This is the ninth 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 – With a 14-0 start, Michigan is off to its second-best start in school history, and after Thursday night’s 94-66 win at Northwestern, the Wolverines look as strong as ever. The Trey Burke-Tim Hardaway Jr. duo looks like the best guard duo in the country right now and the freshmen are living up to their lofty expectations. While this is a guard-dominated team, the big men have also been extremely effective. A home game against Iowa could be a bit of a test, but it’s tough to pick against these Wolverines right now.

Trey Burke Has The Wolverines Rolling

2. Indiana – Indiana picked up a big road win at Iowa — its first win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in five years. The game was in doubt until the final minute, but the Hoosiers pulled away in the end thanks to Cody Zeller scoring 15 of his 19 points in the second half. While Zeller has been good, Victor Oladipo has been sensational. He’s versatile and extremely dangerous in the open court, and he made some big buckets against the Hawkeyes to help the Hoosiers go on some runs. Indiana gets an easy game at Penn State this week before a huge home match-up against Minnesota.

3. Minnesota – The Gophers made it clear to rest of the conference that The Barn will be a tough place to win with their first conference game against Michigan State. Tubby Smith’s squad is deep and they have been hot since their loss to Duke during Thanksgiving. Smith is still controlling Mbakwe’s minutes, but the forward has been extremely efficient by pulling down 7.5 RPG in just 18.8 MPG this season. One concern for the Gophers may be their three-point shooting – as a team they are shooting just 32% from the long range. It may be tough for them to play catch-up without a consistent long-range shooter, but they play such great defense it is unlikely they will fall behind by too much in a game.

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Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn. 

Tonight’s Lede. Pac-12 Takes Center Stage. Last season, the Pac-12 made history by becoming the first Big Six conference not to send its regular season champion to the NCAA Tournament via an at-large bid. The downward spiral that lead to this unfortunate circumstance began in non-conference play, where the league squandered nearly all of its big match-ups, which deflated the Pac-12’s RPI and set up a vicious cycle whereby teams had no shot of upward movement on the NCAA bubble shuffling line. This year, the league is marginally better. The high-end quality, starting with UCLA and Arizona, is light year’s ahead of where it was last season, but the league as a whole isn’t all that much improved. Three momentous Pac-12 matchups – Cal at UCLA, Colorado at Arizona and Stanford at USC – highlighted tonight’s slate, each of which allowed for valuable observation and analysis. Without giving away the rest of tonight’s ATB, I’ll reveal this much: the Pac-12 isn’t horrible!; which is to say, the regular season champ, whoever that may be, should be on solid footing come Selection Sunday.

Your Watercooler Moment. Apparent Buzzer-Beater Waved Off To Deny Colorado Huge Road Win At Arizona.

In truth, I’d love to discuss the way Colorado went out and fought Arizona for 40 minutes (and OT), the way Tad Boyle’s team got five players in double figures and played remarkably resilient hoop against the No. 3 team in the country in a tough road environment, the way the Buffaloes proved the Pac-12 race is far from the foregone conclusion many envisioned after the Wildcats’ veritably peerless non-conference work. But I just can’t. The biggest talking point is unavoidable – Sabatino Chen’s buzzer beater that wasn’t. Debate will rage on for days about whether or not Chen’s banked-in three was released before the buzzer, and whether the officials had enough evidence to overturn the initial ruling (a made bucket, a Colorado win). For a closer look, assuming you’re not satisfied with the real-time footage provided above, check out this GIF segmenting Chen’s release into discrete steps. The controversy will intensify if this ultimately leads to Colorado’s NCAA Tournament denial. But seeing as Colorado took the undefeated Wildcats to the absolute brink – and did so without a productive scoring night from star forward Andre Roberson (nine points on 3-of-7 from the floor) – this team looks very capable of making noise in the Pac 12 title chase and earning an at-large bid without sweating Selection Sunday. Besides, an event as controversial and contentious as this often has a galvanizing effect on a team. This could springboard Colorado into a substantial winning streak; the opposite effect – a demoralizing defeat that leads to a downward losing spiral – is a possibility, but I’m not betting on Colorado feeling sorry for itself. Tad Boyle will have his bunch playing inspired basketball when they take the floor at Arizona State in three days. Fairly or unfairly officiated, it’s a total drag to see such a tight game come down to an official’s whistle. When two of the Pac 12’s best teams meet up, I think we can all agree the teams, not the referees, should be the ones settling the final score.

