JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
These types of things vary from writer to writer or blogger to blogger. For me, I rank the teams as I see them RIGHT NOW and create the hierarchy based on that. These rankings are not necessarily the order I would rank these teams in if we were talking about end of season predictions. I will put one of those together just before the Big Ten season begins.
1. Wisconsin: Those of you who didn’t like this pick last week probably are less worried about it now. Look, I don’t much care for the Badgers but I have to call it like I see it; the Badgers are playing the best basketball in the Big Ten and they’ve faced the toughest schedule of any Big Ten team. At some point in time you have to tip your cap or you’re just a hater. They are undefeated and most of their regulars can hit from three. They aren’t Iowa State, but their makeup reminds me a tad of the Cyclones…other than the Badgers don’t want to run and can’t score like that. Their Achilles Heel? To me, it’s that 34.2% of their scoring comes from three, which is 29th in the nation. Just 44% of their scoring comes from two-point shots, which is 324th (out of 351) in the nation and 11th in the B1G (Northwestern). Yes, they are playing to their strengths and in this day and age of basketball efficiency statistics changing how people think about what and where to shoot it, the Badgers can get away with this. BUT..there will be the cold nights, or the nights when the Badgers are playing against bigger, tougher teams. That begins on January 5th when the Badgers host Iowa.
2. Ohio State: The Buckeyes will be 15-0 when they play at Michigan State on January 7th. Their schedule is rated lower than Iowa’s according to Ken Pomeroy and they haven’t played any Top 25 teams yet this year. They are a great defensive team agains this season and their biggest challenge this winter will be if Big Ten officials choose to call the grabbing fouls the Buckeyes have become synonymous with.
3. Iowa: The Hawkeyes lost to soon to be Top 15 rated Iowa State by three-points on Friday night in game they led for more than 3u7 minutes. It still stings to type that, I must admit. I am over the ‘fan reax’ of the moment and can see that game for what it was; a classic between two good teams. The Hawkeyes have proven they are going to be a good team this year, perhaps better than good. They are going to finish the out of conference 11-2, losing one game in Atlantis and at Iowa State, which is exactly what I pegged before the year began. They will enter Big Ten play with an RPI somewhere in the 30′s, so unless there is a cataclysmic collapse, Iowa will make the NCAA tournament this year. That said, just making the tournament can’t be the goal for this team, and isn’t.
4. Michigan State: This is where some of you will get on me, but I just haven’t seen much from this team. Gary Harris not being full speed is a problem and Kenny Kaminsky is still suspended due to academics. Still, their signature win of this season (Kentucky) looks less and less impressive as the weeks go on. I don’t want to call this a finesse team, but that’s what pops into my head at times.
5. Michigan: Heartbreaker against the nation’s current #1 team in Arizona. Still struggling with point guard woes which affects the entire machinery. Nik Stauskas though….he’s a stud. Hitting nearly 50% from three and averaging over 18 points and doing things off the dribble. He’s really surprising a lot of people with that element of his game.
6. Indiana: Things get murky here but the Hoosiers have more talent on their team than any of the teams yet to be ranked, though the loss to Notre Dame in Indianapolis is going to sting them for a while.
7. Illinois: The Rayvonte Rice show keeps going in Champaign, though they did lost to Oregon this weekend.
8. Minnesota: I still don’t see the Gophers being a contender this year…that is, a contender for an NCAA tournament bid, but they are off to a solid start considering what they lost from last year’s team.
9. Penn State: The Nittany Lions are that team who will beat someone they shouldn’t because of Tim Frazier and DJ Newbill. I know that I have written that before and I still believe it. That said, you can’t lose 81-79 to Princeton. I put them here over Purdue, Nebraska or Northwestern because they have the lone Pomeroy Top 100 win amongst that crew.
10. Purdue: 76-70 loss to Butler isn’t horrible, but this isn’t a great Butler team and Purdue hasn’t beaten anyone. They play Maryland Eastern Shore and West Virginia before Big Ten season begins. I thought before the season began that this Purdue team could make the NCAA tourney, as they were salty last year and looked poised for a step. So far this year, I would not say that and they seem to have chemistry issues. 7-0 center AJ Hammons, who many thought was ready to become one of the two or three best big men in the league, has not taken that next step.
11. Nebraska: For all of the chatter (and this means from Nebraska fans to me on twitter), what has this team done? Sure, they beat Miami but those are not the Hurricanes of last year (now 5-5). We’ll get a better idea of how ‘real’ this version of ‘Nebrasketball’ is here in a two weeks as Iowa hosts them in the Big Ten ten opener.
