Big Ten Basketball Remains on Top
For anyone who watches college basketball there is one thing that comes as no surprise, the Big Ten is good, really good. After another exciting week of Big Ten matchups, the power five conference was once again rewarded in the AP top 25 poll. Sunday night brought us a thrilling three and four matchup between Michigan and Ohio State, which saw Michigan come out on top. Both teams remained steady in this week’s rankings followed by a number 5 ranked Illinois team. This gives the Big Ten three teams in the top five and four teams in the top ten with the jump of now ranked number 9 Iowa. Not only is the Big Ten loaded with good teams, but they also host two national player of the year candidates in Luka Garza and Ayo Dosunmu. Garza who is averaging 24.7 ppg and 8.5 rebounds, is a clear favorite for the title. Not only is Garza scoring at a high rate, but he is shooting an impressive 56% from the field. Dosunmu, who is currently ranked 3rd in national player of the year rankings and is also a finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, is averaging 21.2 ppg, 5.3 apg, and 6.2 rebounds. Ayo is the only NCAA player over the last 11 seasons to average at least 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Not only has Ayo done this, but last week he recorded 2 triple doubles in a week, which has only been done 2 other times in Illinois history. Before the season started it was known that Illinois and Iowa would be good, but what was not known is how good Michigan and Ohio State would be. Ohio State who was a preseason 23rd ranked team, is led by star forward E.J Liddell(15.9 ppg) and star guard Duane Washington Jr.(15.6 ppg). Perhaps the most exciting thing about this Ohio State team is the depth and spread of workload. This team lacks a definite leader, but this may be beneficial for this team come tournament time when they need not rely on just one person. Michigan is in a similar situation with three guys averaging over 12 ppg. Perhaps the biggest key to Michigan’s breakout success has been star freshman center Hunter Dickinson who is averaging 15 ppg and 7.8 rebounds. This is a team that should be seen making a deep run come tournament time, and it would be no surprise if they come into the tournament as one of four number one seeds. With still plenty of games left to play, it will be interesting to see who emerges as a Big Ten favorite. However, do not be surprised to see multiple Big Ten teams make a deep run come tournament time, or perhaps even a Big Ten team hoisting a trophy at the end of the year.
Gavin Conway - Contributing Writer