Tonight’s Quick Hits…

• Wolverines Dispel B1G Road Game Theory. The common perception about this year’s Big Ten is that every road game, save a few locales, will be a chore. That’s been the look of things so far, with Illinois losing to Purdue Wednesday night, and Indiana just barely hanging on at Iowa on New Year’s Eve. Michigan had no such trouble on its trip to Northwestern. The Wolverines trounced Bill Carmody’s team on the strength of 44 combined points from backcourt duo Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. Burke got anything he wanted, whenever and wherever he wanted it. The Wildcats, already without defensive specialist JerShonn Cobb (suspension) and perimeter weapon Drew Crawford (injury), were without leading scorer Reggie Hearn, which turned an already undermanned lineup into coterie of inexperienced freshmen and marginal role players. Whether or not Northwestern was at full strength, Michigan wasn’t losing this game. In fact, I’m not sure there’s a team in the country that can beat the Wolverines when they shoot 59 percent from beyond the arc and just under 60 percent overall. Read the rest of this entry »

1. We hate to end the year by talking about cover-ups and conspiracy theories, but the situation at North Carolina regarding their ungoing academic scandal seems to get worse every time we hear about it. When former North Carolina Governor Jim Martin essentially cleared the athletic department of any wrongdoing he stated that officials had tried to raise questions about the suspicious classes, but a recent investigation by News & Observer indicates that there is no evidence of that in meeting minutes from that period and officials there do not recall any such objections. [Ed. Note: Meeting minutes available here.] We are not sure if the school or the state will look into this any further because doing so could raise questions about the former Governor and likely several other prominent individuals within the state, but it will remain a blemish upon the athletic department and more importantly the university until it is properly addressed.
2. The national media’s long nightmare (the limbo of Kevin Ollie) is over as Connecticut signed Ollie to five-year extension that is reportedly worth just under $7 million. After Jim Calhoun’s late decision to retire put the school in a difficult position of having to pick a coach in a relatively short period before the season began the school opted to name Ollie as the interim coach. While the move may have infuriated some national media members who felt that Ollie should have immediately been given a long-term contract and that the interim label immediately undercut him on the recruiting trail it seemed like a perfectly reasonable way to go. Ollie, who had no head coaching experience on his resume, has done an excellent job leading a Huskies team that is playing without the possibility of a postseason and now will have the opportunity to try and rebuild the program in a manner he sees fit. Of course, he will be doing so with a school that is in a conference that is imploding around it, but given the lack of another quality school in the region Ollie should have ample opportunity to prove himself over the next five years.
3. A year after his off-season knee injury may have cost Miami a shot at the NCAA Tournament, Reggie Johnson will miss six to eight weeks due to a broken left thumb. The loss comes at a particularly inopportune time for the Hurricanes who were without Johnson for their trip to Hawaii that resulted in losses to Arizona and Indiana State and are about to start ACC play. Based on the six to eight week estimate Johnson should be able to return by early-to-mid February, but would probably miss home games against Maryland, Duke, FSU, and (possibly) North Carolina as well as road games at North Carolina, NC State, and (possibly) FSU. That would leave them with just one game (a March 2 trip to Duke) and the ACC Tournament to impress the Selection Committee. If Miami is healthy and plays to the level they are capable of there is no question that they should be a NCAA Tournament team, now the question is whether they can do enough without Johnson to prove to the Selection Committee that they still belong in the NCAA Tournament when he returns.
4. We normally don’t pay attention to 2-9 teams in non-power conferences, but the situation at Penn that transpired over the weekend with regards to reports of failed drug tests caught our eye. Late on Friday the school’s student newspaper filed a report citing “a highly reputable source” that said that five players–Miles Cartwright, Henry Brooks, Tony Hicks, Darien Nelson-Henry, and Steve Rennard–had been suspended from the team’s December 21 game at Delaware after failing a drug test. As the original report indicates it appears this was a random drug test administered by the school and not the NCAA. However, the following day the same paper reported that “alcohol may have played a role in the suspensions” while their original “highly reputable source” maintains that it was a positive drug test that triggered the suspension (alcohol is listed as a banned substance by the NCAA). We tried to find the ages of the players to see if they were underage, which would provide a stronger case for the alcohol theory, but the school doesn’t list the date of birth for its players on their site. However, none of the players on the roster are seniors so it is possible that everybody might be under 21 making the theory plausible. Still we have some questions as to what sort of situation they were in that they were even tested for alcohol.
5. When the NCAA handed down its unprecedented $60 million fine against Penn State in the wake of its child molestation scandal we expected to the school to challenge it in court. What we didn’t expect was the questions about where the money would be sent. The initial agreement between the school and the NCAA indicated that 25 percent of the fine would go towards funds within the state, but some legislators in Pennsylvania believe that all of the money should stay within the state based on the belief that the sum of money would have a very small impact on a nationwide level, but would have a significant impact on programs if concentrated within the state. While we understand the NCAA’s position that this is a nationwide problem, we would have to side with the state argument here particularly since this fine, which has no legal basis, would then be a redistribution of money within the state rather than a net loss for the state’s taxpayers.

