Last Monday, Nov. 4, kicked off a new era for college basketball and the Big Ten Conference takes no exceptions to that claim. The college basketball landscape went from six power conferences to five with the PAC-12 losing all but two teams. Some went to the Big Ten, some went to the Big 12 and some went to the ACC. Eighteen teams now headline the conference and that means basketball season will only get crazier.
So this season, with the help of the Hoosier Network, I will be writing a weekly article dissecting the Big Ten, along with my own set of power rankings, analysis, and a dash of what's to come the next week.
So without further ado, let's get to what was a great first week in Big Ten country.
Ohio State leaves Sin City richer than it arrived
For me, there is only one place to start and that's in Columbus by way of Las Vegas, where Ohio State kicked off their season by taking down No. 19 Texas 80-72. The real question for the Buckeyes was if Jake Diebler could maintain the bright spots from some of its big wins under him after the firing of Chris Holtmann.
Diebler showed that he could recruit, especially in the portal picking up Micah Parrish from San Diego State, Aaron Bradshaw from Kentucky, Sean Stewart from Duke and bringing Cleveland native Meechie Johnson home from South Carolina.
With all of that, one thing remained constant for OSU, Bruce Thornton looking like an All-American in the process. Last Monday he had 20 points, five assists and five rebounds, all the while three others scored in double figures, that be Parrish with 17 and then off the bench, sophomore Devin Royal with 16 and true freshman John Mobley Jr. with 15.
If Ohio State can combat scoring threats opponents have, like freshman phenom Tre Johnson’s 29 points, with their own offense, and maintain veteran role players in the forms of Arthur Kaluma and Kadin Shedrick, the Buckeyes could be dangerous. Ohio State held them to 20 points combined. What’s promising for Ohio State is if it can keep bigs from taking games over, that will help them a ton in the Big Ten.
Ohio State is now ranked at 21 in the latest Associated Press poll.
Oregon shows depth while Shelstad stalls early
With the departures of Jermaine Couisnard and N’Faly Dante, it’s going to be a big year for Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad. However, in Oregon’s first two games against UC Riverside and Montana, he totaled just 16 points combined. But the Ducks are 2-0.
Thanks to Duck veterans Nate Bittle and Kwame Evans Jr., plus Villanova transfer TJ Bamba, Oregon picked up the victories by 15 and 31 points, respectively.
In the matchup with Riverside, Evans was the Ducks leading scorer with 23 points and with the totals from Bamba and Bittle (28 combined) propelled the Ducks.
This is a great sign for Oregon because even when Shelstad is down, there will be reinforcements.
Derik Queen shows why college basketball is primed for a freshman-headlined 2024-25 season
In a college sports scene that has been dominated by transfers, 2024-25 will be a great year for college basketball because there will be more blue-chip freshmen making stellar impacts on their teams. Whether that is in the form of Duke’s Cooper Flagg, Rutgers’ Ace Bailey (who was absent in RU’s first matchup) and Dylan Harper, Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe, UConn’s Liam McNeely, the list goes on and on.
But Maryland’s Derik Queen burst onto the scene last Monday with a 22-point and 20-rebound double-double against Manhattan.
At 6-foot-10 this freshman is going to be a revelation for Maryland, especially with Julian Reese down low with him.
Adam Finklestein of 247Sports said in Queen’s scouting report on his recruiting profile that he has great touch and is a consistent finisher inside. Within the first couple highlights in his performance against the Jaspers, you see why Finklestein says so.
In the development of Queen, it will be interesting to see how he matches up with other bigs in the conference. But for now, Terp fans should be very excited.
Now some quick hitters before I get to my power rankings and preview some of the best matchups this upcoming week, Nov. 11-18.
Edey’s replacement, Jacobsen, done for season
For Purdue, in its first season without Zach Edey, his replacement in the Matt Painter 7-foot system, Daniel Jacobsen will medically redshirt after breaking his tibia.
In Purdue’s first game against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Jacobsen notched 13 points. Within the first two minutes of Purdue’s second game against Northern Kentucky, Jacobsen sustained the injury.
Thankfully for Purdue there is another 7-footer on its squad. Seven-foot-two Sweden native WIll Berg will most likely be in replacement of Jacobsen. On Saturday against the Norse, Berg totalled seven points in 17 minutes.
Why I’m not pressing the panic button just yet if I am a Purdue fan: junior Trey Kauffman-Renn could be able to provide some inside scoring, plus Berg getting these minutes in replacement of Jacobsen will only make him better, while Jacobsen rehabs.
The Dusty May era in Ann Arbor is underway
In his first two games as Michigan head coach Dusty May has a 100+ point total in a win against Cleveland State and gut wrenching loss where the Wolverines’ inability to score consistently down the stretch plagued them against Wake Forest in Greensboro.
The main story: Yale transfer Danny Wolf scored 19 points against Cleveland State, but only four against Wake. Wake Forest is a good team, headlined by Hunter Salis, and will definitely be a force in the ACC. But after how well Michigan started, getting a double-digit lead early in the first half, Wolverine fans will be kicking themselves for a win they should have and would have aged nicely.
Wolf’s consistency will be a key factor for Michigan if they can’t get help elsewhere.
Marquee Matchups in week two (Nov. 11-17)
Tuesday, Nov. 12: Michigan State vs. No. 1 Kansas (Champions Classic in Atlanta)
Friday, Nov. 15: No. 2 Alabama at No. 13 Purdue
Friday, Nov. 15: No. 15 Marquette at. Maryland
Friday, Nov. 15: No. 21 Ohio State at No. 23 Texas A&M
Friday, Nov. 15: No. 9 Arizona at Wisconsin
Power Rankings
Ohio State
Indiana
Purdue
Maryland
Illinois
Oregon
Michigan State
Michigan
Rutgers
UCLA
Iowa
Nebraska
USC
Washington
Northwestern
Penn State
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Elms' Essentials: Week 11
Elms' Essentials: Week 10
Elms' Essentials: Week 9
