Big Ten Conference Notebook
We’re two weeks into the Big Ten season, and there are some things I can definitively say now, and things I soon expect to say in the future.
These I know, beyond a doubt
Eric Gordon is the best player in the league. Period. He has unlimited range on his jumper, and Jay Bilas would certainly rave about his blow-by-ability. If you get the chance to see this kid play (in his only year at this level, no doubt), do it. A national television date Thursday night at Minnesota would be a good start.
Illinois is done. Even with an 18-game conference schedule, an 0-4 start – including two home losses – is too big to overcome. We may have seen their last gasp Sunday afternoon at Indiana. Teams are taking Shaun Pruitt away, and it doesn’t matter that Pruitt isn’t an accomplished passer. Nobody’s making shots anyway.
Tubby Smith can, in fact, coach. He’s escorted his Minnesota club from the basement of many Big Ten categories to the penthouse. The Gophers, with two solid freshman additions, are scoring 15 more points a game than they did last season, have gone from tenth to fourth in scoring defense, and have 29 more steals than any other Big Ten team. A huge road win at Penn State Saturday, coupled with a soon-to-be raucous home crowd, could propel this upstart squad to – dare I say it – an NCAA tournament bid?
These I think we’ll know soon
Ohio State will be the fourth wheel (Indiana, Michigan State and Wisconsin are the first three). Saturday’s road loss to Purdue is acceptable. In this league, road wins are tough to acquire, and they probably won’t come this week. The Buckeyes travel to East Lansing, then step out of conference to face Tennessee. Don’t let this week discourage you, Buckeye Bandwagon, the following five games are as follows: Illinois, Minnesota, at Penn State, at Iowa, Michigan. Winning streak anyone?
The real Drew Neitzel will stand up. Neitzel’s scoring average has dropped five points from last season, and while part of that is due to the emergence of Raymar Morgan, he still needs to step up. The Spartans’ senior leader is averaging less than eight points per contest in his first three conference tilts. Things will turn around, I believe, if only to validate this writer’s preseason predictions.
Iowa, Michigan and Northwestern will receive increasingly less coverage in this space. I’ll keep you posted on Michigan’s fab frosh Manny Harris, Kevin Coble’s noble efforts and Todd Lickliter’s sanity. That’s about it.
Stat of the week: 27.5. That was Iowa’s field goal percentage Saturday against Michigan State. In a win. The key? Iowa committed ten fouls, compared to MSU’s 25, and the Spartans were 1-4 from the charity stripe. Tom Izzo’s crew visited the line 52 times in the first two conference games. Something seem fishy here?
