greg gard may be a bug person after all
Uh, brace yourselves? The situation is just a tad different from the last time I did this in early December, when Ohio State was on top of the college basketball world and Purdue ranked 71 spots ahead of Rutgers on KenPom.
Current Standings (As of Feb. 3)
| B1G Record |
Overall Record |
B1G Efficiency Margin |
Record vs. Q1 | KenPom | Torvik | NET | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | 8-3 | 16-6 | +12.9 | 4-5 | 9 | 8 | 10 |
| Illinois | 8-3 | 16-6 | +5.9 | 4-4 | 24 | 22 | 30 |
| Maryland | 7-3 | 17-4 | +4.8 | 5-4 | 10 | 19 | 11 |
| Iowa | 7-4 | 16-6 | +5.9 | 7-4 | 13 | 15 | 21 |
| Rutgers | 7-4 | 16-6 | +4.9 | 2-5 | 29 | 13 | 28 |
| Penn State | 6-4 | 16-5 | +0.3 | 5-3 | 16 | 14 | 24 |
| Wisconsin | 6-5 | 13-9 | +0.7 | 6-7 | 30 | 29 | 32 |
| Purdue | 5-6 | 12-10 | -1.0 | 2-8 | 28 | 21 | 39 |
| Minnesota | 5-6 | 11-10 | -5.0 | 3-8 | 38 | 38 | 44 |
| Indiana | 5-6 | 15-7 | -4.9 | 3-6 | 41 | 47 | 52 |
| Ohio State | 4-6 | 14-7 | +1.1 | 3-5 | 12 | 12 | 20 |
| Michigan | 4-6 | 13-8 | -2.5 | 4-8 | 25 | 25 | 31 |
| Nebraska | 2-9 | 7-15 | -8.7 | 1-7 | 136 | 128 | 170 |
| Northwestern | 1-10 | 6-15 | -13.9 | 0-10 | 120 | 96 | 149 |
Michigan State being tied atop the standings is unsurprising; being tied with Illinois, on the other hand, was less anticipated.
Stock Up
As we're all too aware, Ayo Dosunmu has been great. [Campredon]
Illinois/Ayo Dosunmu. You probably don't need to be told this given recent events. Since the new year, they've been the #11 team in the country according to Bart Torvik's rankings, and they've done it on the strength of their stifling defense. That's not what anybody expected after watching the Illini last year, but Brad Underwood completely overhauled his defensive scheme to remarkable effect. They'd won seven straight—including road upsets of Wisconsin, Purdue, and Michigan—before dropping an intense game at Iowa yesterday. Their only Big Ten losses are on the road to Michigan State, Iowa, and Maryland, the three other teams most likely to win or share the regular season title.
As we saw in the game at Crisler, when Illinois has needed a bucket, they've put the ball in the hands of Ayo Dosunmu. He's been on a tear over the last eight games, averaging 17.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 54/42/85 (2P%/3P%/FT%) and keeping his turnovers in check; over that stretch he has a 118 ORating on 25% usage. Dosumnu is starting to look like the player some thought was ticketed for the lottery when he arrived in Champaign. He's no longer mostly a transition threat, and while Illinois still needs more shooting, they're arguably the most complete team in the conference anyway. As Brian mentioned on the podcast, the pieces of this team fit together very well.
[Hit THE JUMP for Garza the POTY, Wisconsin's wild ride, OSU's fall back to earth, and more.]
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