Yesterday we took a look at the current resumes of teams #12 to #7 in the Big Ten at this early point of the season. Today we examine the top six resumes.

6. Minnesota (8-2)

Andre Hollins and the Gophers need some marquee wins after losing two out of three in Maui.

• Best Win: @ Richmond (74-59)
• Worst Loss: Arkansas (87-73)
• Breakdown: The Gophers have gotten off to a decent start with a win at home against Florida State and at Richmond highlighting their eight wins. They blew a chance at a marquee match-up with Gonzaga by losing to Arkansas in Maui, instead having to settle for a win against Division II Chaminade. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, they will be 11-2 heading into conference play. They didn’t really do anything to help their NCAA chances with the non-conference slate, but they also didn’t do anything to really damage them either.
• Status Right Now: NCAA #9-#12 seed.
• Projected Status: NCAA #9-#12 seed. They’ll have opportunities with two games each against Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa. Going 3-3 in these games and maybe notching a road win out of one of those will carry major weight.

5. Indiana (7-2)

• Best Win: Stony Brook (90-74)
• Worst Loss: @ Syracuse (69-52)
• Breakdown: IU has looked a bit uneven at times, as the Hoosiers have had some games that have been a little closer than they should have been at home before turning it on at the end. They have also lost two games to teams that are a combined 18-0, but they haven’t really beaten anybody all that great yet either. They’ll have one more chance on Saturday in their annual Crossroads Classic tilt, this year against Notre Dame.
• Status Right Now: NCAA #8-#10 seed.
• Projected Status: NCAA #6-#9 seed. This is going to be a team that will make you scratch your head one game and marvel at their athleticism and talent the next. They’ll win some they shouldn’t, lose some they shouldn’t, and Selection Sunday will be an interesting evening in Bloomington.

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1. There are not many coaches in the college sports landscape that have performed better than Tom Izzo over the past 15 years. But Izzo believes that it is time to look up to the Spartans’ football coach, Mark Dantonio, to learn how to be a champion. After Michigan State’s upset win over Ohio State to win the Big Ten title on Saturday night, Izzo sang high praises of his counterpart in East Lansing. “It’s so good when you got a friend that’s in the same profession but in a little different venue because you look at it a little differently,” Izzo said. Over the past decade or so, Michigan State basketball owned the state of Michigan, but the football team appears to be slowly turning the tables since 2009. Having a great football program will further help Izzo’s basketball program reach new heights because it increases the overall profile of the school’s athletic department.
2. John Beilein is trying to find answers to turn around Michigan’s slow start and he is looking to Mitch McGary to take over the leadership role on and off the court. McGary doesn’t appear to be at a 100%, but he could be the spark plug to ignite the Wolverines after nine games in the non-conference season. Against Duke, he was very active on the defensive glass (14 rebounds) and pushed the tempo in the open floor to trigger transition opportunities and pick up a few easy points. Nik Stauskas on McGary: “Coach is starting to trust him a lot more with the ball and anytime he gets a rebound and he’s going (down-floor) by himself, we’re OK with that. Sometimes he’s going to make a bad decision here and there, but for the most part he’s either going to score a basket or find someone who is open.” A healthy and active McGary can help freshmen guards such as Derrick Walton get comfortable on the offensive end, especially if Stauskas is struggling with his ankle injury.
3. Indiana won the Big Ten title under Tom Crean after a long drought. They were ranked #1 in the pre-season poll, after another long drought of being ranked in the top-5 under Crean’s watch. What else is needed to add to Crean’s impact on the renewed hoops culture in Bloomington? A renovated basketball arena. Assembly Hall, is potentially up for an upgrade that could be worth millions of dollars. One of the oldest arenas in college basketball could add luxury seats in the bleachers and a “jumbotron” to show the score of the game. Any renovations will only add fuel to the well-oiled recruiting machine that Crean has built at Indiana.
4. Without Josh Oglesby, Iowa doesn’t have a consistent three-point shooting threat, but the offense has been humming along fairly well, averaging 1.17 points per possession. Transition buckets have provided to the offensive spark this season. Drake’s head coach on Iowa’s transition capabilities: “We sent three guys back. We normally just sent two back. You send somebody back to stop the ball and you put somebody in the hole. We tried to send our three-man back and just with four different guys that can push it, it really causes confusion in transition defense.” With Devyn Marble playing the stretch-four position, the Hawkeyes run the well exceptionally well, but that pace may slow down once conference season begins.
5. Speaking of slowing down the pace in the Big Ten, Wisconsin is off to an impressive undefeated start after beating Marquette at home on Saturday. Bo Ryan may have one of the best starting lineups in the nation because each of them averages at least 10 PPG. The three-guard lineup rebounds the ball effectively and this could be one of the most versatile teams that Ryan has had in Madison in terms of their ability to put points on the board. With the schedule they have it is quite possible that the Badgers will enter 2014 undefeated and have a manageable schedule in January too.

