Happy Thursday, all you stormers out there. It's been yet another interesting week in the world of Big Ten basketball (Note: I say this every week) with plenty more action on the way. Michigan is continuing to struggle, Ohio State is making us forget all about Greg Oden, and Northwestern and Penn State are making us wonder if there's still room for more teams in Division II-A. There's not much action coming up in the next few days, but as Iowa showed us last weekend, absolutely anything can happen this year in the Big Ten.
Team with the Best Week - Indiana. Bias aside, this past week had to be pretty freakin' sweet for the Hoosiers. Despite a valiant effort from "Baby" Bruce Weber and his Floppin' Illini, the Hoosiers prevailed on their home court for the 26th consecutive time. Eric Gordon did not have a great game by any means, but luckily for the Hoosiers, DJ White was there to pick up the slack. Bruce and IU coach Kelvin Sampson kept the drama flowin' with their lack of a handshake after the game - it just has all the makings of a new reality TV show. The Hoosiers should be able to cruise to a 17-1, 6-1 record heading into their battle with UConn on Jan. 26.
Player of the Week - Tony Freeman, Iowa. Sadly this is the second time this season I have given this award to one of the Hawkeyes (Justin Johnson was the first). Technically, this award should have gone to DJ White, who turned in yet another double-double against Illinois. But Freeman has quickly established himself as a top tier guard in the Big Ten and is bright spot for an otherwise dismal Iowa basketball team. He's a stud on offense and plays fair enough defense, especially for a guy his size. Honorable mention goes to Northwestern's Kevin Coble, who dropped 34 points against Michigan and then tallied 19 points and 14 boards against Chicago State.
Team with the Worst Week - Michigan State. OK, so they beat Ohio State. But come on, Iowa? The Spartans were playing nearly flawless basketball up until last Saturday's debacle against the Hawkeyes and had solidified themselves as one of the two teams to beat at the top of the Big Ten. While they're still a formidable opponent for anybody in the league this year, the loss to the Hawkeyes gave them their second loss of the season. And more importantly, showed the rest of the conference (and the world!) that they're a very beatable team.
Games to Watch:
1/17 Indiana @ Minnesota
1/19 Ohio State @ Tennessee
1/19 Illinois @ Purdue
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