This week in Big Ten basketball, we got a little bit of everything. A slew of ranked-on-ranked matchups, ranked teams coming to Big Ten country to face unranked teams and the usual early season non-cons.
What is crazy is that most of this past week and weekend's best moments from the week were from these games. Before we get to the best of the weekend, we have to get to what occurred first.
Kansas defeats Michigan State in The Champions Classic. Should MSU continue to be in the event?
Former Michigan Wolverine Hunter Dickinson, in now his fifth season, rekindled some old habits and dominated against MSU. Dickinson finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds in KU’s 77-69 victory.
As for Michigan State, the game was in hand for all 40 minutes, but you will not beat a team like Kansas shooting 3-of-24 from 3-point range. Shooting has been a struggle for Michigan State the past couple of seasons and so far in 2024-25, those struggles have remained. After its victory over Bowling Green Sunday, MSU averages 20% from beyond the arc. In order to win the Big Ten and make a deep run in March, the Spartans need a significant increase from downtown.
To answer the question in the heading, the answer is yes, 110%. After its 13th edition this season, there have been a lot of talks, at least on social media, about expanding the Champions Classic to potentially three games, as well as the idea that Michigan State does not belong.
As long as Tom Izzo is Michigan State’s head coach, Sparty should absolutely be in the event. MSU is competitive in its matchup every year and does not need to be punished for losing to teams like this Kansas team, a favorite to win the best conference in college basketball. While Michigan State only has five wins in the event, the second least total is Kentucky’s six.
Plus, in this day and age of conference, college basketball needs representation from the Big Ten.
But as we conclude on MSU, it will be interesting to see how this team progresses from beyond the arc and see if it can get more out of sophomore forward Xavier Booker, who has only made six field goals in four games.
Amidst all the doubt, Braden Smith has risen to the Big Ten Player of the Year expectations so far. Purdue beats No. 2 Alabama.
In its first season without Zach Edey, it was very much up in the air what Purdue junior guard Braden Smith was going to look like in his first season with the two-time National Player of the Year.
Well, through four games, Smith has 62 points, 25 rebounds and 38 assists. Smith’s totals are third, tied for first and first in team totals for the respective categories.
To be blunt, Smith has been amazing so far, and as much as non-Purdue fans will not want to admit it, he is on pace to be Big Ten Player of the Year and a first-team All-American, at the least.
In Purdue’s matchup with No. 2 Alabama, the Boilermakers were exceptional. Alabama shot just 49% from the field and 56% from three with nine makes. While Smith and fellow junior guard Fletcher Loyer combined for 34 points, the biggest contribution came from junior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn who had 26 points with 12 field goals.
Even with Smith holding his own without Edey, Purdue’s biggest revelation has been the development of Kaufman-Renn. Last season he averaged just over six points and was fifth scoring option in the starting lineup. But so far, we have seen a new and most importantly, improved version of TKR. If Purdue can keep this up, especially away from Mackey, it will be the Big Ten Champion once again.
John Tonje scores 41 in Wisconsin’s 103-88 victory over No. 9 Arizona
A.J. Storr leaves for Kansas, Chucky Hepburn leaves for Louisville, Tyler Wahl graduates, Wisconsin entered this season wondering where it will find scoring. It’s safe to say the Badgers have found it in sixth-year guard John Tonje, who scored 41 points against the Wildcats.
Tonje was as physical as we have seen a player in the Big Ten in a singular performance, getting to the free-throw line for 22 attempts, and only one miss. Tonje did it all from the field as well. With his eight field goal makes, he had four 3-pointers.
It’s been a wild ride for Tonje. The Omaha, Neb. native spent four seasons at Colorado State, where he averaged 14.6 points in his final season in Fort Collins. After the 2022-23 season, he transferred to Missouri where he only played eight games after a foot injury. The talent was clearly there and head coach Greg Gard's plan for Tonje definitely came to fruition on Friday.
In addition to Tonje, Wisconsin got 27 combined points from two other proven commodities, sophomore guard John Blackwell and senior guard Max Klesmit. Plus, seven field goals from the Wisconsin bench, six of them three-pointers.
With scoring at a level this high, Wisconsin will find itself as an at-large tournament team and a top-four seed in the Big Ten tournament. The Badgers just need to keep the foot on the gas, something it did not do last season.
Two would-be huge victories, slip out of Terrapin and Buckeye hands alike
After an emphatic opening week, Ohio State earned its No. 21 ranking before heading down to College Station, Texas to play Texas A&M. The story from Friday’s Aggie versus Buckeye matchup, was just the home team simply shot better in its own building.
This loss could potentially age quite well for Ohio State as the Aggies have national expectations to be a tournament team. But OSU will not win any game against a power-five team where Meechie Johnson and Aaron Bradshaw total under 15 points.
Last week's biggest headline was arguably Maryland freshman forward Derik Queen and his 22-point and 20-rebound double-double. The Terps welcomed No. 15 Marquette to Xfinity Center and were greeted with a 28-point explosion from senior Kam Jones. Maryland held its own but just didn’t have enough secondary scoring to backup 24-point performances from both Queen and junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie. Senior center Julian Reese had two points in the loss.
Marquee matchups in week three 11/18-11/24
Monday, Nov. 18
Miami (OH) at Michigan (Fort Meyers Tip-Off Campus Game)
Tuesday, Nov. 19
No. 6 Purdue at No. 16 Marquette
Wednesday, Nov. 20
Illinois vs. No. 8 Alabama (C.M. Netwon Classic, Birmingham, AL)
Thursday, Nov. 21
Oregon at Oregon State
Friday, Nov. 22
Nebraska at Creighton
Sunday, Nov. 24
Villanova vs. Maryland (Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.)
Power Rankings:
Purdue (+2)
Indiana
Ohio State (-2)
Illinois (+1)
Oregon (+1)
Wisconsin (+11)
Maryland (-3)
Michigan
Michigan State (-2)
Rutgers (-1)
UCLA (-1)
Iowa (-1)
Nebraska (-1)
Washington
Northwestern
Penn State
USC (-4)
Minnesota
Elms' Essentials: Week 12
Elms' Essentials: Week 11
