1. Michigan State doesn’t have any commitments yet for the class of 2013 and only has one — three-star guard Drake Harris — for the class of 2014, but Tom Izzo still has a chance to pull in some very impressive classes in both years. MSU is still after top recruit Jabari Parker in 2013, but the 2014 class is expected to be much bigger (and presumably, better). This week, Izzo was in Chicago to see five-star center Jahlil Okafor and Apple Valley, Minnesota, to see five-star point guard Tyus Jones. Parker and Jones have both visited East Lansing and MSU is in their top five and top eight schools, respectively. If Izzo can snag even one of those three, he’ll have a star in the making, and he has MSU very well in the mix for each of these players.
2. Illinois is 9-0 and went on a surprising run to win the Maui Invitational, but the Illini still have a lot to work on if they want to keep up their hot start. John Groce’s team nearly lost to Gardner-Webb and Hawaii and struggled again with Western Carolina this week. It might be too early to judge these Illini, who Loren Tate of IlliniHQ reminds us started last year with a 10-0 record. Illinois’ shooting has been erratic and it must be more consistent for the Illini to make a big run, but we’ll find out what this team is made of soon enough, with games against Gonzaga and Missouri coming up. This is a crucial point in the season, with some tough non-conference games remaining and a very difficult Big Ten slate coming up. Now is the time for the Illini to prove this team is actually different than last year’s group that collapsed down the stretch.
3. Since it’s still only December, rankings are relatively meaningless right now. However, a debate has been raging about whether Indiana or Duke deserves to be No. 1. Of course, this isn’t college football; it’s doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. But it’s a very interesting question. Do the Hoosiers deserve to stay at the top of the polls for not yet faltering from its preseason perch, or should the Blue Devils pass them after what can only be described as a remarkable non-conference run? Since we don’t even have a chance of seeing this match-up until March (or, more likely, April), Hoosier State of Mind gave its opinion on which team has the edge. Obviously, HSOM is an Indiana blog, but it’s a very interesting breakdown on which team matches up better. Will IU fall because of the Big Ten’s depth? Can Duke continue to be successful with such a short rotation? Which frontcourt would ultimately prevail? A potential meeting is still four months away, so why not have some fun with the speculation?
4. Football has been a sore topic for Nebraskans this week, but for the first time in awhile, Huskers fans can actually turn to some basketball for relief. First-year coach Tim Miles has Nebraska off to its best start since the 2008-09 season and can now boast back-to-back wins against Wake Forest and USC. Fans have taken notice as Miles tries to create some momentum for the program heading into next year’s unveiling of a new 16,000-seat arena. It’s tough to imagine this team, which has just nine scholarship players, doing much damage in the Big Ten, but we’ll get a good barometer of where the Huskers stand when they play Creighton, without question the flagship basketball program in the state.
5. Coming into the season, freshman Mike Gesell was supposed to be Iowa’s point guard of the future. However, just a month into this year, another freshman, Anthony Clemmons, has taken over that spot, pushing Gesell to the shooting guard position. Some Iowa players have noted that Clemmons is a good defender, but his command of the offense has been impressive in the two games he has started. He was particularly impressive in the Hawkeyes’ recent win over South Dakota, and while he only scored four points, he also had eight assists and zero turnovers. Iowa now has the flexibility to start three players at the point — Clemmons, Gesell and junior Devyn Marble — and all three have seen time there so far. The Hawkeyes already had tremendous depth up and down the roster, so adding Clemmons to the point guard rotation gives coach Fran McCaffery even more options.

