Very clearly, the teams discussed between 8-14 have all lost a ton and have not replaced them with top tier talent . He seemed to want to place us higher but Eugene’s loss tempered his pick. Frankly,I would be very surprised if we did not finish ahead of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa , Indiana , Nebraska, and Northwestern, considering how much each of those teams have lost, not just one year contributors but 2-4 year contributors. Maybe with the exception of Indiana , we are more talented than the rest of those teams on his bottom list.
Very clearly, the teams discussed between 8-14 have all lost a ton and have not replaced them with top tier talent . He seemed to want to place us higher but Eugene’s loss tempered his pick. Frankly,I would be very surprised if we did not finish ahead of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa , Indiana , Nebraska, and Northwestern, considering how much each of those teams have lost, not just one year contributors but 2-4 year contributors. Maybe with the exception of Indiana , we are more talented than the rest of those teams on his bottom list.
That brings us to the top and Michigan State, Ohio State , Maryland, Purdue, Michigan, Illinois and Penn State. Not even Michigan State , that we have been very competitive with the last few years , is an automatic loss. The rest of the games against this tier , including Purdue and Michigan with their big losses, will be highly competitive and determine if we go dancing. Not one team scares me, unlike prior seasons, with our deep lineup going toe to toe. It is time to chop down these Big 10 traditional programs and I think the chemistry this Spain trip has provided , along with the experimenting by Coach with the lineups , will provide the experience needed to get over the hump . I predict top tier of the Big 10 as Coach will prove his worth.
Rutgers will finish either 7 or 8 with potential for 6.
Rutgers will have to get deeper into big ten tournament to get into March Madness. Injuries will have to be limited to minor ones, and not to key players.
So you have us ahead of these 5 for sure...
Northwestern
Nebraska
Minnesota
Indiana
Iowa
Other candidates....
Michigan
Wisconsin
Penn State
Illinois
Ohio State
I'd think it is VERY likely these are above us for sure....
Michigan State
Purdue
Maryland
no bohanon i believe...how good is the younger mccaffrey. i like bohannon on the offensve end of the court. On defense they call him JoranI think Iowa will be pretty good again------Michigan and Minn drop big time
I think Indiana and RU will be neck and neck----ditto PSU
Anyone making definitive statements about the middle of the Big Ten can safely be ignored.There are a couple posters here who have a better sense of the conference than most national writers/outlets will have when they write their previews.
1,000,000%
That should be said really 1 thru 14. Teams like.....
Nebraska- who knows how good all these transfers could be
Indiana- losing a ton, but still good pieces left...can the guy coach?
Illinois- oodles of talent, but...
Ohio State- looks good on paper but my confidence isn't sky high
Rutgers- No Omoruyi, Yeboah? Young? 4 sophs?
Purdue- No Edwards but decent guys left
Michigan- no Beilein but Teske Simpson and Livers back and frosh
Wisconsin - how much will team miss Happ, I think not as much as people thimk
Wisconsin is not replacing Happ and Iverson easily, Purdue not replacing Edwards and Klein easily, Indiana not replacing Romero and Morgan easily, Minnesota not replacing Coffey, Murphy and Debrayer easily, Northwestern not replacing Law and Pardon easily, Nebraska not replacing their 3 seniors in Copeland , Palmer and Watson along with Roby easily ! These were multiple years super impact all league players. I really do not give a damn what is behind them , they are not being replaced without a significant drop off. We have better talent than when we first entered the Big 10 and now the guys have been through the wars in the conference. We can go toe to toe with any of them.I find it dangerous to make predictions in college hoops based on what teams have lost in terms of production. Far better to focus on what they return and add. If you just notice a great team lost contributors you might not realize how good the players backing them up were that couldn't get on the court and will now have a chance to shine.
What this even mean?Anyone making definitive statements about the middle of the Big Ten can safely be ignored.There are a couple posters here who have a better sense of the conference than most national writers/outlets will have when they write their previews.
It's a very wide "middle of the Big Ten" this year.
Fair enough.....but they have no home court advantage; lack of depth; no fan interest; an enigma on and off the court with Watkins and a questionable coach. We will be better than PSU.On paper I think it is a leap to say we are better than PSU
I’ll give you the other 3. Penn State finished 7-3 over the last 10 and was easily playing like a Top 25 school and returns almost everyone
Fair enough.....but they have no home court advantage; lack of depth; no fan interest; an enigma on and off the court with Watkins and a questionable coach. We will be better than PSU.
On paper I think it is a leap to say we are better than PSU
I’ll give you the other 3. Penn State finished 7-3 over the last 10 and was easily playing like a Top 25 school and returns almost everyone
Wisconsin is not replacing Happ and Iverson easily, Purdue not replacing Edwards and Klein easily, Indiana not replacing Romero and Morgan easily, Minnesota not replacing Coffey, Murphy and Debrayer easily, Northwestern not replacing Law and Pardon easily, Nebraska not replacing their 3 seniors in Copeland , Palmer and Watson along with Roby easily ! These were multiple years super impact all league players. I really do not give a damn what is behind them , they are not being replaced without a significant drop off. We have better talent than when we first entered the Big 10 and now the guys have been through the wars in the conference. We can go toe to toe with any of them.
Like I said, it's not about what you lose but about what you return and add. Worrying only about losses would mean you never understand why the same teams tend to be good season after season.
Sometimes you don't lose as much as you think you lose when certain players leave. I'll bet if there was a study done where high usage guys with much lower than the team average efficiency leave the offense actually improves.
Happ and Edwards could test that. Now I think no way is Purdue better offensively than last year. Wisconsin could be. Happ had the ball in his hands way too much!
It’s a great time to be a middling or rebuilding team in the big ten. The conference is getting weaker every year by and large as the ACC begins to flatten everyone and the SEC continues to amoeba really big strides. We need to take advantage.
Yes, Michigan will have talent, but it's a huge dropoff from John Beilein to Juwan Howard.
Howard will be a different type of recruiter for Michigan. He ll get highly rated kids and im sure he ll recruit inner city Detroit which I think izzo now controls.