses reveals that there are two other aspects of their game that have hurt them in addition to their shooting woes, but the good news is that these areas can certainly be improved to get out of the slump.

Brandon Paul and the Illini need to improve their defense to remain competitive in the Big Ten (Joe Robbins/Getty)

• Perimeter defense: Illini guards Brandon Paul, D.J. Richardson, and Joseph Bertrand may have gone cold from beyond the arc recently, but they also need to do a better job of defending the three-point shot on the other end of the court. Their opponents have knocked down 51% (27-of-53) of their attempts from long range over the last three games. If you can’t find your jumper, the least you can do is to step up your defense and make the opposition earn its points. Bill Carmody’s Wildcats had a horrible game offensively against Iowa, but their wings drained five three-pointers in the first half in Champaign to build a 15-point lead which forced the Illini to play catch-up for the last 30 minutes of the game. Groce’s guards have also played poor transition defense and have given up open shots to opposing guards who prefer to drive rather than shoot, such as Minnesota’s Joe Coleman. Coleman torched the Illini by scoring 29 points from all over the floor – he shot 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and picked up three easy baskets in transition following a missed three-pointer by the Illini — and it was obvious that Paul or Richardson were more frustrated about their shooting slump than getting back on defense. The lackadaisical defensive effort by these players can clearly be attributed to their offensive struggles. When they can’t find their offensive rhythm, they often run back down the court without picking up their assigned man. The lack of good perimeter defense exacerbates these offensive woes because once they fall behind in the game, they have no choice but to rely on the trey even more to cut into the lead. Defensive issues can easily be corrected considering the team’s depth at the guard position. With Tracy Abrams, Paul, Richardson, and Bertrand at his disposal, Groce has four guards who can be part of an effective rotation. Even though 6’7″ wing Mike Henry has struggled with his defensive rotations, he still has the athleticism to become effective on the defensive end. Read the rest of this entry »

1. The Iowa Hawkeyes were not going to be denied a win on Saturday night as they beat the Wisconsin Badgers, 70-66. There was an emotional feel to Carver-Hawkeye arena as the Hawkeyes honored 1993 captain Chris Street‘s death during halftime. The Hawkeyes built a 16-point lead early in the game and it was too much for the Badgers to recover. Bo Ryan’s team held their first four B1G opponents to 50.5 PPG but Fran McCaffery’s offense put up 70 points as sophomore Aaron White scored 17 points of his own. White was very aggressive by getting to the free throw line and shooting 13-of-15from the charity stripe.
2. Even the best of the freshmen have been known to hit a slump during the heat of the conference season. Michigan State freshman Gary Harris (12.6 PPG) hasn’t been shooting very well lately and head coach Tom Izzo believes that he might have hit the “wall.” During the Spartans’ 59-56 win over Ohio State, Harris shot 0-of-5 to begin the game but pulled himself out of the slump to finish with eight points for the night. Harris made the necessary adjustment at his coach’s urging to attack the basket rather than settle for jumpers as he shot 4-of-5 from the field during the rest of the game.
3. Speaking of the freshman wall, another first-year guard who has had a rough patch lately is Michigan’s Nik Stauskas. Stauskas was shooting over 50% from beyond the arc has made just 3-of-13 attempts from the perimeter over the last three games. But regardless of his mini-slump, both Stauskas and his coaches are not too concerned at the moment. When asked about Stauskas’ shooting, head coach John Beilein responded, “We will just keep working with him.” Coaches around the conference understand Stauskas’ strengths and have been trying to take his three-point shot away while also making him work on the defensive end to disturb his rhythm. It appears to be working.
4. The Ohio State Buckeyes might not win the Big Ten title this season, but Deshaun Thomas has shown that he is the best scorer that the league as to offer. Thomas scored 28 points during the Buckeyes’ three-point loss in East Lansing over the weekend — that’s 50% of his team’s total points! But if he can get some consistent help from his teammates, they might be good enough to become a top 15 team for rest of the season. Lenzelle Smith had six points to support Thomas, but a couple more buckets by the rest of the supporting cast might have helped the Buckeyes leave town with a great win. Sophomore Shannon Scott has been pushing the ball in transition and is another candidate to step up as a second scorer for Thad Matta.
5. Matt Painter’s Purdue Boilermakers are young but seem to be improving and it showed in their dominant win (79-52) over West Virginia on Saturday. One of the key contributors in the win was redshirt sophomore guard Anthony Johnson, who scored 12 points in just 20 minutes. Painter was impressed by his backup point guard’s performance on both ends of the floor, stating, “Anthony played half of the game and had zero turnovers.” Johnson responded, “Credit to my teammates for giving me the ball in the right positions.” The Boilermakers will continue to be a tough out at Mackey during the next few weeks and can strive to play spoiler in the tough conference race.

