Cream Rising to the Top

Player of the Week

A game-winning shot and three straight games of 15+ points throughout the week definitely earns you a spot as this week’s Player of the Week. The competition this week for the Boilermakers was strong as they started out on the road against a very solid Iowa squad and came out with an 83-73 victory behind sophomore star Jaden Ivey’s 15 points on 75% shooting from three. Sunday was a game Ivey won’t forget as he hit a game-winning shot against the #16 Buckeyes while also dropping 21 points on 50% shooting from beyond the arch. To end the week the Boilermakers hosted a struggling Minnesota team and defeating them 88-73 behind Ivey’s double-double performance. Great performances this week from both Ivey and Purdue after suffering an upset loss on the road last week to Indiana.

Freshman Player of the Week

The freshman from SC put up numbers this week having three games of 20+ points. Even though none of these games from Bryce McGowens resulted in wins for Nebraska, Cornhuskers fans should definitely be happy seeing their star freshman dropping 23, 29, and 24 points all against good competition (#11 Wisconsin, Rutgers, and Michigan). Also, in the games versus #11 Wisconsin and Michigan, McGowens shot a solid 50% from the field. Even in a 0-11 conference record and bottom of the Big Ten season, there’s still some upside from Nebraska fans with their young freshman star.

Who’s Hot

Purdue Boilermakers

As mentioned previously, the Boilermakers 3-0 week definitely earns them a spot in this week’s “Who’s Hot” list. Two out of their three wins came against a solid Iowa Hawkeyes squad and the #16 ranked team in the country, Ohio State. After an upset loss to Indiana on the road last week, Boilermakers fans are sure to be happy with their team’s bounce back performances against two really solid teams in the Big Ten.

Who’s Not

Iowa Hawkeyes

A loss to the #6 Boilermakers shouldn’t be as much of a concern for Hawkeyes fans, a loss to Penn State should. Even though being on the road for this game, the Hawkeyes have made noise in the Big Ten this year but losses to teams like Penn State and going 0-2 on the week, is definitely concerning and earns a spot on the “Who’s Not” list for this week. With just 10 games left in the season, it’ll be very intriguing to see how this Iowa team finishes amongst the Big Ten as they currently find themselves under .500 in conference games.

Top 5 Big Ten Player of the Year Candidates

5. Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana

Indiana has been a very solid team this season and a whole lot of that credit is due to their star sophomore Trayce Jackson-Davis. Almost averaging a double-double on the season, Jackson-Davis is currently averaging 18.3 PPG and 8.5 RPG for the Hoosiers. Voters could say that earlier on in the season it was thought of Jackson-Davis to be the frontrunner to win the Player of the Year award with his early season dominance.

4. Kofi Cockburn, Illinois

It almost feels like Kofi Cockburn is mentioned every week in my articles because that’s how good he is. On the season, Cockburn is currently averaging a double-double with 21.1 PPG and 11.6 RPG. Cockburn also had a streak going this season which got up to 9 straight games recording a double-double. Illinois currently ranks #18 in the AP Poll and is another team that will be intriguing to see how far of a run they can make come tournament time.

3. Jaden Ivey, Purdue

Ivey is beginning to make a push to move up this list. He is currently averaging 16.8 PPG on 48.5% shooting from the field and has helped the Boilermakers become arguably one of the best teams in the country right now. Before the season Ivey was listed as a lottery pick in next year’s upcoming draft, and as of right now, I can see both him and Johnny Davis find themselves around that same spot come draft time.

2. Keegan Murray, Iowa

The offensive threat Iowa prevails to teams every game revolves around their sophomore forward, Keegan Murray. Leading the conference in PPG, Murray has dominated Big Ten defenses averaging 22.3 PPG and 8.3 RPG. It’ll be very intriguing how the Hawkeyes fare down the stretch with just 10 games remaining, and also how far they can go come March Madness time.

1. Johnny Davis, Wisconsin

There’s no question on Badgers star Johnny Davis being on this list, and as of right now, Davis is probably the favorite to win the award. Davis is currently 2nd in PPG leaders in the Big Ten with 21.4 PPG and also is averaging 7.9 RPG. Wisconsin has definitely emerged themselves as one of the best teams in the Big Ten this season, and a lot of that has to do with the star sophomore guard.