We are a little over one-fourth of the way through the season. Non-conference play lasts about another three weeks, and before you know it, New Year’s Eve will arrive and conference games will be here. The Big Ten Player of the Year award is of course won and lost during conference play, but let’s take a very early look at five players who have positioned themselves to possibly be among the favorites for the award (in alphabetical order).

Wisconsin big man Frank Kaminsky is one of many early candidates in the mix for Big Ten POY. (Reuters)

• Keith Appling, Michigan State: Appling has two teammates in Gary Harris (now injured) and Adreian Payne who are also deserving of this award, but it has been the point guard who has done a little bit of everything for the Spartans this year. His impressive stat line of 16.9 PPG, 5.6 APG, 3.0 RPG and 52 percent from deep are conference POY numbers. Perhaps his most impressive performance was against then #1 Kentucky, exploding for 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in a consummate performance. If Appling continues to put up big games like that, he might be on track to become the second Spartans’ senior to win Big Ten POY in the last three years (Draymond Green was the other).
• Tim Frazier, Penn State: It is extremely hard for a player on a team with a losing record to take home the conference POY award, but Frazier could possibly accomplish that this season. He is only averaging 19.4 PPG, but expect that number to rise into the 20s by the time conference play is in full swing. The fifth-year senior is also averaging a league high 7.0 APG and that stat may be underrated too because Frazier will need to get his teammates active on the offensive end of the floor to open up more space for him to work with.

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1. Marquette is struggling a bit this year, having lost three of six games heading into this weekend’s intrastate rivalry game with Wisconsin. ESPN.com’s Myron Metcalf believes that the Golden Eagles and the Big East as a whole could really use a big non-conference win to boost their bona fides: “Marquette is approaching desperation in its quest for the resume-boosting non-conference victories that will pay off on Selection Sunday… A series of mishaps in holiday tournaments diminished the Big East’s buzz. The conference’s contenders failed in recent non-conference match-ups that would have enhanced their respective NCAA tournament hopes/seeds.” Don’t expect this to be the most beautiful game of hoops that anyone has ever watched — Marquette has struggled to score against quality opponents while undefeated Wisconsin is coming off a match-up where they surrendered only 38 to a solid Virginia squad.
2. St. John’s and Fordham play almost every year, but is the annual New York City game a true rivalry? Rumble in the Garden examined the series, in which the Johnnies have been victorious in all but two of the last 23 meetings. The last few seasons have seen a number of close games, and interestingly enough Fordham’s last win was in 2010 when they overcame two significant deficits to upset a St. John’s team that ended the year with an NCAA Tournament berth. Fordham looks like it may be a feisty mid-major this year while St. John’s has been up and down so far this season, so Big Apple fans may be in for another close one on Saturday.
3. The intrastate rivalry theme continues, as Providence managed to hold off nearby URI for a 50-49 win last night. The Rams’ E.C. Matthews had a final shot to win the game, but he was unable to knock it down, giving the Friars the victory. Tensions were reportedly high in the Ryan Center, as head coaches Ed Cooley and Dan Hurley had to be separated at one point after Cooley took exception to Hurley’s position far away from the Rams bench.
4. Seton Hall must be happy to come away with a win against LIU-Brooklyn last night, but not all was positive in South Orange after the game. The Pirates’ top player Fuquan Edwin left the game with a sprained ankle just two minutes after tip-off, an injury that may sideline him for a few weeks. Without Edwin in the lineup, veterans Brian Oliver and Gene Teague were the obvious players for the Pirates to lean on and they performed well. Oliver went 8-of-17 with all of his shots coming from beyond the arc, finishing with 26 points. Teague added 17 points and 16 rebounds, and was a presence on the interior that LIU-Brooklyn struggled to match. Seton Hall will faces rival Rutgers on Sunday for the first time as a non-conference opponent since the split of the Big East, and without Edwin, the team will need Oliver and Teague to continue their strong recent play.
5. As previously discussed here, Creighton is going through a rebranding of its program in conjunction with the move to the Big East, and they will take another big step this weekend with the unveiling of the new “Billy Bluejay” before the team’s game with Nebraska.  Details have been scarce, although according to Omaha.com, Creighton has described the new-look Billy as “vibrant,” “more athletic,” and released this photo of the mascot’s new kicks.

