If it is not already clear that Wisconsin is the best team in the Big Ten, then it’s time to get your head out of the snow. However, despite the name, there are still 13 other teams in the conference!
Behind the first place Badgers, who sit pretty at 9-1 in conference play, is a glut of four 7-4 teams. Ohio State, Maryland, Indiana and Purdue all have identical conference records, but only one can truly emerge as the true runner-up (unless there is an un-American tie of course).
If a conglomerate of second place teams is a bit overwhelming, do not fret; here’s a breakdown of each of the four teams and how they rank directly below the Badgers. Starting in reverse order with:
4. Indiana (7-4 conference, 17-7 overall)
Few teams have embodied the phrase “live and die by the three” than these Hoosiers. Take for example Indiana’s gorgeous 89-70 rout of Maryland where it caught fire and hit 15-of-22 from deep. However, two games later, that fire was cruelly doused in Purdue’s 83-67 thrashing of the Hoosiers, where they only struck 4-of-19 triples.
Relying on the three is fine if that team has solid foundations in other parts of the game, especially defense. Sadly, Indiana seems to have no such foundation on that side of the ball, where it resides in the Big Ten cellar for both scoring defense and defensive field goal percentage.
While the Hoosiers do hit the long ball at nearly a 40 percent clip, if a cold shooting night comes along as it did against Purdue, Indiana most likely does not stand a chance.
3. Purdue (7-4, 15-9)
Just when the Boilermakers appeared to have figured it out and were on the cusp of making a run to grab sole possession of second place, they laid an egg at Minnesota. Before that loss however, Purdue had been riding a quietly great defense with three solid wins over Iowa, Indiana and Ohio State.
Anchored by a pair of behemoth rim protectors in junior A.J. Hammons and freshman Isaac Haas, Purdue leads the B1G in field goal defense at 39 percent. The team also has a nice efficient offense, ranking in as the fourth best shooting team to prop up a +2.3 scoring margin.
However, the aforementioned loss to Minnesota, as well as home losses to North Florida and Gardner-Webb (yes, those are real schools), just do not allow me to trust them. Fool me once, shame on Purdue, fool me twice, third place.
2. Maryland (7-4, 19-5)
The Terps rode an amazing wave of hype coming into the Big Ten season after posting a remarkable non-conference record, highlighted by a great win over Iowa State on a neutral court. Sadly for Maryland, it has fallen back to earth in conference play, especially recently where it’s lost three of five, with all of the losses coming by double digits.
Since conference play began, Maryland has looked just plain average, with their best wins coming at home over Purdue and Michigan State. The Terps are led by three solid players in guards Dez Wells, Melo Trimble and forward Jake Layman. Trimble has been especially impressive, leading the team in both points and rebounds as a freshman. However, the Terps just don’t have any overall stats that pop out, except for one, and that is their negative conference scoring margin of -1.1 ppg.
While that is most likely a product of recent blowout losses, good teams don’t have those kinds of overall deficits. If Maryland wants to recoup some of their old hype, it better do something fast.
1. Ohio State (7-4, 18-6)
After back to back demolitions of Indiana and Maryland just a couple weeks ago, the tiniest bead of sweat began to form on my brow out of fear of the Buckeyes.
However, just like all of the teams above them, Ohio State’s maddening inconsistency allowed me to rest easy, as it dropped its next game to Purdue. Still, Ohio State is real, and their rise can be directly correlated with the rise of freshman phenom D’Angelo Russell. The Louisville native announced his arrival as an explosive do-it-all guard with his first triple double on Sunday in a blowout of Rutgers. The likely Top 5 NBA pick appears to have no weaknesses in his game, shooting a tidy 48 percent from the field as well as 44.5 percent from deep. He also adds 5.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists to his team high 19.5 points per game.
While Russell has been phenomenal, he certainly is not a one man team. Upperclassmen Shannon Scott, Amir Williams and Sam Thompson are all having fine seasons, as well as sophomore sharpshooter Marc Loving, who knocks down over 50 percent of his threes. Sitting behind the Badgers in scoring margin are these Buckeyes at 6.7 points per game.
With the talent Ohio State possesses, suddenly the season finale trip to Columbus doesn’t look as easy for Wisconsin. However, with the stranglehold the Badgers have on first place (knock on wood), it appears the only effect that game will have on the big picture is tourney seeding.
Think any other teams could catch the Badgers? Email Rushad at machhi@wisc.edu and discuss.
