Big Ten Weekly Men's Basketball Central: Jan. 31-Feb. 6

Four of the 15 players selected to the 2023 Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year Watch List reside in the Big Ten. Chase Audige (NU), Zach Edey (PUR), Trayce Jackson-Davis (IND) and Caleb McConnell (RUT) are in contention for the award, annually given to the nation’s top defensive player.
Four Big Ten players have been named to the 2023 Wooden Award™ Late Season Top 20, which was announced on Monday. Purdue’s Zach Edey, Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, Iowa’s Kris Murray and Penn State’s Jalen Pickett were chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the 2022-23 season thus far as front-runners for the sport’s most prestigious honor.
Three Big Ten Conference games highlight tonight’s college basketball slate. Illinois will look for its seventh win in its last eight games, as it welcomes Nebraska to Champaign at 7 p.m. on BTN. Winners of three in a row, Northwestern will hit the road to face Iowa at 9 p.m. on BTN. At the same time, Maryland, coming off consecutive wins for the first time since late December, will play host to Indiana, who is riding its longest win streak since 2016 (ESPN2).
Illinois has controlled its short series against Nebraska, willing 20 of the 28 meetings, including a 13-2 advantage in Champaign. The Illini scored a 76-50 win when the clubs met in Lincoln three weeks ago. Terence Shannon Jr. led Illinois with 25 points and 11 rebounds, as five Illini players scored in double figures. Sam Griesel scored a team-high 12 points for the Huskers, while Wilhelm Breidenbach added 11 points off the bench.
Nebraska now has a pair of freshmen in the starting lineup in Jamarques Lawrence and Denim Dawson. When the duo started against Northwestern on Jan. 25, it marked the first time NU has had a pair of freshmen in the starting lineup this season. Nebraska’s freshmen accounted for 40 percent of the team’s minutes at Maryland and 38.4 percent of the team’s minutes over the last two contests. Last year, NU had six games with multiple freshmen in the lineup (Bryce McGowens and either Keon Edwards or C.J. Wilcher). Both Edwards and Wilcher were second-year freshmen who took advantage of the NCAA eligibility freeze because of COVID-19 in 2020-21.
Illinois has gone 6-2 in its Big Ten games in January, winning each by at least nine points. The Illini are averaging 73.0 points (438) while allowing just 59.3 points (356) in its six Big Ten wins, holding all six opponents below the 70-point mark. Illinois has not topped 66 points in any of its Big Ten losses, averaging just 62.5 points while allowing opponents to score 74.5 points in those four games.
Iowa holds a commanding 123-60 advantage over Northwestern. The Hawkeyes have won 15 of the last 18 meetings, including eight straight, and scored victories in 31 of 35 games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Keegan Murray paired 26 points and 18 rebounds to lead three Hawkeyes with north of 17 points, as Iowa cruised to an 82-61 home win in last season’s regular season meeting. The teams met two weeks later in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, with Iowa shooting 67.6 percent in the first half en route to a 112-76 win. Five Hawkeyes scored in double figures, led by Murray’s 26 points and eight boards, while Ryan Young scored 14 points off the bench for the Wildcats.
Northwestern’s 81-61 win over Minnesota marked its 15th win of the season, matching its win total from 2021-22 (15-17). The Wildcats’ 15 wins over their first 20 games this season are their most since 2016-17 (16 wins), while their 6-3 conference start is also its best since 2016-17 (7-2). NU’s 15-5 record is tied for the second-best mark through 20 games in school history, three of the four best have come under current head coach Chris Collins: 2022-23 (15-5), 2016-17 (16-4), 2015-16 (15-5), 1945-46 (15-5). The Wildcats’ 81-61 win over Minnesota on Saturday.
Iowa is tops in the Big Ten and 20th nationally in scoring offense (81.3). Among many reasons for the Hawkeyes’ offensive success is Iowa’s focus on taking care of the ball. The Hawkeyes rank ninth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57), 16th in fewest turnovers per game (10.5), 19th in fewest fouls per game (14.2), and 20th in assists per game (16.4). Connor McCaffery leads the Big Ten with a 3.3 assist-to-turnover ratio (59 assists, 18 turnovers).
Indiana leads the all-time series 11-8 and has won three straight against the Terps, including both meetings in 2021-22. Race Thompson and Trayce Jackson-Davis combined for 35 points and 21 rebounds, as the Hoosiers scored a 68-55 win in College Park in late January. Indiana shot 75 percent from the floor in the second half of the return contest in Bloomington, pulling away for a 74-64 win. Xavier Johnson scored a game-high 24 points, while Thompson paired 19 points and nine boards in the win. Fatts Russell led the Terps with 23 points.