1. Michigan State’s Branden Dawson and Adreian Payne scuffled in their hotel room which resulted in a dented wall. The Police were called on them and head coach Tom Izzo did not start either of them against Penn State last night. When asked about the incident, Izzo said, “We’ll deal with this appropriately, and the players will willingly accept responsibility for paying for any property damage. I’ve spent my entire afternoon meeting with the players involved and they are both sincerely remorseful.” Dawson scored 5 points and pulled down 5 rebounds as the Spartans beat the Nittany Lions 81-72 on the road. Payne on the other hand poured 20 points against Penn State’s weak frontcourt.
2. Is Michigan’s game against Minnesota a “must-win” for the Wolverines? Just about a week ago, they were undefeated and received some votes as the best team in the country in the polls. After a tough loss to Ohio State on the road, there is no way the Wolverines need to win their game against the Gophers. Even head coach John Beilein laughed about it when asked the upcoming next game. Beilein said, “I’d be dead if I looked at games like that,” with a smile. The game however will be an excellent matchup with two teams who will play tough defense especially in the backcourt as the Andre Hollins matches up with Trey Burke. Beilein reiterated that the season is a “process” and you can’t single out any specific game as the most important one than the other.
3. You must have heard by now that the #2 ranked Indiana Hoosiers were upset at home by the Wisconsin Badgers. Bo Ryan‘s team stunned Indiana and dictated the game’s tempo right from the tip-off. CBS Sports’ Doug Gottlieb lists five key reasons behind Wisconsin’s stunner on the road. One of the main reasons according to Gottleib was Ben Brust‘s defense on Jordan Hulls. Hulls who shoots 50% from beyond the arc was held to just one long-range shot attempt by Brust who stifled him by not allowing him to find any opening to hoist good shots.
4. Speaking of Hulls and the Hoosiers, their loss raises a few concerns but there is no need for Tom Crean‘s team to panic. Inside The Hall lists three issues from Indiana’s loss and how they can fix them. The Hoosiers need to be more comfortable in the half-court sets because good defensive teams like Wisconsin can take away their transition game. Their main priority should be feed the post and let Cody Zeller take over the games unless he is double teamed which could result in open looks for Jordan Hulls and Will Sheehey. Speaking of Sheehey, he was held scoreless on Tuesday night, but he needs to be effective off the bench during big games especially if the starters are having trouble finding their shot.
5. Fran McCaffery‘s Hawkeyes just can’t seem to breathe in the Big Ten season. They start the season by playing three ranked teams: Indiana, Michigan and Michigan State. Then they dominate Northwestern on the road but they need to get back to the grind as they await a very hot Badgers team on Saturday at home. The Hawkeyes prefer to push the tempo of the game (70.3 possessions per game) can’t afford to let Wisconsin dictate the overall pace of the game. With three freshmen in the starting lineup, they may not be very successful in scoring in the half-court sets unless Roy Devyn Marble (15 points per game) steps up for McCaffery.

Deepak is a writer for the Big Ten microsite of Rush The Court. Follow him on Twitter for more about B1G hoops at @dee_b1g.

