We’re coming off a pretty exciting week of Big Ten men’s basketball in which some teams solidified their status as bona fide national title contenders and others looked shaky against inferior competition. The conference as a whole has done pretty well outside of the conference so far, it will be interesting to see if that trend continues.
Let’s talk about it:
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Winners
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Purdue established itself as the No. 1 team in the country with an impressive 87-80 road victory over Alabama. Trey Kaufman-Renn, absent in the Boilermakers’ first two games, didn’t get off to a slow start against the Crimson Tide in his season debut, scoring 19 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and dishing out five assists. This is the team to beat in the Big Ten until proven otherwise.
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Brad Underwood and Illinois dispatched Texas Tech 81-77 at home without the services of All-Big Ten candidate center Tomislav Ivisic. Underwood’s Balkan makeover has proven powerful as the Fighting Illini boast the nation’s third-most efficient offense according to KenPom’s metrics.
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Nebraska has the nation’s longest active winning streak at eight wins and counting after emerging victorious in a 105-99 shootout over Oklahoma at Pentagon in Sanford, South Dakota. Pryce Sandfort, the younger brother of former Iowa star Payton Sandfort who transferred to Nebraska after the Hawkeyes’ coaching change, went 4-9 from long range en route to a 28-point performance against the Sooners.
Losers
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Michigan entered this season looking not only like a Big Ten contender, but perhaps as much of a national championship contender. The Wolverines played quite a role in a 121-78 season-opening victory over Oakland, but were shaky against Wake Forest and TCU. Michigan had wins in both, but lost some of its luster in the process. Expect the Wolverines to prove themselves at home against Middle Tennessee State.
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Minnesota got off to a rough start Niko Medved era. The Golden Gophers easily dispatched two sub-300 KenPom teams at home in Gardner Webb and Alcorn State before getting beaten 83-60 on the road at Missouri. If that wasn’t enough, Minnesota needed overtime to survive an upset bid from Doug Gottlieb’s Green Bay, who is also a sub-300 KenPom team by the way. Rebuilds are difficult, but not the best start.
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Indiana I almost learned the hard way what can happen when his 3s don’t land. The Hoosiers survived a 69-61 scare against Incarnate Word in the ugliest game of the Darian DeVries era thus far. Now, should this be a big cause for concern? Probably not, no, the Cardinals played crazy on offense in the final minutes and the Hoosiers still found a way to win. But Indiana still struggled against a poorly rated defense.
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Dishonorable mention: Marquette has now fallen to Indiana and Maryland this season. With Wisconsin and Purdue still on deck, it’s reasonable, if not likely, that the Golden Eagles go 0-4 against the Big Ten in non-conference play. It is a good program under Shaka Smart, but getting 100 coins is a difficult task.
