Big Ten Basketball: Top 10 Player of the Year candidates for 2021-22 season
2021-22 stats: 20.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.7 apg, 3.0 bpg
. E.J. Liddell. 1. player. 490. .
I would argue that despite averaging 16.2 ppg and 6.7 rpg on a team that got a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season, that E.J. Liddell somehow fell under the radar in the Big Ten, which had a ton of quality frontcourt players. He also had leading scoring guard Duane Washington as his teammate, who also got plenty of attention.
But with Washington gone and the backcourt filled with freshmen, non-scorers like Penn State transfer Jamari Wheeler, and missing last season’s third-leading scorer Justice Sueing (injury), Liddell had no choice but to take on more of the scoring load.
And that he has. The 6’7 junior forward has been elite all season, already with three games of at least 28 points out of 10 played. That includes 28 points against both Seton Hall and Wisconsin to propel his team to quality victories, along with having some big clutch moments in wins over Akron, and Duke, where Liddell had 14 points and 14 rebounds in Ohio State’s win over the then-No. 1 team in the country.
Besides scoring over 20 ppg and shooting over 56% from the field, Liddell also has been dominant on the boards and playing excellent defense, currently second in the Big Ten in blocks. A lot of them came in the eight-block performance in the loss to Xavier.
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Liddell has led the Buckeyes to a 3-0 record in the Big Ten, tied for first. And despite the injuries and inconsistent play from the supporting cast, the junior big man has been able to lift his team to victory and a near top-10 ranking. Between that and the current gaudy numbers he’s putting up, I currently have E.J. Liddell No. 1 for the top individual award for Big Ten Basketball, although there’s clearly going to be a big fight for it from a number of talented players.