You may consider Wisconsin basketball boring as they make it their primary objective to slow the game game. You may even consider them boring because they don’t wow you with their athleticism. But if you are a basketball fan, you have to appreciate the Badgers’ Tuesday night effort in Bloomington leading to a big upset over the Hoosiers. Bo Ryan’s team executed a solid game plan to beat Tom Crean’s squad by five points and are standing tall in the early Big Ten race with a 4-0 record. It was very clear from the tip-off that the Badgers weren’t going to let the Hoosiers beat them from long range, instead preferring to let Cody Zeller get his shots in the paint. After trailing by one at the half, Ryan told ESPN sideline reporter Samantha Ponder that they were trying to contain the Hoosiers’ other weapons around Zeller such as Jordan Hulls and Christian Watford. Zeller toyed with Jared Berggren in the paint to end up with 23 points but the rest of the Hoosiers were held to a relatively quiet night.

Bo Ryan’s Badgers played great defense to upset the Hoosiers in Bloomington.

Assembly Hall serves as a huge advantage for the Hoosiers by making it very tough for opponents to dig themselves out of a rut once IU makes a run. Most of the big runs begin in transition or consecutive long-range shots from Indiana’s sharpshooters: Hulls, Watford, and Will Sheehey. But together this trio was held to just 1-of-5 shooting by the Badgers’ backcourt of Ben Brust and Traevon Jackson. Brust must have studied every one of Hulls’ jumpers this season because he knew his tendencies and stepped into Hulls’ favorite spots on the floor immediately before he got there. Hulls loves to shoot the deep ball in transition and is very efficient as he goes left towards the top of the key to use his quick release on the jumper. Someone who averages five shot attempts per game from beyond the arc was held to just one shot from the perimeter last night! That statistic proves that Brust played him so tightly that he couldn’t even free himself up to take a shot during the second half. Brust’s backcourt mate Traevon Jackson was just as effective on defensive rotations and helped lock down Sheehey to an 0-of-6 performance. Not only was IU’s long-range threat neutralized by the Badgers, but the Hoosiers couldn’t get anything going in transition either. Victor Oladipo couldn’t find a rhythm offensively because he wasn’t able to lead transition like he usually does because the Badgers pulled back immediately after missed shots and also covered Watford at the perimeter to prevent transition threes.

Read the rest of this entry »

1. Every Spartan fan gasped when they saw Michigan State wing Branden Dawson holding his knee as he lay on the court against the Cornhuskers on Sunday. But head coach Tom Izzo has confirmed that everything is fine with his knee and he will be ready to play against Penn State on Wednesday. The sophomore has averaged 10.5 PPG and 6.1 RPG this season but is very instrumental on the defensive end of the court. Dawson can guard multiple positions including the wing or the power forward slots because of his 230-pound frame. His teammates needs his intensity as the Spartans will host Ohio State on Saturday in East Lansing.
2. We tend to forget that freshmen can get frazzled on the road during big games and Michigan’s loss to Ohio State on Sunday has reminded us that even the best freshmen such as Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III can have a tough time. Even Wolverines’ head coach John Beilein admitted that the game might have been too big for his newcomers. Stauskas, who has averaged 13.5 PPG this season, was held scoreless in the game and missed all three of his shots from beyond the arc. The freshmen played well against Kansas State and Arkansas but a true road atmosphere against a rival team can throw a curve at the best of them. Robinson (12.3 PPG) scored eight points but shot just 3-of-9 from the field and was exposed defensively while guarding Deshaun Thomas and Lenzelle Smith Jr.
3. Speaking of Ohio State, the Buckeyes rose to the occasion to prevent their arch-rival from claiming the top national ranking. The rivalry between both programs is much bigger in football but the basketball players still care about the big game. Senior forward Evan Ravenel was very happy that he contributed in the huge win. The forward had a big-time dunk off the baseline during the final few minutes of the game, and ended up with six points. Deshaun Thomas also torched the Wolverines for 20 points and constantly attacked the basket during the second half.
4. Indiana head coach Tom Crean has seen the Hoosiers program at its lowest point but now has them playing great basketball by following a disciplined but patient approach to the game. As the Hoosiers get ready to face Wisconsin at home tonight, Crean talked about how the “process” is finally paying off. The “process” this week is to understand how to put teams away after building a big lead. Jordan Hulls (53% 3FG) and his teammates ran out to a massive lead against the Gophers in the first half but only beat them by seven points because they couldn’t stop Minnesota from scoring in the second half. When asked about the game, Crean added, “We got complacent. We have to have that same edge, that same burst, we had in the first half.”
5. After getting outplayed in every aspect of the game against Wisconsin (74-51), Illinois head coach John Groce is open to making several changes with his offense. One of the players who might be replaced in the starting lineup is senior forward Tyler Griffey. Griffey has averaged 7.8 PPG this season but hasn’t been effective since the team’s loss to Missouri, during which he scored 14 points. Groce needs consistent rebounding because once Nnanna Egwu (4.3 PPG) gets into foul trouble as he did against Wisconsin, the Illini simply get dominated on the boards. Mike Shaw, a 6’8″ forward who has played a total of 20 minutes all season long, saw 19 minutes of action against Wisconsin and impressed his coach with his effort. Groce complimented Shaw’s performance when asked about a bright spot from the game: “Mike Shaw played like his head was held under water. That’s what I’m looking for.”

