9 players who can help their team advance in the Big Ten Tournament
By Joey Loose
![Mar 5, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Marcus Domask (3) drives past Mar 5, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Marcus Domask (3) drives past](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3508,h_1973,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/184/01hrt2g4yz1semavnbym.jpg)
Zach Edey (Purdue)
At this point what else can really be said about Edey that hasn’t already been said? The likely two-time national player of the year has been a menace once again this season, powering Purdue to another regular season title and putting Purdue near the very top of the college basketball world.
Somehow eclipsing his numbers and production from last season, Edey is averaging 24.2 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, leading the Big Ten in both of those figures. He’s been the Big Ten’s best players in virtually every metric and has been a monster in the paint all season long.
Edey is a double-double machine and has showed up all season long, including great efforts earlier in the season, including 35 points against Alabama and double-doubles against teams like Tennessee and Marquette. More recently he had 28 points in a road win at Illinois and has been lethal against every other frontcourt in the Big Ten.
His impressive showing has almost overshadowed the great season from Braden Smith, who himself can also power these Boilermakers to several postseason wins. This top-seeded Purdue squads knows the national attention will be on them during March Madness, but it’s hard to bet against a team with a monster weapon like Edey down low.