2022 Preseason Conference Preview: Big Ten

[Ezaco]

BIG TEN CONFERENCE

 

The Big Ten is the most populated user conference with six users. Unfortunately it fails to capture that magic and encapsulate it into anything that will competitive outside of itself. Among the heaps of mediocrity and bad teams, it's truly tough to see who's going to emerge from the pile.

 

:illinois:ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI

Starting off... strong... the Illini are an 'okay' team. With a trio of guards in Arthur Steavens, Jian Lin, and Max Lee who can shoot the ball at a decent percentage, the Illini has a footprint for success. Under the basket they're no slouch either, with some great options from those slashing guards. Defensively Illinois is going to need to work hard to offset a weak system paired with an already weak offensive game. If it were any other conference I'd say this is a simple building year, but with the weakness of the Big Ten, there's some hope to be had in Champaign.

 

Season prediction: Bubble team

 

:indiana:INDIANA HOOSIERS

In Bloomington, on the other hand, winter's come early... don't look for the blooms. Vidal Vitela is a very nice player, and he's going to be able to use a weak roster and a weak Big Ten to boost his resume for the NBA Draft, and that's about all you're looking at in Indiana this season. Larry Peterson and Thanh Kim are excellent four star defensive players, but in the game of modern basketball you have to be able to execute on both ends of the court, and they simply can't. And aside from those two, defensively the Hoosiers are a mess. Jeffrey Greeson is going to help Vitela fill up the basket, but he's about the only one. It's going to be very, very tough, and a very long season.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:iowa: IOWA HAWKEYES

Iowa makes my head hurt. They're not a great team from range, but we're seeing that fairly often right now. Between the paint and the arc there may be one of the best shooting teams in all of college basketball. Inside the paint they're back to mediocre. All of this combined with a streaky rebounding group, a decent defense marred with swiss cheese holes, and questionable ball movement... I don't know who this team is. I'm not even sure they know who they are either. You want to look at this roster and find a star, but is there one? Maybe Anibal Ruiz, the senior forward from South Carolina, or Carlos Barahona, the senior forward from Missouri. Can either of them take over this team and lead? Maybe.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Round of 64

 

:maryland: MARYLAND TERRAPINS

This is a trend. Hyun Xu in an absolute stud shooter. So is James Webb. And Keith Argarwal. The Terrapins have a number of guys who can shoot it from various places on the court. You know what they can't do? Play defense. Or rebound. They're not even that great at moving the ball. Maryland is frustrating. You want them to be able to play good, and they will. On one half. Just... close your eyes for a few seconds on the other side.

 

Season prediction: Bubble team

 

:michigan: MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

It's not getting any easier here. Michigan is... woof. There's not a whole lot going for the home of the Fab Five this season. Jonathan Spears and Vance Bradley are a pair of decent shooters, but they're not going to light the world on fire. Fred Mcguire can definitely ball under the basket, but he can't do it all by himself. And depth-wise it just isn't there for the Wolverines. Luckily they're young, and this will be a good learning season for a them, and prep them to come back poised for next season.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCCA Tournament

 

:michigianstate:MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

Gosh this is a tough one. Defensively the Spartans are not bad - they could be better, but there are definitely worse teams. The same can be said when they try to crash the boards. At range it's honestly kind of an ugly game in Lansing (aside from standout seniors George Hwang and Mario Fernandez). But underneath, slashing and post? That's a scary looking team. Michigan State has the chance to do some real damage. They're not one to overlook simply because they can't fill it up beyond the block - but they will ultimately be their downfall.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Round of 32

 

:minnesota: MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS

There's going to be few teams doing more with less than Minnesota. The Gophers' best play is probably the one-star guard Benny Smith who was completely slept on coming out of high school, and now entering his senior year is making serious noise at the NBA lower draft picks. If his French teammate Michael Hornbeck can step up as well, maybe the two of them might make some serious headway. The Gophers, though, won't. With a like of additional viable scoring options, and a questionable defense, there's not much going for Minnesota.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:nebraska: NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS

Well at least there's basketball season for Nebraska, right? Well... maybe not. Christopher Merlo is a special player, yes. Unfortunately they've surrounded him with nothing else in Lincoln. Lackluster shooting and poor defense could be offset by a decent rebounding set, but there's only so much you can do. Working into the basket the Cornhuskers might be able to do some work, but there's a lot better teams underneath there than them. I simply don't see it happening.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:northwestern:NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS

This is painful. Truly criminal. Poor Northwestern is imply a truly dreadful team. Andy Niles, Kenneth Hughes, and Miguel Valdez are elite defenders surrounded by inept ones. And scoring-wise the Wildcats are simply hopeless aside from perhaps the junior Brandon Barnes. But honestly? Avert your eyes. It's going to be dirty, dreadful basketball in Evanston, and I pity anyone forced to watch it.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:ohiostate: OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

Ohio State seems to be in a very similar state to Illinois. This is not a team you look at and expect to be world beaters. They have some really nice talent in Adam Puryear, Brian Money, and Reginald Lovelace. They even have some decent young talent surrounding them. If Ohio State didn't play in this Big Ten then I would say they're not good, learn what you can, get ready for next year... but in this Big Ten the Buckeyes actually have a chance. They'll be a surprise until they hit actual talent to play against in the tournament, where they'll crash out as expected.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Round of 64

 

:pennstate: PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS

Penn State is all over the place. And I really wanna say they're not a good team. James Outlaw, in addition to a great name, is a great shooter. Dennis Ray can outshoot anyone outside of the paint, and Barry Mcmahan and Donald Edwards can lock down defensively. So what's holding Penn State back? Consistency. No one is truly great. It's a constant trade-off of talent for the Nittany Lions on both sides of the ball. Balancing that will be a challenge, and one I'm not sure they can quite overcome.

 

Season prediction: Bubble team

:purdue: PURDUE BOILERMAKERS

More of the same. Who's a great player for Purdue? Arguably Richard Griffin, the Candian redshirt senior. Or maybe it's Jarrod Causey, the other redshirt senior from Oklahoma. If the Boilermakers can get the ball underneath there's very few teams that can beat them - certainly no one in the Big Ten. But can they move the ball effectively enough to do it? And even when they do... can they hold teams at bay with such a mild defense? I have faith, but it's slim.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Round of 32

 

:rutgers: RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS

Rutgers makes the Big Ten look like a rubber stamp. Tell me if you've heard this before - great underneath the basket, decent-to-mediocre defense. So what makes the Scarlet Knights stand out? Maybe Marion Brown, the 7'1" center from Tennessee, who's an absolute menace on the court. David Groce has developed into an absolutely prolific scorer. These two may not be enough to make Rutgers good, but they are definitely going to be interesting to watch.

 

Season prediction: Bubble team

 

:wisconsin: WISCONSIN BADGERS

Unfortunately we end the Big Ten on a sour note. The Badgers have two really good shooters outside of the paint - Ralph Long and Roy Barnes. But it's going to really painful to watch them struggle on such a poor Wisconsin roster. Poor ball movement, bad defense, and iffy rebounding aren't helped by a lack of scoring options. With some development, luck, and recruiting things can turn around in Madison... but it's going to take work.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

Edited October 17, 2022 by Ezaco

[Ezaco]

Pick to win conference: Purdue