Deepak Jayanti is an RTC correspondent for the Big Ten microsite. He filed this report after the Iowa – Northwestern game in Evanston on Sunday afternoon. 

After a heartbreaking loss to Michigan State earlier in the week, the Iowa Hawkeyes needed a win against Northwestern in Evanston to avoid a disastrous four-game losing skid. Describing Sunday’s match-up as a “must-win” game may sound extreme for an 11-5 team, but Fran McCaffery’s squad needed to get on board in conference play and gain some confidence because they start three freshmen – Adam Woodbury, Anthony Clemmons and Mike Gesell. The Hawkeyes dominated the game to record their first win in the Big Ten this season, winning by a final margin of 70-50. The following are three thoughts from Sunday’s game:

Fran McCaffery’s Hawkeyes needed the win against Northwestern to avoid an 0-4 start in conference play. (AP/C. Neibergall)

1. The Iowa freshmen continue to struggle during conference play – It isn’t surprising to see a freshman backcourt and a center struggle during the first three games of the conference season against such top teams as Indiana, Michigan and Michigan State. The game against the Wildcats was an opportunity for Iowa’s young players to show any improvement but they struggled offensively again. Woodbury was 1-of-7 from the field but gobbled up nine rebounds against a weak Northwestern front line. Gesell did a good job of only turning the ball over once but couldn’t find his shot. Devyn Marble handled the ball at the top of the key in the half-court, so there were not many opportunities for Gesell to drive the ball, therefore he had to settle for jumpers (0-of-4 from beyond the arc). Another reason for a poor shooting performance was the Wildcats’ zone defense. It is tough to understand how to break the zone until you’ve seen it multiple times and except for Michigan, not many of Iowa’s opponents have used the zone so far this season. Clemmons played only 14 minutes and barely saw the floor after turning the ball over against the press early in the second half. Overall, the Hawkeye freshmen could not figure out the Northwestern defense but fortunately they were bailed out by the upperclassmen during the game. Read the rest of this entry »

Deepak is a writer for the Big Ten microsite of Rush The Court. Follow him on Twitter for more about B1G hoops at @dee_b1g.

As soon as Duke went down at North Carolina State on Saturday, Michigan was next in line to claim the top national ranking so long as it took care of business on Sunday. The Wolverines had to win just one more game, but the timing could not have been worse because that one game was against one of their rivals, Ohio State, on the road. While the Wolverines had been on a major roll, the Buckeyes were suffering from a little bit of an identity crisis because they had not beaten a ranked team after more than two months of basketball. Even though the Wolverines cut into a 21-point deficit and came back to tie the game, they fell short 56-53 in Columbus. The following are a couple of concerns derived from the Wolverines’ loss:

John Beilein’s freshmen will run into some trouble against formidable opponents on the road.

