NCAA Basketball: AAC and Big Ten highlight this week’s Sunday Mailbag
By Bryan Mauro
The final 6 in the Big Ten? – Kristy (@kistek)
This is going to be a tough task this year as the middle of the Big Ten and the bottom of the Big Ten are not separated by much. On December 12th, 2021 it looks much different and it shows the league is going to be extremely competitive which may turn out to be the case but there are going to be three teams who likely separate themselves from the pack as the year goes on.
The Purdue Boilermakers and the Illinois Fighting Illini and Michigan Wolverines are the three strongest and most talented teams in the league, and they are going to finish in the top three spots in the league. All three are going to be top seeds in the NCAA tournament and all three have what it takes it get to the final four. Purdue has had the best start of all these three teams, but Illinois and Michigan are able to give them a run for the money.
The final three spots are going to be determined by Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Indiana. Indiana has an All-America candidate in their frontcourt with Trayce Jackson Davis. Ohio State has already had some great wins, but they have had a 4 game or longer losing streak every season under coach Chris Holtmann that is what keeps them from the top tier for me.
Wisconsin has started the year very well, but I am still not sold that they are this good. Michigan State is a talented team that is experienced and has a lot of shooting. The Spartans present matchup problems for virtually everyone in the league.
The final three is going to be a tight race as Michigan State finishes behind the top 3, then Ohio State because they will win a ton of games before their losing streak, and then Indiana. I know they just lost to Wisconsin, but they blew a 20-point lead and that isn’t going to happen again to them all year. Indiana can defend and they have the paint locked down with two super players.
Wisconsin finishes in the 7-spot with Iowa, Rutgers, Northwestern, Nebraska, Maryland, Penn State, and Minnesota rounding out the league standings, in no particular order for the bottom of the league.