So can anyone figure North Carolina out? Seriously, that’s a question. In the past four games, the Tar Heels have done what can only be deciphered as playing up (or down) to their competition, losing to Belmont at home before beating defending national champion Louisville, then losing to UAB before taking down the No. 1 team in the nation, Michigan State, on Wednesday night. So please, someone explain what makes this team act the way it acts. The Tar Heels’ tussle with the Spartans highlighted the two-day Big Ten/ACC Challenge, with the two conferences tying at 6-6 for the second consecutive year. When it was all over, the national focus was less on the tie and more on the fact that the Tar Heels have two wins over top five teams and two losses to unranked bubble teams.

UNC 79, MSU 65: EAST LANSING, Mich. – J.P. Tokoto had 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to help Nor… http://t.co/E7syrFbOug #unc

— InsideCarolina (@InsideCarolina) December 5, 2013

@UNC_Basketball is the first team to beat #1 AND the defending champ in non-conference games during the regular season since 1986-87 UCLA.

— Jason McCallum (@ESPNJMac) December 5, 2013

First time since 00-01 season, Doherty's first, that #UNC has beaten two top-5 opponents. Should have more chances in ACC play to add to it.

— Andrew Carter (@_andrewcarter) December 5, 2013

So are we in agreement that UNC will likely lose to UNCG on Sat and then knock off Kentucky next weekend?

— InsideCarolina (@InsideCarolina) December 5, 2013

Speaking of disappointing Michigan State performances, does anyone remember that Garrick Sherman spent the beginning of his career with the Spartans? Well, he’s at Notre Dame now, which everyone probably knows after the five-overtime thriller against Louisville last year, of which he didn’t play a minute of until the first overtime and still finished with 17 points. He’s proven a capable scorer as a fifth-year senior, putting up an event-high 29 points in a 98-93 Irish loss at Iowa. Read the rest of this entry »

1. The Big Ten and ACC played to a 6-6 tie after last night’s game, but the conference appears to win in one way. Some of of USA Today’s college basketball writers got together and almost all of them put the Big Ten ahead of the ACC and every other conference in terms of supremacy. With the loss of talent from the B1G last year and the ACC adding Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame, it seemed like the conference power rankings may switch back to the coast. From top-to-bottom, though, the Big Ten seems to once again be the best in the country. Every team in the conference has a chance to beat almost anyone. Minnesota, Purdue and Northwestern have players, Penn State has a great guard duo and even Nebraska has shown life with wins over mediocre Georgia and Miami teams. The top of the conference may not have two or three national championship contenders, but the conference season will be a grind for Big Ten teams with no nights of an almost assured win.
2. It wasn’t a pretty ending for Indiana in its 69-52 loss to Syracuse, and Tom Crean certainly wasn’t happy about it either. He called it the worst performance by one of his teams in his coaching career and said that it “sickened my stomach.” Point noted, Crean, as the Hoosiers were blown out in the second half after being tied 33-33. This is a young Hoosiers team, so the issues of “youth, inexperience and lack of leadership” make sense. Specifically put this on Yogi Ferrell and Will Sheehey, the latter of whom had as many fouls as points and rebounds combined with three. For Indiana to go beyond just a middle of the pack Big Ten team it will need these two players to take over as leaders on and off the court. Most troubling is Ferrell saying there were Hoosier players in the locker room who seemed like they didn’t believe the team could win. Ferrell and Sheehey will need to stop that talk if Indiana has any intention of competing for the top of the Big Ten going against competition like Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin.
3. Tom Crean wasn’t the only one calling something terrible after a Big Ten team’s loss in the B1G/ACC Challenge. Illinois‘ John Groce also called his team’s execution “absolutely pathetic” following its lose to Georgia Tech 67-64. He is likely referring to his team only making one basket in the last nine minutes of the game as it blew a 12-point lead. One big question for this team coming into the year was who would take over when most needed. Rayvonte Rice still performed well with 24 points, but once he stopped scoring no one on the team could pick up the slack. This is something to keep an eye on throughout the year, because the team needs more than just Rice to come up in need.
4. In the age of celebrity scandals and Twitter arguments, sometimes it’s nice to see a basketball with a “good guy” perception seem to, well, legitimately be a good guy. Aaron Craft is an absolute menace on the court, as he was last night in with 10 points and five steals in Ohio State’s 76-60 win over Maryland. Off the court, though, his biggest vice according to his roommates is a “scoop.” A scoop of ice cream that is. This behind-the-scenes look at Craft’s life on campus and through talking to his roommates hits on a lot of good points. We’ve all heard about his academics, but also noting that he doesn’t go to bars or curse, and that his roommates “Taco Tursday” tradition drew 1000 people in an Ohio State event is enjoyable. If you want to read about a college athlete not dealing with a rape scandal or public intoxication, you’ll enjoy this story.
5. That’s the Wisconsin we have grown accustomed to seeing. This year, the Badgers scoring has been up thanks to slightly faster play and terrific shooting, but last night they got back to winning a low-scoring game against Virginia 48-38. Wisconsin shot 28.8 percent from the field, which is the lowest a Bo Ryan coached team has shot and still won the game since 2001. For a team that had been shooting lights out this season, it’s a good sign to know the defense can still carry the Badgers to victory. It won’t always be able to hit 43.6 percent of threes in games. The Badgers will have to win some of these low-scoring affairs once the Big Ten season rolls around and this showed it hasn’t forgotten how to win ugly.

