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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ANN ARBOR, MI – JANUARY 22: Myreon Jones #0 of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI – JANUARY 22: Myreon Jones #0 of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

8. Penn State Nittany Lions 14-5 (4-4)

Normally Penn State finishes eighth and misses the Tournament. That will more than likely not happen this year. Pat Chambers had Penn State ranked for four weeks this season. A big reason for that was beating a fourth-ranked Maryland team. The Nittany Lions beat Iowa at the Palestra but then went on a three-game winning streak. Two out of the three were to teams ahead of them in the standings. The other was to Minnesota.

Penn State gets the nod over the Gophers because of their wins to Maryland, Iowa and then Michigan on the road. They both beat Ohio State and as it’s looking now, taking down the Buckeyes isn’t anything special at the moment. But nonetheless, snapping a three-game losing streak in the Big Ten with wins over Ohio State and Michigan are impressive. They’ve yet to play Nebraska or Northwestern. The Wildcats are a home/home so the Nittany Lions need to avoid losing to them at home.

Penn State has by far the most underrated player in the Big Ten for the last four seasons. Lamar Stevens has had a heck of a career for the Nittany Lions. He’s basically capable of putting up 20 in any game. Believe it or not, his scoring is actually down from last season. But that certainly isn’t a bad thing. He has Myreon Jones and Myles Dread that are great three-point shooters. Between the three of them, they combined for 54 against Ohio State.

It’s not just those three though. Many different Nittany Lions have had their time to shine this season. Dread shot two-for-six against Michigan. Curtis Jones though dropped 18 on seven-for-nine shooting. Mike Watkins seems to be back to normal in the frontcourt. Jamari Wheeler is a great defensive point guard, but he needs to make a few more assists during a game. It’d be nice to see someone else step up in the frontcourt other than Watkins and Stevens, but nonetheless, Penn State has a great team.

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