This is the seventh 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.

Trey Burke and Michigan have taken over the top spot in the Big Ten Power Rankings from Cody Zeller and Indiana. (AP Photo/D. Cummings)

1. No. 3 Michigan — Of the perceived Big Ten heavyweights heading into this season, the Wolverines are the only team still standing with an unblemished record. They haven’t been really tested — they’ve won home games against an N.C. State team that still has not fully matured, and neutral site games against Kansas State, West Virginia and Pittsburgh — but no one can fault them for disposing of all comers. The most impressive thing about the Wolverines is they’ve worked as many new pieces into their rotation as any team in the conference, and have done so at a faster rate than anybody else. They currently stand as the team with the target on their back. (Last week: No. 2)
2. No. 2 Indiana — Yes, Indiana has lost more recently than Ohio State has. But the Hoosiers’ loss came at the hands of a strong Butler team on a neutral floor, and they responded well with a resounding victory against Mount Saint Mary’s. I don’t think anyone thought the Hoosiers were capable of going undefeated and winning the national championship — especially in this conference — but it’s clear they definitely do have some flaws. The offense is there, and will always be there. But figuring out how all these pieces work together is still a work in progress. (Last week: No. 1)
3. No. 7 Ohio State — The Buckeyes got a ballgame from Winthrop this week in Columbus, but the match-up we’ve all been waiting for is finally upon us. With the game Saturday in Columbus against Kansas, we’ll now get the chance to really see what Ohio State is made of and if they’ve learned from the mistakes that haunted them in last year’s Final Four loss to the Jayhawks and this season’s loss to Duke. If they beat Kansas, Ohio State will make a really strong case for the No. 2 spot in the rankings ahead of Indiana. (Last week: No. 3)
4. No. 10 Illinois — Being one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the conference, Illinois could make a strong case to be as high as No. 2 in these rankings, but we’re still tentative to slot them that high. One of the concerns about the Illini is that they play down to their competition. They couldn’t put away Eastern Kentucky until late in the second half and it has been a recurring theme against other mid-majors such as Western Carolina and Norfolk State. But after the road win against Gonzaga, they deserve the benefit of the doubt that they’ll be ready to play Missouri on Saturday in the annual Braggin’ Rights game. Missouri’s Alex Oriakhi will test the Illini big men – Nnanna Egwu and Tyler Griffey – but the key match-up will certainly be between Phil Pressey and Brandon Paul. (Last week: No. 6) Read the rest of this entry »

