The 2002-2003 Big Ten season has truly been one very long, strange and unpredictable trip. From the start, Big Ten play has provided its surprises and disappointments, its new faces and fading stars and, slowly but surely, separated the best from the rest.
From the fall of the Indiana Hoosiers to the rise of the Michigan Wolverines, the 2002-2003 regular season has seen some of the so-called \best teams"" fall off their pedestal only to present the play of up-and-coming players and programs.
As teams throughout the nation prepare for their final week of conference play and, more importantly, post-season competition, Cardinal Courtside reviews the tumultuous 2002-2003 Big Ten campaign and hands out their regular season awards:
In addition to being Big Ten champs, Wisconsin also became the first Big Ten team to win 20 games this season, and will most likely be the highest seeded team from the Big Ten in the NCAA Tournament. And to think what might have been had they not blown big leads at Penn State and Michigan, only to lose by one in both contests.
Honorable mention: Illinois FIghting Illini
Many people around the nation thought last year's Badger team was a fluke. Yet Bo Ryan continues to use a conservative, defense oriented style of play that has taken his team to the top of the Big Ten once again. Bo Ryan's squad is fourth in the nation in scoring defense (58.7 points per game) and second in the nation in turnovers before last Saturday's game against Minnesota.
Honorable mention: Tommy Amaker, Michigan
Cook has been by far the most consistent player throughout the entire Big Ten season. The senior leads the conference in scoring (19.8 ppg) and has been held in single digits only once this season. He has also pulled down 7.1 rebounds per game and has had his best conference games against the top teams, dropping 30 and 26 points on Michigan and 31 points on Wisconsin.
Until his dismal performance against the Badgers last week, Horton was the only candidate challenging Cook for player of the Year. Horton has been a huge reason for the Wolverines surprise run this season averaging 15.8 points per game.
Dee Brown has been just as impressive this season, leading the point to perfection on a young Fighting Illini squad. Most impressive is his 4.8 assists per game (2nd in the Big Ten) and league leading 2.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio amongst starting point guards.
Honorable mention: Alando Tucker, Wisconsin
First, this team was predicted to finish no better than middle-to-bottom of the Big Ten. Second, the off court distractions tarnished the image of the program further and were followed by self-imposed sanctions that would forbid them to participate in the NCAA or NIT Tournaments. Finally, they rebounded from an 0-6 start to a top-three finish in the Big Ten, including a brief stint atop the conference.
Honorable mention: Wisconsin Badgers
After their trip to the Championship game last season, Indiana came out and played exceptional basketball early this season. They started the season 8-0 and climbed all the way to a No. 6 national ranking. Since then the Hoosiers have gone 9-10, posted a .500 conference record and are still in position to possibly miss the NCAA tournament.
Honorable mention: Michigan State Spartans
