9 players who can help their team advance in the Big Ten Tournament

Kel’el Ware (Indiana)

On the outside it seems like Indiana has significantly underachieved this season, but we’re not here to talk about perception. The truth is that Mike Woodson had a major win when the Hoosiers landed Ware in the Transfer Portal last season, snagging the former 5-star prospect after a mediocre freshman season at Oregon.

Not only has Ware been a double-double machine, but he’s been the catalyst for the Hoosiers’ success in recent weeks. He’s developed into a top rebounder in the league, averaging 16.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, all while topping the conference in effective field goal percentage, making more than 62% of his two-point field goal attempts.

There has been a flurry of nice performances from Ware throughout the season, though he’s been vital to a season-ending four-game winning streak for Indiana. During that span, Ware is shooting 73% from the field and has three separate games of at least 26 points, notably dropping 28 points on Michigan State in the regular season finale.

Indiana used that late streak to secure the 6-seed in the Big Ten Tournament, putting themselves in a position much better than expected. If the Hoosiers are going to make noise in Minneapolis then Ware is going to continue this inspired play in the days to come.