Player of the Week:
Marcus Carr, (Jr., Minn)
The Golden Gophers sit at 4-0 on the season, in large part due to the emergence of Marcus Carr. Carr isn’t a new face in the Gophers program; the redshirt junior from Toronto was All Big-Ten Third Team last season, while also setting the school record with 207 assists in the season. So far this season, Carr has elevated his game to another level. He is currently averaging 26.5 points (2nd in B1G), 6 assists (3rd in B1G), 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. He is shooting over 50% from the field and 40% from behind the arc, while also leading the Big Ten in minutes per game, and doing so while putting up some memorable performances. He went for 28 points and 8 assists in a Minnesota win over Loyola Marymount on 11/28, and then followed that performance with a 26 point, 7 rebound showing in their win over the same opponent two days later. Marcus Carr was likely already on NBA scouts’ radar after his strong season in 2019-2020, but he is showing early on this year he can be an elite scorer, which has only helped his draft stock for this year’s draft.
Who’s Hot
Luka Garza (Sr., Iowa)
There isn’t a single college basketball fan out there who can say Luka Garza hasn’t been the best player in all of the country so far this season. After going for 36 in the first half and outscoring the entire Southern University team last week, Garza did the unthinkable once again. At the sound of the first half buzzer, Iowa led Western Illinois 48-26 with Luka Garza accounting for 30 of those 48 points and once again single handedly out-scoring the other team at half. This feat just goes to show how dominant Luka Garza has been this season. He was an absolute stud last year, winning 2019-2020 Big Ten Player of the Year, and has visibly improved his game and taken it to another level. He currently averages a monster stat line of 34 points, 10 rebounds, and nearly 3 blocks through three games this season. Garza’s historic start to this season should be a very scary sight for other Big Ten teams, who already had trouble stopping him last season.
Seth Lundy (Soph., PSU)
Coming into the season, the major question regarding Penn State basketball was who was going to take on the role of the lead scorer on a team losing Lamar Stevens, who graduated after last season. Three games into the season, and sophomore wing Seth Lundy looks like he may be able to fit the part. Lundy, a 6-6, 219-pound wing from Paulsboro, NJ, is a strong shooter off the wing who can stretch out the defense, but also put the ball on the floor and take it inside for a basket. His breakout performance for this season came against VCU on December 2nd, when he went for 32 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks in a 72-69 win. While much like the season, Lundy’s career is still very young, he already looks like a promising prospect and potentially one of the toughest players to guard in the Big Ten if he continues his improvement.
Michigan State Spartans
While it is still early on, Tom Izzo and the Spartans have used a balanced attack on the offensive end to put together a nice resume, before conference play has even started. This year’s team lacks a ball-dominant offensive initiator like Cassius Winston, but instead looks to a plethora of different options for offensive production. Michigan State already has a win over Notre Dame, survived an upset against an underrated Detroit-Mercy team, and most notably took down Duke on the road. Rocket Watts came through in the clutch moments to lead the way in the victory against Detroit-Mercy, while Joey Hauser put on a show behind the arc to put Western Michigan away. Scouting and matching up against Michigan State has got to be one of the toughest feat an opposing coach will have to this season, as nobody has any clue who is going to come out firing for the Spartans for any game.
Who’s Not
Illinois Fighting Illini
While it was difficult to put Illinois in the “not” section, considering the fact they have looked good this season and have a record of 4-1, I felt the need to put them here after the performance Brad Underwood and his team put on against #2 Baylor on December 2nd. Baylor came onto the scene as one of the top teams in the country last season, and with a lofty #2 ranking to start the season, are out to prove they deserve the recognition they are receiving. Illinois, similarly, were looking to prove they were worthy of the high ranking they have been given and also show they can beat any team in the country. Baylor ended up winning the game 82-69, and looked to overpower and outmatch the Illini at the end. On top of the loss, Illinois’ major weakness was revealed, as they as a team shoot below 70% from the line, including a measly 62% effort against Baylor. They missed nine free throws in the two-point win against Ohio, needing two free throws in the final seconds to pull ahead. It hasn’t been a major problem for them yet, but it is obvious that Illinois struggles from the line, and they will need to fix this problem before they are exposed by the top teams they are supposed to be competing with.
Indiana Hoosiers
The Hoosiers have been playing good basketball to start the season, and went into their December 1st matchup against #17 Texas with momentum after beating a good Providence team by 21 points in their last game. Similar to Illinois against Baylor, Indiana was looking to build upon their strong start, and use their first opportunity against a ranked team to show they are legit this season. Similar to Illinois, they did not get the result they wanted, losing 66-44 and looking completely outmatched. The Hoosiers shot a dreadful 11-46 from the field (24%), as well as 2-10 from behind the arc. Although they followed this performance with a strong one in their 79-63 win over Stanford in the next game, this missed opportunity against a Texas team they definitely could’ve beaten lands Indiana on this week’s list.
o Wisconsin Badgers
The Badgers were the second highest ranked team in the Big Ten coming into the week behind Iowa, with huge expectations after most of last year’s team ended up returning to Madison for another season. After three easy victories against Eastern Illinois, University of Arkansas Pine-Bluff, and Green Bay, the Badgers took on Marquette in an in-state rivalry and the Badgers first test of the season. The Golden Eagles ended up shocking the Badgers with a 67-65 win, in a game where Wisconsin played down against the competition. The loss is a tough look for a team many people are very high on this year, but lucky for them it is still early on in the season and losses like these aren’t the end of the world. Look for how Wisconsin responds to the adversity of coming back from an upset to show what this year’s team is made of.
Big Ten Week Two Top 5 Power Rankings
1. Iowa
While they do have the best player in the country in Luka Garza, he is not all the Hawkeyes boast in their lineup. Jack Nunge, and {Player: Joe Wieskamp] must also be accounted for or else they could take over the game at any point as well.
2. Michigan State
The Spartans balanced offensive attack is lethal and very difficult to stop. Rocket Watts, Joey Hauser, Aaron Henry, Joshua Langford Foster Loyer and Gabe Brown have all shown at different times that they can lead the team on offense.
3. Illinois
There are very few, if any teams out there this season who feature four impact player in their backcourt alone like llinois does. Ayo Dosunmu, Adam Miller, Trent Frazier, and Andre Curbelo have all scored the ball extremely well this season, and big man Kofi Cockburn makes his presence felt in the paint regardless of who he is matched up again. If this team finds its stride at the right time, they definitely will have an opportunity to win it all this season.
4. Rutgers
This team will go as far as Ron Harper Jr. and Geo Baker will take them. Baker has been sidelined already with injury, so Harper has taken over as the go-to guy for the Scarlet Knights this season. Rutgers is currently 3-0 this season with wins over Sacred Heart, Farleigh Dickinson and Hofstra. The upcoming two week stretch of matchups against Syracuse, Maryland, Illinois and Ohio State will likely show us whether Rutgers is for real or just a pretender this season.
5. Maryland
Like many of the other teams in the Big Ten this season, the Terps have a strong, balanced attack and rely on multiple people, rather than one or two stars, to carry the weight. Eric Ayala, Hakim Hart, Donta Scott, Aaron Wiggins, and Darryl Morsell are the nucleus of this team. They may not be lighting up the headlines, but do not sleep on this Maryland team. They are tough on both sides of the ball, and can play with anyone.