1. Raleigh News & Observer: The story of the night was North Carolina dismantling Michigan State in East Lansing. Roy Williams has owned the Spartans since taking the helm in Chapel Hill, and his team flat outplayed Izzo’s in every respect. But James Michael McAdoo‘s struggles continued, as he finished 3-of-11 from the floor, 2-of-6 from the free throw line, and grabbed only four rebounds. It’s starting to look like Brice Johnson (14 points on 11 shots) and Kennedy Meeks (15 points on eight shots) will see more of McAdoo’s playing time. To be fair to McAdoo, his game isn’t suited for the three position (where a lot of his minutes are coming thanks to North Carolina’s thin roster on the wing), but with the way the current frontcourt is playing, it’s hard to argue that the Tar Heels would be better off with him back at power forward.
2. Raleigh News & Observer: Nearly all the talk from Duke’s rout of Michigan Tuesday night was about the Blue Devils’ newfound toughness, defense and rebounding (probably all correlated), and that was certainly the biggest story from the game. But a sidenote to the game was that Rasheed Sulaimon earned the old DNP (coach’s decision). Afterwards Tyler Thornton cut straight to the point: “As a man, he has to step up and accept what he needs to do,” Thornton said. “We need him. That’s all I can really say about that.” However, I was struck watching the game that Sulaimon needs to step up quickly not because Duke needs him but precisely the opposite. If he’s in some proverbial Coach K dog house, it doesn’t help for Matt Jones and Tyler Thornton to piece together Duke’s best wing defense of the season (with Andre Dawkins providing his patented spark off the bench). Still, Thornton is right in that Duke needs Sulaimon on the court to achieve its potential this season.
3. Sports Illustrated: CJ Fair is quietly filling the “go-to” guy role for Syracuse this year — at least, that’s the perception (largely thanks to some clutch shooting against Baylor in Maui). And don’t get me wrong, Fair’s athleticism and mid-range game still make him one of the best players in the conference (and he’s Syracuse’s most important offensive player not named Tyler Ennis). But he’s the least efficient Orange starter by a significant margin thanks to his proclivity to turn the ball over. Part of that is due to the offense Fair often runs (high-risk isolations), and there’s no question he makes his teammates better. But he needs to cut down on his turnovers, or running the offense through him will ultimately prove an error in judgment.
4. Charlottesville Daily Progress: Looks like the quest-for-40 joke yesterday wasn’t such a joke after all. Virginia lost to Wisconsin at home despite holding the Badgers to under 29 percent shooting from the field. Only one player eked his way into double figures (Wisconsin’s Josh Gasser with 11). The Cavaliers didn’t hit a field goal during the last nine minutes of regulation nor the first 8:42 of the second half. That’s right, Virginia made a grand total of three field goals in the second half (all in a span of just over two minutes). That’s downright abysmal. Toss in a nearly 10-minute field goal drought in the first half and it’s amazing Tony Bennett’s team kept the game as close as it did.
5. Soaring to Glory: If December really is make-or-break for Boston College, it’s looking like a break. I guess winning the ACC Tournament is always possible, but more and more that looks like the only way the Eagles will earn a ticket to the Big Dance. Boston College got beat by a not so great Purdue team on Wednesday night. Speaking of guys in the dog house, Patrick Heckmann got all of four minutes against the Boilermakers. Steve Donahue has said Heckmann isn’t hurt, which is confusing to say the least (during his freshman year before contracting mononucleosis, Heckmann was the team’s leading scorer).

