99topdawg
Well-Known Member
From ESPN.com:
1. The Big Ten appears to be wide-open. Which team is the conference's best at this juncture?
Dakich: Right now, it's Iowa. You have to go by how you play, and Saturday night at Purdue, Mackey Arena was ridiculously loud and emotional. Purdue played great, but Iowa hung in there and won the game. I don't think Michigan State is nearly as good as it has been in the past, particularly without Denzel Valentine. For some reason, and I don't know exactly what it is, I'm not convinced by Maryland. Purdue is really good, but right now, man, Iowa beat Michigan State and they won at Purdue. That's pretty good.
The other team playing really well -- and Thursday's game at Purdue will be really interesting -- is Michigan. The two teams playing the best are Michigan and Iowa, but Iowa is the best team based on what the Hawkeyes have done.
Fraschilla: I've seen Iowa play, and I really like who they've got. I'm a big Jarrod Uthoff fan, and he went off again on Tuesday against Nebraska. And I still think Michigan State will end up being the best team by the end of the season. But the best team right now is Maryland. I like everything about them. Mark Turgeon does not overcoach. They have a good system. I absolutely love the way Melo Trimble has transformed himself from a scorer to a playmaker. Rasheed Sulaimon has fit in better than I thought he would. I love their size inside. They have the most depth in the league. They're about as good as we thought they could be. The schedule in the Big Ten is unbalanced, and they face Michigan State only once (Jan. 23 on the road).
Greenberg: Right now, today, Iowa is special, particularly on offense. Having said that, I think the best team in the Big Ten, in the big picture, is going to be Michigan State. This injury to Valentine has forced Eron Harris to get a little bit better. He doesn't defend the way he needs to, but he's gained some confidence. Bryn Forbes has made some big shots. Other guys have had to step up, which will make them better when Valentine comes back. Deyonta Davis is only going to get better. He does things you can't teach. The ball finds him off the glass. He makes crazy shots. Michigan State is going to continue to grow and develop.
I look at things in tiers. And I think the teams we've mentioned are in that top tier. But I'm intrigued by Ohio State. They've won six games in a row. The win over Kentucky isn't maybe what people thought it was at the time, but this team has started to develop an identity. They've started to get some Thad Matta toughness. You can see they've improved significantly. And then Michigan is so hard to play against.
Fraschilla: With some of these teams that are playing better, it might be a little bit of fool's gold. When you open the season as Indiana and Ohio State did, I don't know how good they'll be a month from now. I would caution myself to not get too excited about a team like Ohio State. The top of the league is going to go through East Lansing and College Park. And Iowa is a dangerous team.
1. The Big Ten appears to be wide-open. Which team is the conference's best at this juncture?
Dakich: Right now, it's Iowa. You have to go by how you play, and Saturday night at Purdue, Mackey Arena was ridiculously loud and emotional. Purdue played great, but Iowa hung in there and won the game. I don't think Michigan State is nearly as good as it has been in the past, particularly without Denzel Valentine. For some reason, and I don't know exactly what it is, I'm not convinced by Maryland. Purdue is really good, but right now, man, Iowa beat Michigan State and they won at Purdue. That's pretty good.
The other team playing really well -- and Thursday's game at Purdue will be really interesting -- is Michigan. The two teams playing the best are Michigan and Iowa, but Iowa is the best team based on what the Hawkeyes have done.
Fraschilla: I've seen Iowa play, and I really like who they've got. I'm a big Jarrod Uthoff fan, and he went off again on Tuesday against Nebraska. And I still think Michigan State will end up being the best team by the end of the season. But the best team right now is Maryland. I like everything about them. Mark Turgeon does not overcoach. They have a good system. I absolutely love the way Melo Trimble has transformed himself from a scorer to a playmaker. Rasheed Sulaimon has fit in better than I thought he would. I love their size inside. They have the most depth in the league. They're about as good as we thought they could be. The schedule in the Big Ten is unbalanced, and they face Michigan State only once (Jan. 23 on the road).
Greenberg: Right now, today, Iowa is special, particularly on offense. Having said that, I think the best team in the Big Ten, in the big picture, is going to be Michigan State. This injury to Valentine has forced Eron Harris to get a little bit better. He doesn't defend the way he needs to, but he's gained some confidence. Bryn Forbes has made some big shots. Other guys have had to step up, which will make them better when Valentine comes back. Deyonta Davis is only going to get better. He does things you can't teach. The ball finds him off the glass. He makes crazy shots. Michigan State is going to continue to grow and develop.
I look at things in tiers. And I think the teams we've mentioned are in that top tier. But I'm intrigued by Ohio State. They've won six games in a row. The win over Kentucky isn't maybe what people thought it was at the time, but this team has started to develop an identity. They've started to get some Thad Matta toughness. You can see they've improved significantly. And then Michigan is so hard to play against.
Fraschilla: With some of these teams that are playing better, it might be a little bit of fool's gold. When you open the season as Indiana and Ohio State did, I don't know how good they'll be a month from now. I would caution myself to not get too excited about a team like Ohio State. The top of the league is going to go through East Lansing and College Park. And Iowa is a dangerous team.
