Big Ten Basketball continues to be a tough battle every night. What were the biggest takeaways from this past week?
There were no Big Ten Basketball games played Monday and Thursday and only a total of seven games played this week heading into Saturday’s slate of Big Ten games. However, there were some highlights and statements made this week heading into the weekend, so let’s take a look at the 5 biggest takeaways from this week.
Rutgers is a legit top 5 team in the Big Ten
Back in December, the Scarlet Knights defeated Wisconsin at home 72-65 after losing at Michigan State. Once Big Ten play resumed in January, Rutgers won at Nebraska by 17 which is not an easy task winning on the road in Big ten conference play this season. They followed that victory up with an impressive 11 point victory against then No. 20 ranked Penn State. To end last week, even though they lost at Illinois by 3 points, it was a very impressive defensive road performance by the Scarlet Knights.
This week, Rutgers proved that they are not a fluke with a nice win over an Indiana team that had just beat ranked Ohio State by double digits. Akwasi Yeboah continued his strong play this season with having 14 points and seven rebounds against Indiana. The Scarlet Knights remained undefeated at home with their victory over the Hoosiers.
Even though it was only one game this week, Rutgers who was picked to finish in 12th place in the league’s preseason poll is now poised to have their first winning season since the 2005-06 season. That season was their last postseason appearance when they made it to the second round of the NIT tournament. Rutgers is poised to finish in the top 5 of the Big Ten standings if they continue this consistent solid play that they have displayed in conference play.