1. Michigan State fans who, for three years, have been getting their hopes up about Jabari Parker coming to East Lansing had them dashed on Thursday afternoon when the five-star recruit chose Duke over Michigan State. Tom Izzo hasn’t put this much effort into a single recruit in years, and the Spartans don’t have any other incoming players lined up for next year’s class. So what’s next for the program? (And, no, Graham Couch isn’t talking football.) The Lansing State Journal columnist says the circumstances aren’t program-crippling, especially since this year’s team is set to lose only Derrick Nix to graduation (assuming Branden Dawson and Gary Harris stay in school). What they really need is an outside shooter (paging Russell Byrd) to round out next year’s group, which Couch says still has aspirations of competing for a national title.
2. With expansion bringing the number of Big Ten teams to 14 — and possibly two more in the future — the Big Ten Geeks at BTN.com are wondering if the annual Big Ten Tournament should still include all of the conference’s teams, or if there should be a cutoff. Josh Reed says no, citing the Big East as an example of a conference that has found ways to moderate the size of the tournament despite being a larger conference. Mike Portscheller says yes, with the reason that the conference tournaments give all teams around the country one last final shot at the Big Dance, a big part of what makes March so special. What do you say? Yes or no?
3. For weeks, we’ve been wondering what to make of Ohio State after they played just one competitive opponent up until this point (Duke, to which they lost). But on Saturday, we’ll get a showdown we’ve been waiting weeks (maybe even months) for — a rematch of last year’s Final Four game against Kansas. A few storylines that stand out are whether Kansas can limit Deshaun Thomas the way it did in March, and if Ohio State has enough other weapons to respond if that’s the case. Jeff Withey will surely provide a tremendous presence in the post for the Jayhawks, while whomever Kansas puts on Aaron Craft on the perimeter should make for another great individual match-up. Be sure to tune in for this one Saturday.
4. As Ben Jones writes, for the last half-decade or so, Penn State basketball has had its go-to player. From Talor Battle to Jamelle Cornley to Geary Claxton, those guys have put the team on their back when needed. This year, that player was supposed to be Tim Frazier. When he went down with a season-ending injury, the Nittany Lions didn’t really have a place to turn, and it’s showed in the results so far this season. But as frustrating as this year has been for Penn State fans, it could reap rewards next time around. Without Frazier, Jones says, the Nittany Lions have been forced to learn team basketball. And with the return of their star next year, the addition of four freshman and Pittsburgh transfer John Johnson, the hard luck could pay off 12 months from now.
5. Purdue took some time out of its season to spread a little holiday cheer around West Lafayette this week, as Matt Painter’s crew, along with help from the Lafayette Family Services, took 15 families on a shopping trip at Meijer for the holidays. Each family received three $100 Meijer gift cards with the money coming from the players’ holiday per diems, the Purdue men’s basketball FastBreakers booster group, and Meijer. “It’s absolutely phenomenal that they incorporate this and give the kids a chance to get toys when they really need them in this difficult time with the way the economy is,” Francesville resident Carmen Crawford said. “For us, it’s a blessing. It’s magnificent.”

Exam week at schools around the country mean two things: a lack of good basketball games, and that the conference season will be upon us shortly. We’ve reached that point in the season where games are fewer and further in between and far less intriguing. But fear not. We’ll all get through this together, enjoy the holidays and gear up for Big Ten season at the New Year. But first, the Big Ten Microsite correspondents have put their heads together to issue grades for all 12 conference teams based on their preseason expectations. Take a look:

Brandon Paul and the Fighting Illini are at the head of the class in the Big Ten as we wrap up exams this week. (Joe Robbins/Getty)

• Illinois: Tough to pick against an undefeated team (12-0) and the Maui Invitational champion. Illinois still has to sort out its turnover issues (13 TO per game) as they are learning how to push the tempo under John Groce’s new system. Their reliance on the three-pointer and lack of an inside game is indicative in their close wins at home against mid-majors such as Norfolk State (64-54) and Gardner Webb (63-62). But without nitpicking at certain aspects of their game, the Illini deserve the best grade possible after 12 games and if they beat Missouri over the weekend, they should get extra credit. Grade: A (bump to A+ with a win over Missouri)
• Michigan: Things have gone just about as well as the Wolverines could have hoped for so far this season. They’re undefeated, ranked #2 in the country and are poised to dispose of Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan before opening Big Ten play with Northwestern. They’ve got arguably the best backcourt in the country in Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr., with Nik Stauskas coming off the bench. Glenn Robinson III has also been stellar during his freshman campaign, leaving the Wolverines with few holes. This team will compete for not just the Big Ten championship, but also perhaps for the national title. Grade: A