12. Northwestern: The Wildcats are 5-5 as they transition away from the Princeton style without players well equipped to do so, however they do still have some elements of the past. Drew Crawford is good, JerShon Cobb is getting there but this is clearly the worst basketball team in the Big Ten at this time.
1. Wisconsin: Those of you who didn’t like this pick last week probably are less worried about it now. Look, I don’t much care for the Badgers but I have to call it like I see it; the Badgers are playing the best basketball in the Big Ten and they’ve faced the toughest schedule of any Big Ten team. At some point in time you have to tip your cap or you’re just a hater. They are undefeated and most of their regulars can hit from three. They aren’t Iowa State, but their makeup reminds me a tad of the Cyclones…other than the Badgers don’t want to run and can’t score like that. Their Achilles Heel? To me, it’s that 34.2% of their scoring comes from three, which is 29th in the nation. Just 44% of their scoring comes from two-point shots, which is 324th (out of 351) in the nation and 11th in the B1G (Northwestern). Yes, they are playing to their strengths and in this day and age of basketball efficiency statistics changing how people think about what and where to shoot it, the Badgers can get away with this. BUT..there will be the cold nights, or the nights when the Badgers are playing against bigger, tougher teams. That begins on January 5th when the Badgers host Iowa.
2. Ohio State: The Buckeyes will be 15-0 when they play at Michigan State on January 7th. Their schedule is rated lower than Iowa’s according to Ken Pomeroy and they haven’t played any Top 25 teams yet this year. They are a great defensive team agains this season and their biggest challenge this winter will be if Big Ten officials choose to call the grabbing fouls the Buckeyes have become synonymous with.
3. Iowa: The Hawkeyes lost to soon to be Top 15 rated Iowa State by three-points on Friday night in game they led for more than 3u7 minutes. It still stings to type that, I must admit. I am over the ‘fan reax’ of the moment and can see that game for what it was; a classic between two good teams. The Hawkeyes have proven they are going to be a good team this year, perhaps better than good. They are going to finish the out of conference 11-2, losing one game in Atlantis and at Iowa State, which is exactly what I pegged before the year began. They will enter Big Ten play with an RPI somewhere in the 30′s, so unless there is a cataclysmic collapse, Iowa will make the NCAA tournament this year. That said, just making the tournament can’t be the goal for this team, and isn’t.
4. Michigan State: This is where some of you will get on me, but I just haven’t seen much from this team. Gary Harris not being full speed is a problem and Kenny Kaminsky is still suspended due to academics. Still, their signature win of this season (Kentucky) looks less and less impressive as the weeks go on. I don’t want to call this a finesse team, but that’s what pops into my head at times.
5. Michigan: Heartbreaker against the nation’s current #1 team in Arizona. Still struggling with point guard woes which affects the entire machinery. Nik Stauskas though….he’s a stud. Hitting nearly 50% from three and averaging over 18 points and doing things off the dribble. He’s really surprising a lot of people with that element of his game.
6. Indiana: Things get murky here but the Hoosiers have more talent on their team than any of the teams yet to be ranked, though the loss to Notre Dame in Indianapolis is going to sting them for a while.
7. Illinois: The Rayvonte Rice show keeps going in Champaign, though they did lost to Oregon this weekend.
8. Minnesota: I still don’t see the Gophers being a contender this year…that is, a contender for an NCAA tournament bid, but they are off to a solid start considering what they lost from last year’s team.
9. Penn State: The Nittany Lions are that team who will beat someone they shouldn’t because of Tim Frazier and DJ Newbill. I know that I have written that before and I still believe it. That said, you can’t lose 81-79 to Princeton. I put them here over Purdue, Nebraska or Northwestern because they have the lone Pomeroy Top 100 win amongst that crew.
10. Purdue: 76-70 loss to Butler isn’t horrible, but this isn’t a great Butler team and Purdue hasn’t beaten anyone. They play Maryland Eastern Shore and West Virginia before Big Ten season begins. I thought before the season began that this Purdue team could make the NCAA tourney, as they were salty last year and looked poised for a step. So far this year, I would not say that and they seem to have chemistry issues. 7-0 center AJ Hammons, who many thought was ready to become one of the two or three best big men in the league, has not taken that next step.
11. Nebraska: For all of the chatter (and this means from Nebraska fans to me on twitter), what has this team done? Sure, they beat Miami but those are not the Hurricanes of last year (now 5-5). We’ll get a better idea of how ‘real’ this version of ‘Nebrasketball’ is here in a two weeks as Iowa hosts them in the Big Ten ten opener.
12. Northwestern: The Wildcats are 5-5 as they transition away from the Princeton style without players well equipped to do so, however they do still have some elements of the past. Drew Crawford is good, JerShon Cobb is getting there but this is clearly the worst basketball team in the Big Ten at this time.