1. Defense seemed optional for last year’s Iowa Hawkeyes squad, but this year, coach Fran McCaffery and his team claimed things would be different. A week ago, Iowa staged a comeback against Gardner-Webb that was led primarily by defense, and the Hawkeyes had yet to give up more than 75 points. That was before Tuesday, when Iowa gave up 95 points in a loss in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge to Virginia Tech. It looked like last year’s Iowa team all over again, but McCaffery claimed that his team simply didn’t follow the game plan. The game plan certainly needs to be defense, and lots more of it, if Iowa wants to go dancing in March. With big games against in-state rivals Iowa State and Northern Iowa coming in December, we’ll find out soon if Tuesday’s game was a fluke or a possible warning sign that not enough has improved on the defensive end.
2. Teams often underachieve following a coaching change, but Illinois has exceeded expectations this year under first-year coach John Groce. The Illini are undefeated and ranked No. 22 in the latest poll, and a big reason for that is how well the current players have bought in. That’s especially true of seniors Brandon Paul and Tyler Griffey, who have both improved their offensive outputs this season. Despite being picked ninth in the Big Ten during the preseason, enough unexpected players have stepped up for Illinois to certainly make a run at the NCAA Tournament.
3. Michigan has been a guard-oriented team for a long time, and that’s no different this year, as Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. are the Wolverines’ two leaders. However, coach John Beilein says that this team has a different feel to it — it can also play with anyone in the post. Finally, in addition to good outside shooting, the Wolverines can compete inside and have solid athleticism down low too. Freshmen Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III are leading the way for UM’s frontcourt, and with that increased inside presence, Beilein’s offensive system has been able to change for the better. That all adds up to a No. 3 national ranking and a marquee ACC/Big Ten Challenge win over NC State.
4. Nebraska figures to have some growing pains this year under new coach Tim Miles, but the Cornhuskers got a big win on Tuesday by defeating Wake Forest 79-63 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It was also a win for the record book, writes Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha World Herald. The 16-point win was the Huskers’ largest margin of victory in a true road game in nine years, and Miles became the first Nebraska coach to win his first road game since Paul Schlisser in the 1919-20 season. It was also just the Huskers’ sixth true road win in the last four seasons. It’s too early to call this a turnaround in Lincoln, but there are some bright spots for a team that was picked to finish last in the Big Ten.
5. Minnesota finished up a long road trip with a win over Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and the Gophers proved why they’re considered a sleeper in the conference this year. In fact, they showed exactly how they need to play, writes Amelia Rayno of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Minnesota put together a clean and balanced offensive game, getting help from both its frontcourt and the backcourt. They got up early on Florida State and put the game out of reach fairly quickly. Defensively, the Gophers pressured the Seminoles and forced them into 14 turnovers. If Tubby Smith’s team plays like that all year, Minnesota will be very dangerous — and, of course, it will help if forward Rodney Williams continues to do things like this.

Defense has always been a hallmark of Wisconsin’s formula for success. By keeping scores low and turnovers to a minimum, the Badgers are able to win games year after year. But this season, Bo Ryan’s team has struggled to defend other top teams. The problem isn’t turnovers or a lack of offense; rather, as BTN.com’s Big Ten Geeks writes, the Badgers have struggled with defensive rebounding and fouling too much. Wisconsin has done well against opponents it physically out-matches — the Badgers defeated Southeastern Louisiana, Cornell and Presbyterian by an average of 39 points each — but the team has struggled against opponents that can earn easy second-chance points. Wisconsin was out-rebounded by 18 against Florida and two against Creighton, while Florida got to the free throw line six more times than the Badgers, and Creighton got there 10 more times. Florida and Creighton are both very good teams, so losses in those games aren’t terrible for the Badgers’ postseason resume, but their defensive rebounding and fouling issues could lead to more trouble down the road.

It’s Hard to Believe That Bo Ryan’s Team is Struggling Defensively

No matter how Wisconsin defends, though, the Badgers will continue to struggle if they give teams extra possessions and frequently puts them on the line. Losing to Top 25 teams this early in the season may not matter all that much, but if this becomes a pattern, it could spell trouble for the Badgers down the road. We all know how tough  the Big Ten is this year, so Wisconsin won’t have as many chances to beat up on weaker teams once it gets into league play in January. The Badgers must use the rest of the non-conference slate to prepare for the coming uptick in competition, starting with consecutive games against Virginia and California, then later, a game against Marquette. That should give us a better understanding of where this Wisconsin team is headed.

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Minnesota has yet to prove that it can be an elite team, but after a strong three-game stretch in the Battle 4 Atlantis over the weekend, the Gophers proved they can be an awfully good one that can contend for the Big Ten title. After losing to Duke in the opening game, Minnesota came back to defeat Memphis and Stanford to close out the tournament. Of course, preseason tournament wins aren’t all that meaningful, but if anything, the Battle of Atlantis showed us one very good thing for the Gophers: They can score from anywhere.

Tubby May Have His Best Team at Minnesota (AP)

This isn’t a guard-dominated team or a forward-dominated team; players at both positions stepped up in each of the games. The guards — particularly point guard Andre Hollins — are good. Hollins scored a career-high 41 points against Memphis and was a pivotal player in the Stanford game. He had been considered a possible breakout player in the preseason, and so far, he has shown that he is certainly worth the hype. The Gophers’ two other stars — forwards Rodney Williams and Trevor Mbakwe — have also been impressive, as has the frontcourt that out-rebounded every opponent at Atlantis. Minnesota’s ability to be successful at all five positions makes the Gophers very difficult to defend, given how many scoring options are on the floor.