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1. Entering this season, there hardly seemed a more unlikely candidate to be a Michigan State captain than Derrick Nix, who had a somewhat eventful offseason. The senior center, who had gradually slimmed down since he arrived on campus, was arrested on drug charges in early April and was suspended indefinitely. But the past is behind him and now he’s focusing on leading his team, something he admits has been harder than he anticipated while balancing it with his own personal performance. “It is hard,” Nix told Joe Rexrode of the Detroit Free Press. “I’m just trying to stay level-headed and stay positive.”
2. Patrick Chambers has changed the relationship between Penn State basketball and in-state recruits for the better, StateCollege.com‘s Ben Jones writes. For years, Philadelphia products were assumed to be heading to either Villanova or Temple, but Chambers — who played at Philadelphia University and was later an associate head coach under VU’s Jay Wright — has the right ties to the area to potentially bring some of those top players to State College. It’s no easy task but with the Big Ten’s further expansion east into the big Atlantic seaboard markets, Philadelphia recruits in particular may not be as hesitant to consider the league’s schools as another viable destination.
3. Nebraska coach Tim Miles secured a commitment this week from an international player who may be able to soon help the Cornhuskers on the local front. Miles shored up his fall recruiting class with New Zealand native Tai Webster — a four-star recruit, according to ESPN — who averaged 13.5 PPG in the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament while playing for his country’s national team. He will join Nick Fuller and Nathan Hawkins in the class. “I’m excited to have Tai join us,” Miles said, according to the Omaha World Herald. “He is an excellent player who will thrive in our style of play and has high-level international playing experience which will help him acclimate to basketball in the U.S.”
4. Sharing is caring for Minnesota, which has burst onto the national scene this fall with an impressive start to a season filled with promise. The Gophers have had a variety of leading scorers over their first 10 games of the year, a balance that could provide Minnesota with its first starting five to average in double figures since way back in the 1965-66 season. “This is definitely the most balanced team that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” senior Rodney Williams said. “You never know who it’s going to be on any given night.” It is that balance that could allow the Gophers to aspire to greater things even if forward Trevor Mbakwe never quite recaptures his dominance from before his injury.
5. There is something that’s worked at home for Iowa this season that has resulted in some dominating performances at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. But if coach Fran McCaffery has figured out that magic formula, he’s not quite ready to share it. McCaffery continues to keep his lineup under lock and key in the early going, tinkering with things in advance of the Big Ten season. It’s a good problem for a coach to have — to be able to mix and match to create match-up problems or to better fit your opponents — and the Hawkeyes have been able to utilize experience, youth, size and speed at different points this season.

One of the annual marquee non-conference events of the college basketball season arrives this week, and the Big Ten/ACC Challenge is as enticing as ever. With the Big Ten coming in as the presumed toughest conference in the country, it has the opportunity to shine against some of the nation’s most storied programs under a bright spotlight. It’ll be the first true test for some of the conference’s top squads and a chance for the Big Ten to show its substantial depth. The ACC won the first 10 challenges, but the Big Ten has won the last three. Here are a few predictions for the week’s match-ups:

Tuesday’s Games

IU Awaits North Carolina as the Headliner Game Tuesday (US Presswire)

• Iowa at Virginia Tech (7:15 PM, ESPNU): The Hawkeyes’ hot start was slowed this week by Wichita State, and things don’t get any easier when they travel to face undefeated Virginia Tech. But Fran McCaffery has an upstart group that can rebound the ball. The test will be in slowing the Hokies — expect a high-scoring ballgame. Iowa 88, Virginia Tech 82.
• Minnesota at Florida State (7:15 PM, ESPN2): The most popular sleeper pick in the conference has been as advertised, even without contributions from All-Big Ten senior Trevor Mbakwe. But the Gophers will need him Tuesday night against a Florida State team that traditionally excels inside. The ‘Noles can score (26th in the country, with 80.4 PPG) but aren’t as tough on the glass as usual (187th overall). That will be the deciding factor. Minnesota 77, Florida State 69.
• N.C. State at Michigan (7:30 PM, ESPN): What was billed as perhaps the most intriguing game of the Challenge took a bit of a hit when the Wolfpack was beaten soundly by Oklahoma State last week and then snuck by UNC-Asheville. Suffice it to say, Michigan’s freshmen are a bit further along the learning curve than N.C. State’s gifted newcomers. Michigan 79, N.C. State 70. Read the rest of this entry »

