NCAA Basketball: Power leagues' 2019-20 surprising, disappointing teams

NCAA Basketball: Power conferences’ 2019-20 surprising and disappointing teams

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: A view of the official game ball in the basket prior to the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Texas Tech Red Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – JANUARY 03: Lamar Stevens #11 of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Big Ten

Surprise: Penn State Nittany Lions 10-2

In the Big Ten much like the Big East, the surprising team is one that has not had a lot of basketball success of late, the No. 20 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. With what may be Pat Chambers’ best squad since he arrived in Happy Valley, Penn State is 10-2 with wins over Syracuse, Wake Forest, Alabama, and No. 4 Maryland with their two losses came at No. 6 Ohio State and a 74-72 loss to Ole Miss.

Penn State has possibly the best forward combo in the conference with Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins and their nearly 27 points and 17 rebounds per game, but sophomore Myreon Jones has made a big jump with 14 points, three rebounds, and three assists. But Jones has been deadly from long-range, knocking down over 41% of his attempts.

Disappointment: Nebraska Cornhuskers 5-7

The most disappointing team in the conference has to be the one that had a good amount of optimism heading into the season after hiring Fred Hoiberg as its head coach, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The 5-7 Huskers’ season got off to an auspicious start with back-to-back losses to UC-Riverside and Southern Utah and hasn’t got much better as they lost 75-74 to North Dakota before the holiday.

Statistically, Nebraska has struggled all over the map, giving up over 76 points per game and are near the bottom in Division I in rebounding margin (-11.2) and free throw percentage (57.6). At this rate, the honeymoon phase may be a lot shorter than expected in Lincoln if Hoiberg and crew don’t show signs of improvement.

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