1. Nik Stauskas should not be asked to defend bigger forwards like Deshaun Thomas – It is a well known fact by now that Stauskas has been extremely effective shooting from long range (50% 3FG) but he was 0-of-3 from deep against Ohio State and finished scoreless. Sunday’s loss also proved that without the freshman guard on the floor finding open spots, Beilein’s offense will not be very smooth. He has averaged 30.1 MPG so far this season, but only played 23 minutes in the loss after picking up early fouls because he was defending bigger forwards such as Thomas or Sam Thompson. Beilein plays just one true big man, Jordan Morgan, along with three guards – Stauskas, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Glenn Robinson III. None of these three are big enough to defend a bigger forward and as a result, Stauskas was stuck defending bigger players on several possessions. Robinson was too slow to keep up with Thomas, but Stauskas couldn’t hold his position as Thomas pounded the ball inside the paint to end up with 20 points. During several key possessions during the final minutes of the game, Stauskas was assigned to Shannon Scott or Aaron Craft but had to switch over to Thomas on occasion, and even during one possession to (gulp) Evan Ravenel, who took the ball to the basket immediately after recognizing the mismatch. If Morgan is assigned to the biggest opposing forward, then Beilein needs to figure out a way to “hide” Stauskas on defense because clearly a frazzled Stauskas won’t help the Wolverines on the offensive end. This will be a tough task for Beilein to solve because Robinson will have a difficult time staying out of foul trouble because his freshmen wings will be exploited by aggressive players like Indiana’s Victor Oladipo or Will Sheehey. Read the rest of this entry »

This is the tenth installment of our weekly Big Ten Power Rankings which we will publish each Friday. This week’s voters were Deepak Jayanti, Joey Nowak and Kevin Trahan of the Big Ten Microsite.

1) Michigan (Last week #1): The Wolverines are one of the hottest teams in the nation right now, and after cruising against Northwestern last week, they did the same against Iowa. John Beilein’s squad struggled with Nebraska but they got the win and a game like that may be a good gut-check for a young team. Ultimately, Michigan is in this spot because it passes the “eye test” and has one of the best teams from a shooting perspective in the country. A game at Ohio State this weekend looms, followed by a trip to Minnesota, so we’ll soon find out what this Michigan team is made of on the road, especially with so many young players contributing, such as Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III.

Nik Stauskas(left) has been very effective for the Wolverines so far.

Player Stepping Up: Trey Burke would be the obvious choice here, but Nik Stauskas (13.5 PPG) has also emerged to give Michigan yet another top scoring option. He’s one of the best pure shooters in the league even though he’s just a freshman, and has stepped up huge from the start. His long-range shooting is off the charts and he will continue to be effective with all the open looks he will continue to receive in John Beilein’s offense.

2) Minnesota (Last week #3): We have seen enough from the Gophers so far to move them slightly above the Hoosiers. Indiana’s road win at Iowa was impressive but that was against a young Hawkeyes team, while the Gophers’ road win in Champaign was even more noteworthy because they were able to hold the Illini guards to 13% shooting from beyond the arc. Trevor Mbakwe is back in the starting lineup and Tubby Smith has his team playing an excellent brand of disciplined basketball this season.

Player Stepping Up: Dre Hollins (13.7 PPG) is the leading scorer for Smith but Joe Coleman came to play in Champaign as he torched the Illini with 29 points. He was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and was very active in transition to push the tempo in the huge road win. He may end up being a nice complement to Hollins if he continues to come up big in key games.