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Iowa suffered its first loss of the season on Wednesday, falling 75-63 to Wichita State in the finale of the Cancun Challenge. The Hawkeyes shot just 26.1 percent in the loss. Here are a few observations from the game.

Iowa Had Serious Struggles Shooting in Cancun Wednesday

Frontcourt play. Iowa made just four of 31 shots from inside the arc and could get absolutely nothing going inside. Even crazier, the Hawkeyes made seven threes and just one two-pointer in the first half, but still led 35-33 at halftime. However, Wichita State’s dominance in the frontcourt was too much for Iowa to overcome in the second half and the Hawkeyes didn’t have the physicality to keep up. Iowa has a lot of height, but it doesn’t have a seasoned big man to outmuscle other teams inside. Wichita State big man Ehimen Orukpe had five blocks and kept the Hawkeyes out of the paint. Iowa also didn’t get much out of center Adam Woodbury, who was clearly over-matched by Orukpe. The Hawkeyes must find a way to get points in the paint this year in the Big Ten.

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1. Penn State was never on anyone’s short list to be a Big Ten Tournament contender, but it has one of the best players in the conference in guard Tim Frazier. The Nittany Lions’ prospects got even worse on Monday, as Frazier went down with an Achilles injury. Coach Pat Chambers confirmed on Tuesday that Frazier would miss the remainder of the season. Frazier should be able to get a medical redshirt to play next season, so that’s good news for Chambers’ rebuilding squad. However, this year will likely be rough without Frazier, who was Penn State’s leader last year in every major statistical category. Now, D.J. Newbill, Ross Travis and Jermaine Marshall all need to step up. If they all show improvement and take on bigger roles, the Nittany Lions could have a decent team next year when Frazier returns.
2. On the subject of injuries, Michigan State may have taken a major hit when star freshman guard Gary Harris left the game with a left shoulder injury. Coach Tom Izzo did not sound optimistic about the situation, saying at best case Harris would be out with a sprain, and at worst would be out “a lot, lot, lot, lot, lot, lot, lot longer.” Harris will get an MRI on Wednesday, but it’s a bad situation no matter what. Harris is the team’s leading scorer and has broken out early this year for the Spartans. He went out at the beginning of Tuesday’s game and MSU struggled without him, beating Boise State 74-70. If Harris is out for an extended period of time, MSU will need Keith Appling and Denzel Valentine to step up and provide more consistent scoring.
3. It’s not often that you see a 6-foot-1 guard atop a list of rebounding leaders, but that’s exactly what Ben Brust has done at Wisconsin. In fact, he was tied for third in the Big Ten in rebounding before Tuesday’s games, behind Michigan State’s Derrick Nix and Indiana’s Cody Zeller. Brust has put together a phenomenal start for the Badgers. He’s second on the team in points per game, and leads in both rebounds per game and assists per game. He recorded a double-double in the opener against Southeastern Louisiana and did the same against Cornell. Tuesday, he had another double-double, this time leading the team in both points and rebounds with 20 and 12. Wisconsin needed someone to step up at guard in place of injured Josh Gasser, and it looks like the Badgers have found their guy.
4. Ohio State’s team is full of young talent as it is, but the Buckeyes will be adding even more young stars in the coming years. This week, OSU got the commitments of 2014 forwards Jae’Sean Tate and Kieta Bates-Diop, both four-star recruits. Tate chose the Buckeyes over Michigan, while Bates-Diop chose them over Illinois, Michigan and Purdue. OSU just signed four-star forward Marc Loving and four-star guard Kameron Williams for the 2013 class, and are still on the board for some top 2014 prospects. It’s tough to judge recruits just based off their star ratings, but considering the other offers Tate and Bates-Diop had, this was a big win for OSU. The Buckeyes will have no shortage of talent in the years to come.
5. Michigan has climbed to No. 4 in the rankings without playing anyone of not this year, but that changes when the Wolverines head to Madison Square Garden to face Pittsburgh in the 2K Sports Classic. After the matchup with the Panthers, Michigan will face either Kansas State or Delaware. This will be a chance for coach John Beilein to see how his young team performs on the big stage. He said that he hopes his team is ready after a week of fixing the “holes” they’ve had. There haven’t been too many holes for the Wolverines, who have dominated lesser competition behind star sophomore point guard Trey Burke, senior Tim Hardaway and freshmen Glenn Robinson III and Nick Stauskas. Jordan Morgan and Mitch McGary have been impressive, as well, which is a tribute to this team’s outstanding depth. Now the Wolverines have to prove they can replicate that success on the big stage and against quality opponents. They’ll get that chance against Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

