Player of the Week:
Boo Buie, Northwestern
I’ve been telling you guys about this Northwestern squad. Two ranked wins against the two best teams in the B10 in the same week spearheaded by Buie and Chase Audige, an underrated duo in the CBB landscape. Buie (pictured) scored 23.5 ppg in the two ranked wins this week that propelled his squad to the definite number two team in the conference, for the time being. In their win over number 14 Indiana, Buie made a game winning floater with under 30 seconds left, proving that in late game scenarios he is the guy for Northwestern. Buie is now up to 17 ppg on the season and is the senior leader for a Wildcat that’s staring at a 4-5 seed right in the eyes. The Cats could make a run in the B10 tournament and secure a higher seed, if they were to win out and win the tournament, they could secure a 1 or 2 seed.
Who’s Hot?
Northwestern Wildcats
As aforementioned, this Wildcat team is tough. Both wins this week were not blowouts, they nearly blew leads and lost in both games, but that’s how Northwestern likes to win. They win them close and will consistently do that. Taking down two top 15 teams back-to-back in the fashion they did is an incredible accomplishment and shows just how dangerous a team with this level of defensive intensity and grit can be as the season starts to wrap up. They’ve essentially locked up their second ever March Madness berth at this point and are 4-0 against Wisconsin and Indiana in a season for the first time since 1938. This is a season for the ages in Evanston and the Cats are shaping up to turn from Cinderella story to a genuine threat for the national title.
Jahmir Young
Young is an elite scoring presence for the Terps, and although his scoring numbers have dipped this season, he just had the best week of the year for any Maryland player. First, he put up a solid 18 points in a win against a sliding Penn State team. This was expected as the Lions don’t really have an elite wing defender, they can stick on Young to prevent him from getting to his spots. Then, in an unprecedented turn of events, the Terps handed Purdue their second consecutive loss. Young scored an electric 20 points and really came through in the second half to help Maryland surge for the home crowd in College Park. Maryland is now tied with Indiana for third place in the conference, and with the way Purdue has looked over its last two games the B10 looks the widest open it’s been all year.
Who’s Not?
Purdue Boilermakers
This is weird. The Boilermakers have pretty much been the only consistency throughout the B10 this year and just two weeks ago were the undisputed best team in the country with the undisputed NPOY in Zach Edey. This past week, in two losses, their biggest flaw was exposed. Purdue doesn’t have the athleticism and scoring prowess in the backcourt to keep up with teams like Northwestern and Maryland that rely heavily on their guards to create offense. It’s also important to note that having Edey in the paint really hurts their defense against a simple pick-and-roll. The drop coverage their defense plays to protect Edey from difficult switches becomes an issue when guys like Jahmir Young, Chase Audige, or Boo Buie start pulling and hitting mid-range jumpers like it’s target practice. Purdue needs serious defensive tweaks to get back into dominance against the B10.
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes are normally a solid player in the B10, and this season has gone so sideways it’s almost comical. The Bucks are genuinely terrible, they’ve lost 12 of their 13 and have ultimately lost the connection of the entire program. Fans want Chris Holtmann to be fired as soon as the final buzzer sounds this year. It seems like an inevitability at this point. The Buckeyes, under Holtmann, have underperformed in the regular season and the tournament most seasons, and it seems like new leadership is in order to restore this program to the prominence it’s felt in the seasons of the past.
Power Rankings
5. Illinois Fighting Illini
Slightly edging out Iowa and Rutgers this week is an Illinois team that is starting to garner more attention for a bid to the dance. Their 4-2 record against AP ranked teams is a big talking point for their seeding and their electric backcourt could definitely cause problems in March.
4. Indiana Hoosiers
One loss this week for the Hoosiers and dropped to third in the conference, however the duo of Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino is still one of the best in the country and probably the best in the conference. They’re still elite and will bounce back this coming week.
3. Maryland Terrapins
The Terps are probably the hottest team in the conference right now and after taking down the AP number 3 squad they’ve certainly deserved their spot here. Maryland versus Northwestern in just over a week will be an elite showdown.
2. Purdue Boilermakers
It’s hard to put the Boilermakers at 2, I still believe that they’re by far the best team in the B10 but they’ve shown weaknesses now, and showing weakness this late in the season can be a fatal flaw for a team with the aspirations to be a champion.
1. Northwestern Wildcats
The first team other than Purdue to top my power rankings this year, the Cats have fought tooth and nail to earn this spot; they certainly earned it this week.