This early in the season, with teams continuing to work their way through the non-conference portion of their schedules, it's difficult to tell exactly how things will pan out in the Big Ten this season. All early indications, however, seem to show that the Big Ten may be as deep as it's ever been.
Less than a month into the season, every Big Ten team but Purdue is above .500, and six teams either remain unbeaten or have just one loss. Granted, many of the Big Ten's wins have come against far inferior teams, but at least the conference is taking care of business and winning the games it is supposed to win. While many of the wins may have been less than spectacular, the Big Ten has pulled down a few resum??- building wins early on.
No. 10 Illinois leads the conference once again with its unblemished 7-0 mark as it seeks to prove it is still a force this season after losing Deron Williams and Luther Head from its Final Four run a year ago. Center James Augustine, currently the Big Ten co-player of the week, has been carrying a heavier offensive load this season, leading the team with 16.1 points per game. Last week, he recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds in an impressive win at defending-NCAA champion North Carolina. Reigning national player of the year Dee Brown is adding 15.0 per contest for the Illini.
No. 14 Michigan State, the coaches' pre-season pick to win the conference, got off to a rough start to the season but has come back strong. The Spartans, then No. 4, opened the season with a 22-point loss to Hawaii and later lost a heartbreaking triple-overtime thriller to No. 8 Gonzaga in the Maui Invitational. The Spartans responded, however, by knocking off then-No. 9 Arizona to claim third place in the tournament, and currently sit at 5-2. Guard Maurice Ager and center Paul Davis have provided a double scoring threat, as both rank in the top four in the Big Ten in scoring, each averaging more than 20 points per game. Guard Shannon Brown has chipped in 16.1 points of his own.
No. 16 Indiana, picked to finish third in the Big Ten, sits at 4-1 and was impressive in hanging with No. 1 Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, which the Big Ten lost by one game. Senior forward Marco Killingsworth, who is third in the conference in scoring, has been on a tear for the Hoosiers, already having been named conference player of the week twice. Killingsworth earned the honor last week along with Augustine, after averaging 24 points in two games. He went 15-20 from the field, scoring 34 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in the loss to Duke. Iowa also looked strong early on, currently holding a 7-1 record. They already have two impressive wins over top 25 teams, with victories against then No. 10 Kentucky and No. 21 North Carolina State.
With four Big Ten teams ranked close together in both Top 25 polls and Wisconsin and Ohio State just outside the Top 25, the upcoming Big Ten season seems to be up for grabs.
