Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball power rankings: Trying to make sense of 12 good teams

By Austin Walther

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - JANUARY 23: Tom Izzo the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans gives instructions to Rocket Watts #2 against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - JANUARY 23: Tom Izzo the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans gives instructions to Rocket Watts #2 against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBUS, OH – JANUARY 23: Marcus Carr #5 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – JANUARY 23: Marcus Carr #5 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

9. Minnesota Golden Gophers 11-9 (5-5)

Minnesota has a dynamic duo that rivals the ones at Michigan State, Iowa, Illinois and Maryland. Daniel Oturu and Marcus Carr are really fun to watch. But getting consistency elsewhere is what they need. This is your typical Golden Gophers team. It seems to be every other game occurrence with them.

It all started with a double-overtime loss at Purdue. They handled business against Northwestern and then lost at Michigan State. Minnesota won two really big games at home to Michigan and Penn State. They fell at the RAC which a lot of teams have been doing this year, beat Ohio State and then got blasted to Michigan State at home. The Spartans are their Achilles Heel just like Mackey is not a good place for Michigan State.

There were a lot of games that Minnesota probably wanted back in the non-conference. Once Big Ten play resumed, Gophers fans were ready to cash out and just enjoy Oturu and Carr. But then they got some nice wins over Michigan and Penn State. The Gophers swept Ohio State, but no one knows how to evaluate the Buckeyes at the moment. They have five more road games. Four are quality teams. It’d be extremely helpful to see them beat either Illinois, Penn State, Wisconsin or Indiana.

Let’s talk about Oturu and Carr for a quick second. The sophomore big man by no surprise is having an All-Big Ten type season. Over 19 points per game, 11 boards and 51 total blocks. Carr is a terrific point guard. He has almost seven per game, with 19 steals and 16 points per game. They have a nice shooter in Gabe Kalscheur who is making over two three-pointers per game. The nice thing about all three is that they’re all sophomores so for their sake, they need Oturu to come back for one more season.

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