1. It won’t settle any arguments about which conference is the best (we still think it is the Big Ten), but the Big Ten/ACC Challenge did yield some interesting results. The most obvious of which was North Carolina‘s surprisingly comfortable win at Michigan State. At this point, we have no idea what to make of a young Tar Heel team that is missing the two players who were supposed to be their two best players coming into the season. And of course there is the question as to how the Spartans laid such a big egg with all of their apparent advantages, but we will give them a pass because it was so out of character. On the other end of the spectrum was a game we wish we could unsee: Wisconsin‘s 48-38 win over Virginia that was eerily reminiscent of a Big Ten rock fight in 2009. Some of the highlights from the box score: the team’s shot 28.8% and 23.4% respectively from the field, 21.7% and 9.1% from three-point range.
2. The majority of the discussion regarding the new rules being implemented this year has been based around the number of fouls being called. One area that has been largely overlooked is how it encourages zone defense. As Ben Cohen notes there has been a fairly substantial increase in the use of zone defense so far this year. The percentage of plays that it is being used on is interesting at some level, but the number of programs that are starting to use it or considering use it might be more impressive. While the trend is impressive we will be interested to see how this changes as the season progresses.
3. Dante Exum is one of the more intriguing recruits in the class of 2014. The problem is that the Australian point guard probably won’t enter play a college game. At least that is what fellow Australian Andrew Bogut is suggesting to Exum. According to Bogut, Exum should not go to college and risk injury since he is a likely top-5 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Although we would expect the schools that are recruiting him (basically every big-name program that you can think of) to try to push  the benefits of a year of college we have a hard time disagreeing with what Bogut is saying. Forcing players to spend a year in college is obviously beneficial to the college game, but if the player can go straight to earning millions of dollars we would have a hard time telling a player to turn that down. That’s the same thing each of these programs say they tell their players when they are deciding whether or not to return to school so it will be interesting to see if they do the same with a player that they are recruiting.
4. We are not sure how we missed this and we are even more unsure of how Rob Dauster of all people appears to be the only one we have seen point this out, but with Tuesday’s win Mike Krzyzewski tied Herb Magee for the all-time men’s wins record with 964 career wins although Magee overtook Krzyzewski with a win last night. As Dauster notes, with Krzyzewski coaching more games each season (and to be frank winning a greater percentage) the record should be his as long as Magee doesn’t coach for many more years than Krzyzewski does. As for the all-time college wins record, that appears to be pretty safe for the next few years as Pat Summitt has a comfortable lead at 1,098 wins.
5. Over the past few years we have heard a lot of complaints from individuals in print media about how online media was destroying their careers. So it was interesting to read Seth Davis’ piece on Dick “Hoops” Weiss and how he reinvented himself after being laid off. Some might argue that Weiss was fortunate to have a connection that enabled him to land such a job, but based on what others have said about him and our limited interaction with him (about 10 minutes back in 2009) we don’t think it has that much to do with luck.

