Player of the Week:
Boo Buie, Northwestern Wildcats
The first blog I ever did here, I remember putting Boo in the “Who’s Not” section below. It was week one of last season and Boo was shooting a terrible percentage while the Wildcats began the season playing bad basketball. Boy oh boy have the tables turned since then. Boo is one of the best guards in the country and will go down as a Northwestern basketball legend. They’ve become the kryptonite of Purdue in the regular season, once again taking down the undefeated Boilermakers in electric fashion while Buie was scintillating from the field. He’s so quick and smart with the basketball, his 5 years of experience at the college level shine through on every single possession, and this year he’s become way more efficient; one of his major criticisms over the past year was his efficiency. He’s shooting 47% from the field to start the season, a 7-point uptick from last year, while also increasing his 3pt% by 8 points since last year to a 40%-even clip. In their win over Purdue, he was nothing short of excellent. He played 43 minutes in the game and never once did any fatigue shine through, instead his competitiveness drove him to 31 points and 9 assists, leading Northwestern to the biggest win of the year for any team. It’s no shock that Northwestern’s only loss this year came in the one game he played poorly, and his play will be the requisite for Wildcat wins this entire year. Boo is more than scary, he’s a downright nightmare.
Who’s Hot?
Wisconsin Badgers
Two huge, ranked wins already this season, and handed Shaka Smart’s Marquette their first loss of the year in dominant fashion. Wisconsin once again claimed the state as their own against what their fans would call the “little brother team.” They looked like they simply wanted it more, and played like it was the dang national championship. Their effort isn’t the only reason they’re good this year though, their balanced scoring prowess and methodical approach to the game allows them to slow the game down and has been effective for them to start the year. There is no one area where Wisconsin is elite, they’re a balanced basketball team with good players around every position who all play as a cohesive unit. To emphasize that methodical play, it’s important to note that Wisco has the slowest pace of play in all the BIG10, yet they use that to their advantage and win games. In my eyes, this is perfect for later in the season. In March, you simply don’t see many high scoring games, Wisconsin is prepared to go wire-to-wire with any team in the nation and that’s what makes them dangerous. Last year they got hit with the injury bug, and this slow pace might not only give them an advantage in the game, but also keep them healthy, which could be huge in the long run for the Badgers.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Terrence Shannon Junior has something to him. I can’t quite put my finger on it… oh yeah. He’s a DOG. 33 points in a win over Florida Atlantic in a game that made it look like he had a personal grudge against that team. He flies to the rim, commanding the paint in a way that not many guards can do. He’s physical, crafty, and has footwork that dizzies big men when they try to contest. Not just his finishing ability impresses though, if he needs to spot up from deep he’s shooting FOURTY-FIVE percent from there. He’s as pure of a downhill scorer as they come at the college level. His running mate, Marcus Domask? Yeah, he’s elite too. While the jumper beyond the arc has left a bit to be desired this year, he’s getting buckets. He also put up 33 against FAU, using his footwork and strength to get a lot of what I like to call “old man buckets.” Together, they’re a powerhouse backcourt, and are not an easy matchup in the slightest for any team. As a unit, Illinois is a fast-paced and fun to watch team. They get out in transition and use their defense (that has the best defensive rating in the conference) to their advantage, tune in to an Illinois game if you want to enjoy some college hoops this year.
Who’s Not?
Michigan State Spartans
Remember when I (and most of the country) thought MSU was going to be a top 10 team this year with their crazy good recruiting class and hall of fame coach at the helm? Pepperidge Farm remembers. It’s been rough for the Sparts this year. A basketball school at heart, fans haven’t had a lot to cheer for this year and it’s hard not to feel bad for them. This could very well be Tom Izzo’s end as the head coach, the days of dominance seem long gone for the school and a fresh start may be needed to win again. Izzo teams often figure it out deep in the season but the end of the season won’t matter if they don’t figure something out soon. They’re among the bottom of the NCAA in 3pt% and offense has been hard to come by for a team that has a 20 ppg scorer in Tyson Walker, alongside college vets like A.J. Hoggard and Malik Hall. Michigan State teams will always defend well and MSU has been a good defensive team this year, they’re third in conference in defensive rating, but the offense hasn’t been there. They’ve played a lot of good teams to start the year, and maybe once the familiarity of in-conference play begins they’ll find more ways to win, but right now it looks like another tumultuous season in East Lansing.
Penn State Nittany Lions
Five straight losses for Kanye Cleary and the boys from Happy Valley after starting 4-0 then dropping a close game against A&M. Before their game against Bucknell, an in-state rival, Penn State had a 97% chance of winning. They lost by 9. The offense just hasn’t been consistent enough, while toting some explosive scorers like Cleary and Baldwin, the rest of the team leaves a lot to be desired. They also don’t have any interior force, it feels like every possession leaves Penn State scrapping for a rebound and you can’t win that way consistently. There hasn’t been continuity on offense or defense, however some bright spots have been the perimeter defense. When Mike Leach was hired, it was seen as a huge move for Penn State. They had just came off their best basketball season in a long time, and the AD made a huge swing at a coach who had a lot of success at VCU. Since then, it’s been rather disastrous for them. The high-powered offense from last year is gone and there’s no real leader here, it’s not looking good. Perhaps the transfer-laden squad will turn it up soon after adjusting to BIG10 basketball, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up.
Power Rankings
5: Ohio State Buckeyes
Giving the Bucks the edge over Indiana here since Indiana doesn’t have a top 25 win yet this year. The Buckeyes backcourt has been electric. Thornton and Gayle are just plain fun to watch. If they win their last 3 out of conference games (which they should), they’ll head into conference play at 11-1. A huge turnaround from last season’s agony.
4: Northwestern Wildcats
BOO! These cats are wildly good. Okay, I’m done with the puns, this team just makes me happy. I feel bad for 0-9 Detroit Mercy, who’ll likely get stomped by NW on Sunday. An 0-9 team playing a team fresh off knocking off the number one team in the country? Yikes.
3: Purdue Boilermakers
It happened. I told you guys. I am simply not believers in Zach Edey and Purdue, but they’re still 8-1 with huge wins so far this year, one loss can’t end them completely. Maybe Northwestern is their only loss this year, who knows. They better hope they don’t run into them in March though. Or any team that has an average height of 6’4.
2: Illinois Fighting Illini
Dogs on top of dogs. They’re fast paced, high flying, high scoring, and will lock down any team thet play. The sleeping giants of the BIG10, Shannon and the guys are looking for blood this year. They look determined to capture that BIG10 crown from Purdue.
1: Wisconsin Badgers
Dogs on top of dogs. They’re slow-paced, methodical, low-scoring, and solid as a brick across the board. These guys have won 6 straight games, how could they not be number one here? Until that streak is snapped, they won’t be moving.