Big Ten Basketball: Best / Worst case scenarios for each team in 2018-19

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NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 28: The Iowa Hawkeyes bench reacts in the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on February 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Iowa

Best Case

Tyler Cook becomes one of the best players in the Big Ten and Jordan Bohannon is a great sidekick to him. Combined they make up one of the best one-two scoring punches in the conference. Luka Garza and Isaiah Moss continue to grow and both average 12+ ppg this year. With four guys all capable of taking over a game the Hawkeyes are the top scoring team in the Big Ten. More importantly, they decide to guard someone this year and win games they would have lost last year. They finish in the top 5 of the conference and make the semifinals in the conference tournament. They make it back to the NCAA tournament and win the first round game before dropping a close game to the three seed in their bracket. Fran McCaffrey cools off his hot seat and the future looks bright at Iowa.

Worst Case

Having four guys average in double digits last year seems like a distant memory when the Big Ten figures out how to stop them. Even when they do all click during a game, the nations worst defense can’t stop anyone and they lose anyway. They slip to 11th in the conference only finishing in front or Rutgers, Illinois, and Northwestern. They get beat in the first game of the conference tournament and they miss the postseason again. McCaffrey gets fired after the year and after trying to lure in a big-time coach they must settle for a mid-major coach who didn’t even win their conference. The future is very uncertain at Iowa and it looks like it could be a long time before they make the tournament again.

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