1. Oregon head coach Dana Altman was rewarded after a quick start to the 2013-14 season with a three-year contract extension last week. The Oregonian takes a closer look inside his new contract, which reportedly includes a $100,000 signing bonus. Outside of the extra money, the most critical part of the extension is the increased job security, which will be big for Altman’s continued recruiting over the next several years. The amended contract allows Altman to earn $525,000 for an NCAA title, up from a $295,000 number on his initial one. Altman and his 7-0 Ducks return to the floor Sunday at Mississippi.
2. Does the 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis field boast one of the best eight-team fields in early season tournament history? It’s certainly possible, what with each of the eight schools either a traditional power or providing some intrigue. Just like in the 2013 version, the Pac-12 will be represented by one of the Los Angeles schools, this time with UCLA heading to the Caribbean. North Carolina, Georgetown and Florida are the other powers headed to the Bahamas, while Butler, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and UAB (who just beat the Tar Heels on Sunday) are all solid names to round out the bracket.
3. Arizona won its eighth consecutive game to open the season on Tuesday night, jumping in front of Texas Tech early and coming out with a dominant 79-58 victory. The Wildcats were up 10-0 on the Red Raiders before they had a chance to blink, and it was 23-10 Arizona almost as quickly. Freshman sensation Aaron Gordon led the Cats with 19 points in the 21-point victory, but next up is a bit of a stiffer test, a visit from UNLV at the McKale Center on Saturday afternoon.
4. Former Wildcat head coach Lute Olson joins the growing list of big names to voice his displeasure in the new way games are being officiated. His top complaint is also mine; the new rules were created to add more flow to the game, especially on offense, but in the first three and a half weeks of basketball, I’ve only seen a handful of games with actual rhythm. Teams are scoring more, but that has more to do with trips to the foul line than better flow to the game. Will teams eventually adjust? Absolutely, but it is getting pretty bad.
5. Are there people out there still questioning the Larry Krystkowiak hire at Utah? Krystkowiak has made that team fun to watch and competitive, and after winning its first six games this season, the Utes went into Boise on Tuesday night and nearly shocked a Broncos team that went dancing last March. Even though Boise pulled out the 69-67 win, Utah proved that its great start wasn’t necessarily because of a soft schedule and that it should be feared once Pac-12 play rolls around.

The first day of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge is over and the ACC sports a 4-2 lead. Now, we’re on to day two. With that in mind, Matt Patton and Lathan Wells from the ACC microsite and Jonathan Batuello and Brendan Brody from the B1G microsite got together earlier this week to answer some key questions concerning this year’s Challenge. This post will preview the three early Wednesday night games, with a second post previewing the late games coming later this afternoon. Also be sure to check out both microsites over the next few days for further reaction and analysis as the Challenge finishes up.

Maryland @ Ohio State, 7:00 p.m., ESPN

Aaron Craft Will Lead His Team Against Maryland (Photo credit: Jeff Hanisch/US Presswire).

B1G: This isn’t Maryland’s last year in the Challenge, but it will be the Terps’ last time playing as a member of the ACC. Maybe they will go ahead and try to help their new conference out, or they could just struggle against Ohio State’s suffocating defense no matter what. The Buckeyes have the top adjusted defense according to Ken Pomeroy, so how is Maryland going to score against Thad Matta’s team?

ACC: The three most important things for Maryland offensively are: Dez Wells needs to have an efficient and productive day; Charles Mitchell has to continue crashing the offensive boards; and someone (read: Jake Layman) needs to make some threes to space the floor. That’s a lot to ask of the Terrapins, but don’t let their mediocre start obscure the talent on the roster. This team is also very good at rebounding, which is Ohio State’s lone “weakness” on the defensive end. How do you expect the Buckeyes to break even on the boards?

B1G: Ohio State does give up a good amount of offensive rebounds and that’s a concern (148th in opponents’ offensive rebounding). The Buckeyes will try to combat this like they do everything else — by playing team-oriented ball. They will need Amir Williams, LaQuinton Ross and Sam Thompson to crash the boards, but also the guards will need to get involved. The team has six guys averaging more than three rebounds a game, so that collaborative approach must continue. A question for Maryland is if the Terps can handle its defensive end as the Buckeyes have four player averaging over 11 PPG?

ACC: Truthfully, probably not. That said, Maryland probably has to hope this turns into a shootout and that its shots are falling. In a grinding halfcourt game, the Buckeyes will win nine times out of 10 and maybe more. One thing to watch will be if Shaquille Cleare can snap out of his early-season funk. Mark Turgeon keeps insisting that he’s been a much better player in practice, but his disappointing play is becoming a constant. Maryland also needs Dez Wells to continue playing well, and now he will match up against Aaron Craft. Will the new rules limit Craft’s ability to guard him?

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