1. With another big non-conference game looming with Michigan State’s trip to play at Miami on Wednesday, Tom Izzo said Monday that there’s a chance sophomore guard Travis Trice and possibly even freshman wing Gary Harris could get some minutes. The Spartans have missed the two badly — Harris is nursing a sprained shoulder and Trice has had concussion symptoms since the season opener — in their recent games. MSU snuck by Boise State and Louisiana-Lafayette at home and it’s been clear that the team is fatigued and more turnover-prone without two of its best run-and-gun players. Harris, also the team’s leading scorer, was expected to miss 2-3 weeks, but Izzo says his healing has progressed well.
2. With this year’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge — the conference’s premier early-season event — on the horizon this week, BigTenNetwork.com is ranking the best games from this year’s Challenge. The ACC handled the Big Ten in the first 10 renditions of the Challenge before the Big Ten came storming back to take the crown the last three years. It seems as if the Big Ten is poised for an excellent all-around season, with Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan making a case for early Final Four picks, and depth is at an all-time high. Which games are you most looking forward to this week?
3. Many didn’t know what to expect from Illinois this season under first-year head coach John Groce, but the early returns have been stellar. The Illini are undefeated after winning the always-prestigious Maui Invitational and, as the Chicago Sun-Times’ Herb Gould points out, every Maui Invitational champion since 1986 has gone on to the NCAA Tournament. Groce said he’s seen a lot of character in his young team, particularly in coming from behind in a few games. “Is [Maui] the end-all, be-all? No,” Groce told the Sun-Times. “We still have work to do. We have to rebound better. We have to foul less. We have to execute some things better offensively. By no means have we arrived. At the same time, we feel blessed to have had a chance to play for that trophy and to have won it.”
4. It’s hard to imagine any single player means more to one team in the Big Ten than Tim Frazier does to Penn State. And now that he’s out for the season with a ruptured Achilles, the Nittany Lions are learning how to move on without him for the time being. “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” coach Patrick Chambers said Monday, according to StateCollege.com. “The text messages I received when he went down, the text messages I still receive, I went to the football game the other day and everybody is like, ‘I’m so sorry.'” Chambers says the team needs to find ways to work through it, and that starts with the flow of the offense finding its way without its natural point guard and senior leader.
5. Purdue is certainly rebuilding this year, and the team’s long-term future may have taken a bit of a hit with an injury to recruit Kendall Stephens, a 6’5″ senior guard at St. Charles (IL) East High School. The Indianapolis Star‘s Jeff Washburn reported Monday that Stephens, who scored 30 points and was named MVP of a recent holiday tournament, is playing with a torn labrum in his right shoulder that is expected to require surgery. If so, he’s likely to miss summer workouts before his senior year, which can be a critical time in a freshman’s development if he is to contribute early.

Things went from bad to worse at Penn State this week. With Tim Frazier done for the season with a ruptured Achilles, the Nittany Lions lost basically their only source of consistent offense early in a season that had already turned ugly. Even after he was injured and played just six minutes in the Nittany Lions’ blowout loss at the hands of Akron (preseason selection to finish second in the MAC East Division), Frazier was still leading the club with 16.3 PPG. The Nittany Lions — with losses already to N.C. State and Akron, and close wins against St. Francis (Pa.) and Providence — are dead-last in the Big Ten in scoring offense, with 58.8 PPG. Take away Frazier’s average (he was second in the conference last year with 18.8 PPG) and that number into scary territory.

Without Tim Frazier, Penn State would be averaging 42.5 PPG this season. Now they’ll see what life without him is like. (Andy Lyons)

The Nittany Lions were already far too dependent on Frazier before the injury occurred. He played all but one minute in the Penn State’s first three games combined, totaling 65 points, which was 34 percent of the team’s total scoring output. It’s natural for a team — especially a lackluster one — to rely heavily on its best player, particularly when he’s an upperclassman. And with Frazier being a point guard, the offense is going through his hands anyhow. But with the Nittany Lions relying so heavily on the All-Big Ten player, it could potentially become a huge problem if, say, that player fouls out late in a game or endures an injury. What happens then? Well, we’re about to find out.

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