3) Indiana (Last week #2):  Indiana drops a spot in the power rankings, not so much because of what it has (or hasn’t) done, but more because of how impressive Minnesota has been to this point. The Hoosiers got by Iowa on the road and took care of Penn State, but lack a “wow” conference win because of who they have played. They’ll get the opportunity for such a win with Minnesota visiting Assembly Hall this weekend. It will be an impressive match-up of frontcourts, and Cody Zeller needs to step up after a good-but-not-great start.

Player Stepping Up: Many people expected Zeller to be the star of this team, but so far, that title belongs to Victor Oladipo (13.3 PPG), who has dazzled teams in just about every phase of the game. He’s especially deadly with his pressure defense and effectiveness on the break. He’s improved a lot from last season and could be the key for IU to be successful against Minnesota next week.

Read the rest of this entry »

1. The finalists for the Bob Cousy Award have been announced and there are four Big Ten point guards who made the cut – Trey Burke, Aaron Craft, Keith Appling and Dre Hollins. Michigan’s Burke is averaging 7.5 APG and is also a leading candidate for National Player of the Year this season. In addition to his fantastic assist numbers, he has averaged 18.2 PPG but his most impressive stat might be related to turnovers – he’s committed just 11 over the last 10 Michigan games. The sophomore point guard has been named the Big Ten Player of of the Week twice already and will likely make the cut for the Cousy Award for the final 10 and even the last five in March.
2. Michigan State’s athletic director Mark Hollis wanted the the 2013-14 season opener to be held in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium where four games would be played at the same time. But after that idea fell through (thankfully), head coach Tom Izzo is wondering about a “normal” start to the Spartans’ next season. Over the past two years, MSU has opened its season on an aircraft carrier and at an overseas military base. Izzo is looking forward to some normalcy and added that he “leaves things to Hollis” when asked about scheduling the grand openers. The Spartans had to travel back home and play Kansas within a few days after the trip to Germany this season which had to be very tiring, so maybe Izzo’s squad will benefit from playing a run-of-the-mill regular season opener and start a November winning streak.
3. After two months of basketball, one thing is very clear for the Buckeyes – Deshaun Thomas needs help. The junior forward is averaging 20.3 PPG and has asserted himself as the primary Buckeye scorer after the departures of Jared Sullinger and William Buford, but he needs help from another consistent scorer to spot for him. The second leading scorer for Thad Matta is Lenzelle Smith Jr., who has averaged just 10.7 PPG but has not been very consistent in big games. Smith needs to average at least 14 PPG in order to form a formidable combination with Thomas the rest of the way. The sophomores – Sam Thompson, Shannon Scott and Laquinton Ross – are still getting used to the Big Ten play so it might take them some more time to contribute consistently to the overall offense.
4. Seniors are highly valued at Wisconsin in the Bo Ryan system because they understand his offensive philosophy and play solid defense. Senior forward Ryan Evans has been very effective on the boards,  averaging 8.0 RPG this season, but he has been absolutely dismal from the free throw line – shooting just 36.5% from the stripe. Evans scores 11.5 PPG but definitely needs to improve his free throw percentage to help the Badgers compete in the Big Ten. The poor shooting is very unusual for a forward who has played a key role during his time in Madison because Ryan ensures that his teams maximize every opportunity on offense and free throws are the easiest and best way to improve offensive efficiency. It is unlikely that this trend will get Evans benched because he is an experienced player who still adds value to the Badgers, especially on the defensive end.
5. Illinois head John Groce has been heavily scrutinized during his first season in Champaign but there is another new coach who has done an excellent job at Nebraska – Tim Miles. At the outset, a pedestrian 9-6 record may indicate that Miles hasn’t done much yet but he is trying to get Nebraska out of the cellar and onto the B1G basketball scene. When asked about coaching in the Big Ten, Miles said ” I really do feel like I’m in the best conference in the country. I look at fan support, quality of the coaches, the way the teams play — how productive and efficient they are, and they are all well coached.” The new head coach has a daunting task but he has shown so far that he is energetic enough to instill some confidence into a moribund basketball program in Lincoln that will require a long journey to relevence in the historic conference.