A nine-point win over Gardner-Webb is hardly something to be proud of, but the way Iowa took down the Runnin’ Bulldogs sure is cause for celebration in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes trailed 38-18 at halftime and were down by as many as 23 points at one point in the first half, before storming back to outscore Gardner-Webb 47-18 in the second half to escape with a 65-56 win on Saturday. Last year, this is a game Iowa surely would have lost. The Hawkeyes had a brutal non-conference season, which included a 16-point loss to Campbell. Iowa struggled with its defense last year, which hurt its resume and kept it off the NCAA Tournament bubble, but the Hawkeyes figure to be an NCAA Tournament contender this year, so this was the kind of game they couldn’t lose. They knew that, and they didn’t.

Fran McCaffery’s Group Appears to be Buying Into Defense This Year (credit: AP)

Perhaps the most encouraging part of Iowa’s win was how the Hawkeyes came back. We always knew they could score, but the question was whether they could stop anyone after last year’s abysmal defensive display. We got our answer over the weekend, as defense and the subsequent transition offense led Iowa’s comeback. “I think we buy into the defensive end a little bit more,” Iowa sophomore Aaron White said. “When you give up 18 points in the second half, that’s the difference. Last year we would have just tried to put 60 on them in the second half.”

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The first thing that Purdue fans will likely blame for the Boilermakers’ 89-81 loss Thursday night is a controversial flagrant foul call on D.J. Byrd. The call gave Villanova four straight points, which the Wildcats wouldn’t have been able to get without the call. Whatever you think of the officiating — the call in question was an elbow by Byrd — that wasn’t the only thing that factored into the loss, writes Jeff Washburn of the. Lafayette Journal and Courier.

Matt Painter Would Surely Like to Have the Bucknell and Villanova Games Back

One call doesn’t win or lose a game, and had the Boilermakers been crisper at the finish or been less sluggish at the start, they likely would have won the game. Purdue used a 21-4 second half run to get back into the game, but, as Washburn points out, “rushed some shots, and at times, played like its hair was on fire, as Painter likes to say, meaning that the Boilermakers played at a helter-skelter pace when it was not necessary.” Purdue also shot just 57.1 percent from the free throw line — whereas Villanova shot 80.5 percent — allowing the Wildcats to stay in the game. The loss drops the Boilermakers to 1-2 with the consolation game of the 2K Sports Classic against Oregon State coming up Friday night.

This is a very young Purdue team, so nights like Thursday night figured to happen early in the year. When three freshmen see significant minutes, and one starts and plays 32 minutes, you can expect some inconsistency. This team has a lot of talent, and it will be very good a few years down the road. However, the Boilers have a lot of growing up to do in order to be competitive in the Big Ten this season.

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Iowa is expecting junior guard Devyn Marble to shoulder the load this season, but Wednesday afternoon the Hawkeyes signed the guy they hope can replace him. Three-star small forward Peter Jok was the lone player to sign with the Hawkeyes on signing day, and will join Wisconsin transfer Jarrod Uthoff as one of two new Hawkeyes joining the team next season.

Peter Jok

Jok’s path to becoming a Hawkeye, which was described by Rick Brown in a terrific piece in the Des Moines Register, was anything but typical. He was born in Sudan, lost his father when he was three, and moved to Des Moines with his mother when he was nine. He was initially a soccer player, but eventually gave basketball a try. After all, Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng is his cousin and NBA legend Manute Bol is his uncle. Jok quickly rose to national prominence through the AAU ranks, specifically after playing against the Chicago schools, and ranked in the top 10 nationally as a high school freshman. However, a tear of his patella tendon dropped his recruiting stock, and he lost a step in his game. Now, he’s back to full speed, but he’s still flying under the radar, choosing Iowa over Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas State and Drake.

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After the graduation of Draymond Green after last season, Michigan State needed Keith Appling to step up this year, but nobody knew if he could take on the No. 1 role. Questions lingered after his individual performance, and the entire team’s performance, against UConn in Germany last Friday night. But after Tuesday’s 67-64 win over Kansas, Appling appears to have answered his critics. He hit a clutch three late in the game and then scored on a reverse layup with 12.6 seconds left to put the Jayhawks away.

Appling’s athletic skills and scoring abilities were never in question, but now that his leadership skills and decision-making skills have improved, he has the chance to be a special player, not just a talented one. As Graham Couch wrote in the Lansing State Journal, players who make “plays like these” in the clutch develop a reputation as a star. Michigan State is loaded with great talent, but the Spartans needed someone to step up and take on the star role. They got their answer Tuesday night.

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