Two years ago the Big Ten was called weak, but still put three teams in the Elite Eight. Last year it was called the strongest conference in the country during the regular season but could not land one team in the Sweet 16. Following the trend of unexpected results, this looked to be a rebuilding year for the conference, but the Big Ten has gotten off to a hot start.
Ohio State has taken the top spot in the USA Today poll despite losing its top two scorers from last year including Big Ten player of the Year Terence Dials. They welcomed in one of the strongest recruiting classes in the nation, and it is already paying dividends. Freshman forward Othello Hunter leads the team in rebounding and freshman guard Daequan Cook is putting up 17 points and seven rebounds per game while leading the team in scoring.
Michigan State junior point guard Drew Neitzel spent last season as the fourth scoring option for the Spartans. This year he is stepping into the spotlight and has already claimed two Big Ten Player of the Week awards. Against No. 18 Texas, Neitzel made the game winning layup with two seconds left in the game.
Illinois lost its two best players with the departure of guard Dee Brown and James Augustine, but junior forward Shaun Pruitt and sophomore guard Chester Frazier have stepped in and are playing at a high level. The Illini have run out to a 7-1 record and owe much of the success to those two players, as well as the fact they have six players averaging in double figures in points thus far.
Michigan also started hot, but suffered a setback against North Carolina State. The Wolverines are led by mammoth center Courtney Sims, who was held to only seven points by the Wolf Pack. However, he is averaging 15.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and is finally turning into the player Michigan fans hoped he would.
After making an improbable run to 25 wins and a NCAA tournament berth last season, the Iowa Hawkeyes have come crashing back down. The Hawkeyes lost a ton of talent, but much of their 2-3 record can be attributed to facing then No. 11 Alabama and a dangerous Villanova team on consecutive nights. The only positive that Iowa can take away is that they do lead the conference in free throw percentage.
New coach Kelvin Sampson was expected to help push Indiana back into the spotlight, but his team has struggled against quality opponents thus far. Butler was able to come back from 12 points down against the Hoosiers. That trend continued on Tuesday when Indiana played Duke, mounting a surge to keep the game close, but blowing multiple opportunities to tie it in the final minute.
Across the state, Purdue is enjoying a solid start, and is led by Milwaukee native Carl Landry, the older brother of Wisconsin sophomore forward Marcus Landry. The elder Landry is scoring over 19 points per game and has already claimed a share of a Big Ten Player of the Week award.
Penn state is looking to build on last year's NIT appearance, and returns four starters. The emergence of 6'11' junior forward Brandon Hassell has infused some height into a Penn State lineup that starts no player taller than 6'6'.
Northwestern has the best scoring defense in the conference but also has the worst offense. Though it has trouble getting the best talent, Northwestern usually can hang tough with its zone defenses and Princeton offense but are having a mediocre start to the season.
The worst team in the Big Ten this season has been Minnesota. The Gophers have lost their last four games to teams like Marist and Montana. Minnesota returns very little talent from a decent team last year and may be in for a rough season.
