Player of the Week:
{Player: Zach Edey], C, Purdue Boilermakers
Could it be anybody else? Edey has been playing exceptionally well this year, and this week he solidified himself as a candidate for Naismith Player of the Year. Edey’s Boilermakers are 7-0, and just picked up back-to-back top 10 wins against Duke and Gonzaga. Edey’s performance in both of those games was no joke, especially against the Blue Devils. Duke’s two star big men, {Player: Derek Lively II] and {Player: Kyle Filipowski], had less points and less rebounds combined than Edey; a showing of total dominance. The 7’4 giant is 6th in the nation in scoring with 22.1, 5th in rebounding with 11.4, and 29th in FG% with a 64.1% clip. Purdue has climbed all the way to 5th in the nation and are looking to continue their excellence to start the year, if Edey continues to play like this then expect that to happen. While defensive limitations on the perimeter might cloud his NBA outlook, he has become an absolute force at the college level.
Who’s Hot?
Maryland Terrapins
The Terps have done exactly what they were supposed to do in the early weeks of the season: ride their schedule to a 7-0 start. This 7-0 start has come by way of double-digit victories as well, the closest game they’ve had was a 16 point win against Coppin State. Maryland has been led this season by {Player: Donta Scott], the junior forward from Philadelphia is averaging 15.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, and 1.4 apg. Scott and his frontcourt partner {Player: Julian Reese] have been the Terps’ leading scorer in every game this year as they have asserted themselves snugly at the top of the BIG10 next to Purdue and Indiana. They play three ranked teams in the next two weeks, which will be a temperature check on how hot the Terps really are. If Scott, Reese, and the talented bunch of guards around them continue to score efficiently and dominate then the January 22nd game against Purdue figures to be a top 10 match up.
Penn State Nittany Lions
The Nittany Lions had their best recruiting class in years come in 2022, and their 6-2 start has shown that the recruiting of coach Shrewsberry is paying off. Senior guard {Player: Jalen Pickett] has shown to be a fantastic combo guard that should be on NBA radars, averaging 16.1 ppg, 7.6 apg, and pulling down 6.6 rpg. Pickett is the leader and undeniable best player on this team, leading Penn State in every major category except rebounding. Pickett’s squad is also shooting the lights out from deep, being third in the nation with 12.1 threes made a game at a 40.4%, good for 17th in the country. They’re 6-2 and play 2 ranked teams in the coming 10 days, which will be a good test for these cats. Watch out for the December 7th matchup against a sliding Michigan State team in Happy Valley.
Who’s Not?
{Player: Jamison Battle], G, Minnesota Golden Gophers
Although he only has three games played thus far and is coming off surgery, he’s looked rough in his games since return. Battle was the Gophers’ leading scorer last year and is their only returning starter, but in his three games back Minnesota is 1-2 and Battle’s shooting struggles have been a huge part of that. He’s currently shooting barely 26% from the field and 21% from three. The struggles after surgery are to be expected, however he’s playing 35 minutes per game which is ultimately a question for Ben Johnson and his staff. Battle is a terrific player when healthy however the horrid shooting percentages and 1-2 record since his return are jarring, especially when you consider that if he had shot just 50% from the field in their two losses, they turn into wins. Look for Battle to slowly work himself back to solid numbers from the field, Minnesota’s season may depend on it.
Michigan State Spartans
The Spartans are continuing to slide in the rankings. The injury bug has hit them early in the season as {Player: Malik Hall] and {Player: Jaden Akins] are still out, and the Spartans have looked sluggish on defense. This could come as a silver lining to fans though, since hopefully they’ll heal up and get rolling towards the middle-end of the season. However, this Spartans roster is way too talented to be blown out by 20 at Notre Dame. MSU needs to get some more life into their defense, looking especially flat in the loss at ND. This team has shown incredible promise early in the year but things are trending backwards for Tom Izzo’s group, it’ll be interesting to see how the roster responds to these early season setbacks; perhaps it could make them a stronger unit come March.
B10 Power Ranking: Top 5
5: Iowa Hawkeyes
While Ohio State is ranked 25 at the moment, I’m still very high on Iowa and especially {Player: Kris Murray]. Murray is coming off a career night of 31 points and 20 rebounds in a win against Georgia Tech. He’s been huge on the glass averaging 10.6 on the year and leading the team, all while shooting 40.5% from deep so far. Lead guard {Player: Tony Perkins] and forward {Player: Patrick McCaffery] are also averaging just less than 13 ppg on the year. Scoring is no problem for Iowa, and if their defense can create more stops then Iowa has a shot at a B10 crown. They have two huge tests this week, with Duke on Tuesday and rival Iowa State on Thursday.
4. Maryland Terrapins (No. 22)
Donta Scott and Julian Reese are leading the Terps to a fantastic start to the year. Maryland has four players averaging over 13 ppg and scoring 83 ppg as a unit. They’re winning by a lot and dominating every game they’re in. They’re playing an evenly balanced game right now; no stat padding will be found in College Park this year. Every player is getting a share of the offense, the defense looks communicative and active, and the chemistry between this group will only get better every game. Their matchup against Maryland Friday opens B10 play and is their first real test.
3. Illinois Fighting Illini (No. 16)
The Fighting Illini are off to a 6-1 start and suffered their only loss to a great Virginia squad. They’re coming off an absolute dismantling of Syracuse in an away game, where {Player: Coleman Hawkins] tallied a triple-double and led Illinois to a huge road win. The Illini are heavily predicated on isolation and one-on-one scoring, averaging just 17 apg to match 83 ppg. However, this is working well for them to start the year, and they’re poised to loom around the top of the conference as long as they can continue to make plays on the offensive end and be gritty as ever on the defensive end. Their matchups against No.22 Maryland and No.2 Texas this week will prove huge for this roster.
2. Indiana Hoosiers (No. 10)
{Player: Trayce Jackson-Davis] and the Hoosiers are arguably as good as anyone in the country right now. TJD is playing excellent basketball and is a surefire contender for POY, averaging 19.2 ppg and 8.3 rpg. The Hoosiers are 7-0 and averaging a whopping 87 ppg as a team this season. Their win against UNC was huge, however they went somewhat under the radar due to the Tar Heels’ recent struggles. TJD playing well against a big like {Player: Armando Bacot] is something that should be talked about more, proving that he can step up in the big moments. He’ll need to do more of that this year to lead the Hoosiers to a deep run. They open conference play against Rutgers Saturday.
1. Purdue (No. 5)
The Purdue Boilermakers are boiling hot. As mentioned before, Zach Edey has this team rolling. 7-0 with ranked wins, climbing all the way to fifth in the country, and looking like a monster of a team for the forseeable future. Purdue has struggled a bit with getting Edey consistent scoring help, but part of that is because of how predicated their offense is on getting Edey the ball. Guards {Player: Braden Smith] and {Player: Fletcher Loyer] will be X-Factors for this team as the year continues. A key matchup for this week is Sunday against Minnesota, their first conference game.