Last year was a breakthrough campaign for Big Ten Basketball. Not only did two of them (Illinois and Michigan) represent the league in the Final Four, but they also made history with the Wolverines winning the national title. There’s been plenty of changes since, which has already shown on the court through the various exhibition and scrimmage results that we know of.
Based on the games, box scores, and overall analysis, here’s a look at the early Big Ten-related takeaways through this part of the preseason.
1. Oregon could be in for a rough year
When longtime head coach Dana Altman decided to retire just weeks before the season, the Ducks found itself in a very bad spot. It got worse a few days ago, losing 71-65 to Seattle U of the WCC. Making matters worse is that all of the perimeter players, including several former top-30 prospects out of high school, really struggled. The last time Tony Stubblefield was a CBB head coach, he couldn’t last the year at DePaul. It could be especially rough for him with the Ducks in what feels like a lame-duck season for all.
2. Rutgers more than competitive to start out
After going 14-20 last year, there wasn’t too much hype regarding Rutgers coming into this season. Plus, head coach Steve Pikiell hasn’t even been around to coach them due to health issues. However, the Knights have been more than competitive against the top Big East teams last year, losing 77-75 to Villanova before falling 104-99 in four-overtimes to St. John’s. It’s still the preseason but there are some pieces to really like, including Virginia Tech transfer big man, Christian Gurdak.
3. Andre Mills on an all-league campaign
In what was an awful year otherwise, Maryland found a gem in Mills, who broke out to average double figures. He elected to return for another year and seems to have gotten even better. He led all scorers with 27 points in the team’s 90-81 win over West Virginia, along with eight rebounds. A healthy Pharell Payne (26 points) is big for the team’s bounce back effort but Mills has the case of being their best player overall.
4. Nebraska, Illinois, Michigan getting early freshmen contributions
Several key freshmen have gotten run throughout the Big Ten, with a few standing out. Five-star prospect Quentin Coleman had 14 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in Illinois’ 105-96 win over Cincinnati. Quinn Costello scored in double figures in both of Michigan’s wins, cementing himself as the first big off the bench in the rotation. Jacob Lanier didn’t get much hype for Nebraska but he was a standout as well, scoring 11+ points in both of their games off the bench. Look for there to be more first-year key pieces in the Big Ten but these were two early ones that stood out.
5. Indiana’s defense
The Hoosiers coasted to easy wins against Butler and UNC in the past two weeks. The offense looked as good as advertised, thanks to several quality transfer pickups. But it’s been the team defense that has stood out, holding their opponents to just 28 ppg in the second half to allow them to run away with the game. Despite not adding players that previously had defensive reputations, Indiana’s work on that end of the court has stood out in a positive way.
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