After dropping the first three contests of the new year, Indiana has knocked off five-straight Big Ten Conference foes for the first time since the 2015-16 season. During the five-game stretch, IU has held opponents to 61.2 points per contest. Teams are shooting 38.4% (113-of-294) from the floor, 26.7% (27-of-101) from the 3-point line, and 55.8% (53-of-95) from the charity stripe. IU, behind 13.4 rebounds per game from senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, is outrebounding its opponent by 7.2 boards per game in the last two weeks.
Maryland is 11-1 this year at home including ranked wins over Illinois and Ohio State. The XFINITY Center has been a haven this year during league play with Maryland being the only team in the Big Ten to remain unbeaten in home conference games (5-0). Maryland has won eight consecutive Big Ten conference games at XFINITY, including all five games this season and the final three of last season, a mark that sits just one shy of the program record set in 2014-15.
Purdue solidified its spot atop both the AP and USA Today polls, as the Boilermakers became the first team this season to be unanimously named No. 1, securing all 60 first place votes in the AP poll and each of the 32 nods in the coaches poll. Riding a five-game win streak, Indiana joined Purdue on both polls, checking in at No. 22, while Illinois earned the No. 25 spot on the USA Today list. Northwestern and Rutgers gained national recognition, receiving votes in both polls, while Michigan State collected votes in the AP poll.
Ten of the 14 Big Ten programs rank in the top 60 of today’s NCAA NET rankings, including eight in the top 40: Purdue (#3), Indiana (#20), Rutgers (#22), Illinois (#26), Ohio State (#29), Iowa (#36), Maryland (#38), and Northwestern (#40). Purdue leads the nation with seven Quad 1 wins, while its 11 combined Quad 1 and 2 wins are tied for second behind Kansas (12). The Big Ten also leads the country with 79 Quad 1 and 2 wins (ACC - 57, Big 12 - 71, Big East - 46, PAC 12 - 60, SEC - 60). Thirteen of the league’s 14 teams also have at least one Quad 1 win and at least 1 Quad 2 win.
Through games on Jan. 30, 10 of the Big Ten 14 teams rank in the top 50 in the latest KenPom rankings, including eight in the top 40. Purdue leads the way at #4 followed by Rutgers (#17), Indiana (#18), Illinois (#24), and Ohio State (#28). The Big 12 has nine teams in the top 50, two more than the SEC, while the ACC and Big East have five each and the PAC 12 four.
Nebraska owns the nation’s third best NET Strength of Schedule ranking to lead seven Big Ten teams in the top 25: #4 Michigan State, #8 Ohio State, #10 Wisconsin, #16 Iowa, #22 Indiana and #23 Maryland. In total, 13 Big Ten teams rank in the top 50, most of any conference in the country. The Big 12 has 10 teams in the top 50, one more than the SEC. The Big East and PAC 12 have seven and six entrants, respectively, while the ACC checks in with two.
Some of the nation’s top defensive units are on display each time a Big Ten team takes the court. Six Big Ten teams rank in the NCAA’s top 40 in scoring defense, while nine hold their opponents at or below 42.0% field goal shooting. The shooting percentages stay low beyond the three-point line, as all 14 teams hold their opponents below 35.0% from three-point range, while seven clubs block at least 4.0 shots per game.
Six Big Ten teams also rank among the nation’s leaders in taking care of the ball. Penn State leads the country, committing just 8.7 turnovers per game. Wisconsin’s 9.0 turnovers rank second, while Michigan lists fifth with 9.8 miscues. Iowa (13th - 10.3) and Northwestern (16th - 10.5) also list in the top 20. Penn State and Iowa rank second and ninth in the nation, respectively, with 1.68 and 1.57 assist-to-turnover ratios.
Entering this week’s games, 11 Big Ten teams rank in the top 40 in home attendance, led by Indiana (187,611) and Illinois (178,819), who rank sixth and ninth, respectively. Purdue (14th - 163,636), Michigan State (15th - 162,767) and Maryland (20th - 156,081) also rank in the top 20. In total more than 3.2 million fans have enjoyed Big Ten basketball live.
Big Ten teams closed the nonconference portion of the 2022-23 campaign with a 115-37 (.757-win percentage) record. The conference ranked second in the nation in nonconference win percentage, behind the Big 12 (.840 / 110-19) and second in wins behind the SEC (130-42).

Big Ten Weekly Men's Basketball Central: Jan. 31-Feb. 6

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